This idea spawned from the Earth One thread below it.
Since we all have some opinion formed on different depictions of Superman's genesis in the last few years, I thought it would be interesting to see what origin and take in a young Superman you prefer and what strengths and weaknesses you see in the other versions. How an author or creative team approaches Superman's beginning arguably defines how they view the character overall throughout their writing. I hope for this to be more calm and analytical than just tying to find what you believe is the best origin, but we'll see.
We've got Grant Morrison's New 52 version, the Byrne origin from the 80's, the Waid-created Birthright, Geoff Johns's Secret Origin, Earth One's take by JMS, the Donner origin, and Man Of Steel's as written by Goyer.
Now, I prefer the Man Of Steel's version of his origin a bit more than the others, in no small part because it feels like a perfected version of the Byrne origin, and because I like the very human interpretation of Clark. I'm a Post-Crisis guy, born 1990. So I applauded the decision to have most of the story blur the lines between Clark and Superman, something Earth One did as well. It gives us a more sincere character arc for Supes and allows us to focus on what makes him heroic. I also appreciate his altruistic nature and the endearing nature of the portrayal. But the clincher for me is the way that he chooses to step into the outside world while still helping people surreptitiously anyhow.
And around it, I love making Lois a major figure before the main conflict kicks in and emphasizing her investigative reporter abilities. This is the first Lois who's skills are in the forefront over everything else. It grafts her into the story in a nice way and side-steps all sorts of unfortunate developments that sometimes follow the classic triangle. I also approve of the battle sequences; I believe emphasizing the raw power of Superman and his people in comparison to humanity was important to highlight just how much of a change his existence brings about. I also do approve of the Zod fight itself. I believe Superman fought about as well as any version of himself could have to subdue the damage being dished out by the suicidal and destructive Zod (most of which was accomplished while Supes was a world away) and I even like the way the handled the death of Zod. Making it a messier ending has all sorts of nice implications for the character and it fit both characters at that point, as well as the precedent set by other Supermen: sometimes the villain is too powerful to subdue and Superman will have to make a tough choice.
Now, I do see significant areas where other origins handled the story better. Pa Kent dying of a heart attack is much better than the obviously-not-researched tornado scene from MOS, and adds an emotional element for the Donner version that is hard to beat. I also do appreciate the introspective nature from Earth One; I just think MoS handled it better. And I kind of love the social crusader aspect from Grant Morrison's version, I just wish there was a clear answer on how to tackle that issue as Superman matures.
So, what's your preferred origin and what strengths and weaknesses do you see?