I'd say it was just as much Donner's Superman flying with an american flag to the white house and apologizing to the president that he 'let him down' in Superman II... .or the intro to George Reeves' series showing Superman standing stoically with the flag waving in the background that cemented him as an agent of America.
DKR shouldn't be taken seriously. I often wonder how many people who idolize that portrayal of Superman have ever actually READ that book. Batman punching and kicking superman while Clark is asking him to cut it out because he can see Bruce is dying is hardly making Batman 'awesome'. Superman could have won at any time, and Batman knew it. He hurt him. He stunned him... but he never actually beat him... and it was done by a Superman who still had compassion for the guy trying to fight him.
For my part, I really enjoyed DKR book 1&2. Bruce coming out of retirement and facing down two-face and the cops while trying to cope with being old... was really awesome. Books 3&4 were just garbage. I hated everything in them. Ruined Batman's personality. didn't make any sense. just character assassination all around. I never read a book with that drastic of a swing in it.
Awesome find. i remember having this story on a record way back when i was just a young-un and could never find a copy of this page. For a while i was thinking i imagined it. Personally, this has always been my preferred origin. Dead parents, a conscious decison to be 'Superman' before he met Lois. The S literally MEANING 'Superman' from the beginning.
I also have no issue with him fighing 'in cooperation with the law'. One of the biggest issues facing a vigilante... is how to keep the law from attacking you. It's annoying and a distraction. There are so many crimes going unpunished because the government is afraid of you... and Superman wouldn't want that. Make sure everyone knows right from the start that A) You're all on the same side... and B) You're not a God come to rule the world... you're just a guy who can do things above and beyond mortal men... but not in an 'overthrow the governement kind of way.
Works for me