Superheroics

A common assertion made about Superman is that he's perfect. His one weakness, kryptonite, is superficial. His powers seemingly have no limits, and are capable of getting him out of almost every situation. He died, but even death had no hold on the Man of Tomorrow. The validity of the character was lost to the general public. He could already do 'everything', and now had an immunity to death. In no way could Superman seem as tragic and real as many other heroes with more difficult lives, such as Daredevil, or no powers, such as Batman.
While Spider-Man or Batman may be vaunted as the penultimate of tragedy in the comic universe, I propose that in the real world there is no character more tragic than Superman.

If there were anyone who could end world hunger, it would be the Man of Steel. He could freeze mountains in the desert to create a water supply, plow entire plains in seconds, seed fields at super-speed. He's capable of fixing the issue of the melting polar ice-caps. If he so chose, Superman could isolate the greenhouse gases destroying the ozone layer and burn them out of the sky.
Every time one of these issues is addressed in his comics, however, it is always a failure. People fight over the food he gives them, governments seize control of the newly developed land. He chides himself for thinking he can save the world all on his own, or someone does it for him. And then he promptly flies off to do just that, save the world by himself...but only from external problems.

The romance of comic books is that of heroes and villains that aren't, that cannot be. There is no super-strong super-naive Captain America in our world (or, now, in the Marvel Universe either). There is no Red Skull, no living Nazis scarred cruelly and bent on world dominations. The world of comics is a place larger than life, and that is certainly why they are so widely read. The writers are passionate about these characters, and take them to the brinks of human morality and experience. They've even begun exploring Superman's morality, his idea of humanity, and you can see the sadness in his eyes, read the despair between the lines.

Superman cannot save the world on his own. But not because he is incapable. If he actually existed, ripped off the page, the grown Boy Scout from Kansas, there is no doubt that these things would be done. The character is written as fair and honest, not willing to give any one person or country more service. He saves the world. If he took one day in each city to clean out all of the drug dealers and seize their product, the drug problem in America would be gone. No one wants to fight Superman.
There would be no further political posturing or truth-massaging: like in his fourth movie (which I applaud for its extension of the character into the real world, if not its writing), Supes would certainly fling all nuclear and biological weapons into the sun. Genocide would be impossible, with the agressors finding their guns twisted into unusable lumps of metal. The character, as written, would understand how difficult his job was to be, but would go through it anyway...because we all have to live in the world together, and should each do our part. Must be that farm-raised conscience of his.

But, in the comics, in the world where such a great man really is assumed to exist, none of this happens. In fact, if there is any story where a superhero takes a larger part in the world it is altered into a dystopia, with power going to their head. Or normal humans chafing under the corrupt rule of their presumed better, super, variety.
Why?

Simply because the comics industry is just that. An industry. Captain America died because that's what was good for the company, not because of any scrap of realism the Marvel Universe was trying to cling to. Superman cannot save the world from its own foolishness because that would not sell comics. No one wants to see Superman and the Flash wave to each other as they do their half-hour a day harvesting crops for the starving countries of Africa, watering the rest. That's not interesting or exciting, and once the task of a newly-fixed world is complete...where from there? Branch out into the Star Trek universe? Continue having supervillains attack in a world where no one is cold or hungry for long, where laws are enforced, and criminals finally prove to be too cowardly and superstitious?

Superman is tragic. His potential is limited, his destiny forever cut off to him. The world will always be in danger; not because he exists, but because his existance justifies greater threats to be created. Not even in his false two-dimensional world can he be everyone's Superman...truth and justice constantly being served just don't do well in market surveys. Even the ancient Greek authors knew that writing, without tragedy, just doesn't do well. So the Man of Tomorrow must remain just that. Unfortunately for him, just as his fellow comic-page alumnus Annie pointed out, it is only, and always, a day away.