The farmer backstory in theory could be good but has thus far just actively hurt Superman as a character. It seems to be trying to basically eat into the character and turn him away from being a Superhero and towards being a farmer who just happens to have powers. A more nuanced portrayal could intelligently work his rural background as a part of a more multifaceted whole but the modern writers just cant seem to do that. Instead we keep getting farmboy at heart who at the end of the day just can't compete with a guy who's Superman at heart. The modern writers seem obsessed with getting Supes back on that farm and keeping him there. Tomasi/Jurgens tried it and they're doing it again with the upcoming tv show.


The farmer backstory has thus far been like if they brought back Bruce's parents but also tried to explain how he became Batman anyways.