The existence of an all-powerful Superman poses a very interesting question regarding power, ethics, and human nature, but the DCEU has been too scared of it to tackle it head-on. DC's Superman has been the face of superheroes since his first appearance in Action Comics #1, 1938, due to his unlimited power and iconic representation of justice and truth. Throughout the decades, his apparent perfection has presented a lot of trouble to creators and fans alike, given that few characters can keep up with him in order to create a conflict that's both logical and dramatic.
Lex Luthor, Superman's archnemesis, has constantly found ways to torment the Man of Steel despite not having superpowers himself. On the other side of the spectrum, the villain Darkseid has given Superman several beatings due to his own tremendous level of power. In the movies, only Lex Luthor has continued to face off against Superman, but the hero still struggles to star in a cinematic adaptation where his omnipotence is truly called into question.
Man of Steel was off to a good start by presenting Clark Kent as a man who struggled to fit in the world but still took the risk to help others because of his selfless heart. After a controversial decision to have Superman murder General Zod during his first large-scale battle, the question of Superman's power as a danger for himself and others was present for the first half of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Unfortunately, Superman was then reduced to a sacrificial lamb with little dramatic depth for the sake of high-octane action. If the DCEU dove deep into the conflict of "a god in a world of cardboard" either by doubling down on his invulnerability or by making him emotionally vulnerable, the popular criticism of Superman's perfection would result in a superhero movie like no other.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice attempted to address this concept from the perspective of Batman, a vigilante who's solely powered by his thirst for justice, but dropped it in order to introduce Doomsday, Wonder Woman, and the entire Justice League. This rush to build a cinematic universe worsened in the theatrical cut of Justice League, which simplified Superman's characterization as either an evil alien or a caped goody-two-shoes. But even without the conflicting visions Justice League had to suffer through, the DCEU has always shied away from various interesting questions each movie has set up. For instance, the plot of the first Wonder Woman movie was headed to the big reveal that humans weren't influenced by Ares, but instead gave way to World War I by themselves. This was changed in order to have a more conventional ending where Wonder Woman simply fights the villain.
On the other hand, the Knightmare sequence in Batman v Superman teased how easy it would be for Superman to turn evil in the right conditions. This is also an oversimplification of his character development, one that has been done to death in comic books, video games, and animation. It's just too easy to imagine a savior figure flipping the switch and turning evil, losing his powers, or simply giving up on saving the world. Shazam!, an inherently sillier movie, clearly defined family as its central theme, and all the action and Shazam's character development pointed in that direction. Superman movies, however, haven't addressed his central themes of power and selflessness directly, despite them being so integral to the character.
The same issues that make Superman a very difficult character to write are what make him a complex icon. The Man of Steel just doesn't fit a simple label like "brooding vigilante," "cynical antihero" or "evil deity." This leads most people to misunderstand him inside and outside his stories, but could also lead to the creation of high-quality, heartfelt movies. The DCEU has clearly struggled to decide what to do with its most valuable figure, but all the elements are there to be brought into play.
