@Heretic I should state that I don't view Superman as a boy scout. I view him as a very real character, as alive as you or me, who was adopted and (like most adoptees) has angst over not knowing his biological roots while at the same time fearing his adoptive ones. If you say that he shows more angst than before, well chalk that up to more people being aware of an adoptee's struggles in our current times than any other time in the past. In the past we were seen as all happy about it with no desire to search and no identity crises because of it. But, just because it wasn't seen doesn't mean it wasn't there - people just know about it in the modern times more because we've been more vocal about it. Thus, you see the transition from the comics to the 70s TV series to Lois & Clark to Smallville to here all dealing with it but coming closer and closer to the angst and questioning involved. You can see the shift in perception as you follow how Superman is presented throughout the ages. And 'Man of Steel' got it perfect (and so did Smallville, for that matter). And yes, quite contrary even with that fear of losing our adoptive roots some of us make the mistake of saying, "you're not even my real Dad." I've made that mistake as well, so have many other adoptees. Superman: For All Seasons, Superman: Birth Right, and yes Smallville have all come the closest to who Superman accurately would be.
Clark Kent did what any of us would do if placed in his situation of being from another world.
And he was a hero. He saw a bus go into the water and his first instinct was to rescue the people inside including Pete who was kind of a real jerk to him (how many of you would go back for Pete?). He was shoved to the ground and while he could have taken those bullies on, he had the strength to hold himself back and be the better man. When he saw the girl at the bar being man handled, his first instinct was to save her. When he saw Lois was in trouble, he risked exposing himself and leaving his biological father not knowing what would happen next to save her life. He was questioning if the military should take him in, but out of a moral quandary of seeing Zod doing something terrible to Earth when/if he did. He could not take a life even the life of basically a terrorist and when he did, he was devastated by it. He was the ONLY hero to show a reaction to this, many villains in action movies die - he's the only hero that was hurt by it. All of his actions were motivated due to his wanting to help his fellow man. To me, that's what Superman is all about. That and being the inspiration to adoptees that despite our troubles and angst and hardships, we will and can rise above being an outsider in a very isolating world.
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