I don't think he needs to become an anti-hero. and I would say to Superman fans that the situation is not hopeless, you never know when things could do a 180, this isn't the first time in history that Superman was unpopular. Superman comics were not popular in the 1980s either, he was barely in the top 40.
then in the 1990s Superman became popular and relevant again seemingly overnight. back then they managed to make Supes feel relevant again without completely changing the character, he grew long hair, his costume became a slightly darker shade of blue, that's about it. but the major change was in the kinds of stories he had and the kinds of characters he encountered. so to me the key (as proven in the 90s) is to update his comics but not his character.
another trick they used in the 90s was to imply there was going to be an unprecedented permanent change in the Superman comics, only to have things return to the status quo after less than a year. which they did twice with the Death of Superman and Superman Red/Blue.
so even though it seems like Superman will never make a comeback, you never know, with the right creative direction it could happen, we've seen it before at a time when people were saying Supes is done and then boom! he's the #1 selling comic in the world.
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