and y'know how all of this could have been avoided? (well, aside from not including the kid in the first place )
Establish a better context:
For example, Superman reads the story about Krypton being discovered, possible signs of life, and a very narrow window of opportunity to get there ( i think afan mentioned that point ). Of course, the signs of life and other technical details were fabricated by Lex and Stanford.
So, Superman calculates that, with his Kryptonian spacecraft, he could make the trip in a few months ( meaning....Superman HAD NO INTENTION OF BEING GONE THAT LONG ).
Superman also tells his loved ones of his departure ( his mom and Lois ). With Lois, Superman tells her of the discovery....and the possibilities of finding others like him, including his real parents...and also explains the urgency of leaving right away. However, Superman tells Lois he loves her, that he will try to return as soon as possible, and asks her to "wait" for him.
So, Superman makes the trip and, to his dismay, finds the place is a graveyard. Supes tries to hurry back home, but is severly delayed by obstacles beyond his control ( severely weakened by Kryptonite poisoning, ship damaged by asteroids, kidnapped by Mongul / Darkseid / Braniac, etc.... ). The point being that, Superman planned for a much shorter trip, but he ended up severely delayed / lost in space for 5+ years.....
It would be kind of like Homer's The Odyssey, where the hero is trying to return home to his loved ones, but is severely delayed by obstacles, challenges, and other circumstances beyond his control.
So, Supes endured alot of hardship to get back to Earth and he literally crashes back on the farm. From there, we'd have pretty much the same situation in SR. The only difference would be that Lois would be angry, not because Supes didn't tell her ( he did ), but because she waited....and waited....and waited......and he never returned. So, she moved on with Richard ( a good man )............
the point is, they could have easily worked out a better scenario/context where Superman DOES NOT come across as being totally irresponsible.
that's why I feel.....while Singer and co. may have had some great ideas on paper and in their minds.........it just didn't TRANSLATE well on screen........
maybe we'll get a Director's cut or Extended version where they round out the context more........SR: The Singer Cut..