As a Certified Geek™, it’s great to have Superman back in the spotlight again.

Don’t get me wrong, Supes isn’t my usual hero of choice. As some of you may remember from previous columns, I’m an amazing Spider-Fan. The wisecracking wall-crawler hits my perfect sweet spot for what a hero should be: a light-hearted neighborhood guy who keeps going even when he’s in over his head … and the fact that I too was an awkward teenager with some hidden qualities under my “mask” didn’t hurt, of course.

But Mr. Truth, Justice and the American Way has a place in my heart, too. (An idealistic newspaper guy who saves the day: what’s not to like?) And when he recently flew into box office leadership — and into a zillion internet debates about everyone’s preferred version of the Man of Steel — I had to smile a little.

You see, I’m also a little geeky when it comes to storytelling. And for this story, it felt like DC Comics finally started listening to something that I’ve been saying for a while.

Namely, that tone matters. Especially when it comes to comic-book heroes. Double-especially when it comes to the Last Son of Krypton.

Every hero brings a different kind of story to the table. The dark warzone of The Punisher sets up different expectations than the family bickering and multiversal weirdness of The Fantastic Four. This is something that Marvel did especially well when its own movie universe first launched. Iron Man got the chance to be brilliant, arrogant and with personal flaws to battle alongside supervillains. Captain America got to start off in an earnest, two-fisted World War II picture.

But somewhere along the line, its rivals at DC missed the memo.

They saw the box office success of a grim-and-gritty Batman. And from that, they apparently concluded that all superhero films needed to be grim and gritty. That works great for some tales but not for others. And it’s an especially awkward fit for Superman.

Superman has been a lot of things since his debut in 1938. But a certain primary-color idealism has often been at the foundation.

He’s an arrival from elsewhere who wants to make his adopted home the best place it can be. Not an intimidating avenger in the shadows like Batman, but a beacon of hope that wants to both protect and inspire. Someone who can unironically introduce himself as “a friend” and make you believe it.

So when hope, compassion and the kind-hearted way became openly part of the new storyline — well, that got my attention faster than a speeding bullet.

I hope others notice. And not just because we need more hope and compassion in the world (though heaven knows it wouldn’t hurt). It’s a lesson in how to listen.

Every person in this world has a story of their own, even if it doesn’t involve radioactive spiders or rocket ships from exploding planets. But too many times, we don’t try to read it. We start with our personal tale and assume everyone else’s is just like it, or close enough. We see the world through our own assumptions and lessons, filtering out anything that doesn’t fit.

And when our expectations mismatch reality, the consequences can be a lot worse than an uneven movie. For us and our neighbors.

Take it from Clark Kent: Part of being a hero is knowing when to take off the glasses. Our experience is valuable — but so is setting aside our preconceptions and allowing ourselves to learn from others and grow. It doesn’t take X-ray vision or super-hearing … just attention and a willingness to care.

If you can do that — well, that’s pretty darned super.

Smallville would be proud.