@lvenger:
Because the way he is now is simply infuriating.
In the past Superman dealt with his stuff, New 52 made him much more dependable on other characters, mainly Batman. In Unchained everything that he asked Bruce to do, he could have done so himself, or at least pre-flashpoint Superman would have. But this version feels in some ways so off. He doesn't fully understands how his powers work, but he never goes around to actually train himself to learn their limits and the full extent in how he could use them. Both Wraith and H'el have shown that he's much less powerful and intelligent than he should be. Even Luthor has joked about the fact that Superman seems to always be a step behind him. Which should be impossible given not only he's powers but the sheer raw power of his intellect that he has shown in the past.
And I'm not saying to make him unbeatable, I'm saying make him less vulnerable to the things he's already too vulnerable. Even H'el that also was a kriptonian and had power that far surpassed that of Superman got injured with kriptonite, the main difference being that that kind of injury would have killed any other kriptonian, for him it was much less severe.
We see this with other heroes and villains all the time. They surpass their limits, find new ways to improve themselves. Only Superman seems to be locked in a sort of limbo, where even writers don't know what to do with him. So much so that they're already gonna change both his costume and his powers. And seeing that isn't happening to any other character in DC we can see how far off the train has derailed.
So:
1. Having some sort of psychic powers would actually make sense seeing that all versions of Kon-El have psychic powers and they do come in handy when you're facing other psychics and even magic. Even the Psycho Pirate went after Superman because and I quote "You have the most powerful mind on Earth. Filled with psionic energy, shining like a star. To bad you don't know how to use it". When I read stuff like this I'm like "WTF!" and I'm right to say that. Because not only what that villain said made sense but to have it said out loud that Superman has those powers but he doesn't know that he has them is kind of an insult to the character itself.
2. No. Superman might have and I believe he has the potential but like I stated on the previous point, he doesn't know how to use his mind has well has he should. If he had a 12th level mind then he would have known about Lois being controled by Brainiac, he never would have let Hector Hammond hide in his mind, he would have been able to face the psychic war arc without having to depend on Lois for help. He might have been able to stop Brainiac without having to go has far has to give in into the doomsday virus that was taking over his mind. If anything Superman is way far from a 12th level mind at this point.
3. True! But this version of Superman is the closest we've seen him reaching power levels and abilities since the silver age. It has been shown throughout the New 52 that he has more powers than in previous versions. He doesn't just have heat vision, he can emit energy throughout the entire EM spectrum. He has been showned in more than one ocasion to be able to move faster than light, although of course he only does so in space, which makes perfect sense (he doesn't have the speed force to create an anti-inercia field like the Flash has). And also previous versions had in one way or another, a way for him to know more about himself. Either by the use of Jor-El AI or by kriptonian knowledge that was inserted either into the ship or with crytal tech that was sent with him.
4. What detracts people from Superman comics aren't his powers and vulnerabilities, but what is writen about him. His adventures, enemies and challenges. People (the fans) are a little tired of seeing that with each reboot very little changes about Superman himself, or to be more precise, the way he lives both his Superman and Clark Kent lives. What he see now, is basicaly what we've been seeing for years now. And of course that detracts a lot of people. If you'd do a survey about what Superman fans like, deslike and would change in all aspects of the character life, you might find yourself surprised by some of the answers.
And yeah! I know about Martian Manhunter. Another great DC character treated like shit over the past years. And again it wasn't his powers and the abilitie to surpass (to some point) his vulnerability that made fans lose interest. It was the lameass story writing and lack of creating a world were fans could connect with the character. They made Martian Manhunter such an outcast that people started losing interest.
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