I love, love, loooooove Superman. I'm not surprised by the general dislike of him, though, haha. He is relatively dull and generic to many of the superheroes who have the spotlight today. In fact, in addition to what's already been said, Captain American is another favorite of mine who's similar in a lot of ways, but just done better. And, to be honest, my love for Superman is more of a nostalgia thing for me since my father really liked the superhero. 

As for my answer, I'm not even sure how I would go about the actual story itself, but ever since getting into anthropology, I've headcanoned Superman as dark skinned. I mean, he's all about the sun and using the sun's energy and, evolutionary speaking, dark skin is a result of a really sunny environment. Plus I like the contrast it adds to the pale, brooding, under-the-moon superhero Batman. 

I do know that anything I would write about him would emphasize his struggles to accept himself as Kryptonian / not human. I'm more interested in what's going on in a character's head than how many bad guys he's beating up.

Edit: Also, reading through, I disagree also that he's supposed to be a symbol of what humanity should be. To me, Superman has always been representative of those who struggle to find their place in the world. He's aware early on that he's a freak of nature and it actually affects how well he can use his superhuman powers. It isn't until he grows and learns to accept himself as a Kryptonian (an outsider on earth, not human) that he reaches his peak strength. 

The whole point of Superman (in my opinion) has always been to show that you should embrace who you really are because that's what can make you great. 

As mentioned, he doesn't have a metaphorical (nor literal) grenade to jump on like Steve Rogers did. That's because his story isn't about [i]earning[/i] your super powers or strength or anything. It's about [i]accepting[/i] it, even if it makes you stand out.