SilverWook said:

Superman, at least on tv and film has always been an optimistic positive view of the world. In other words, it's not Batman. Sure, you might get mugged in Metropolis, but odds are you're more likely to get mugged in Gotham in broad daylight.

You would have said the same about Batman prior to the 1989 Burton film. I remember my parents trying to decide if they should take me and my sister to see it or not, and people telling them that it was really dark and violent for Batman (at this point the Adam West serial was still playing reruns on ABC and was what everyone thought of when they thought of Batman). Eventually they decided to take us to see it, then were surprised to find out it was a lot darker and a lot more violent than they expected it to be even after being warned.

I am sure nobody made that mistake with Batman Begins, because since then it has been well established through the 90's via the Warner Bros. cartoon series and the Burton/Schumacher films that Batman is kind of dark and violent. Prior to that, outside of the comics, Batman was as fun, positive, and squeaky clean as Superman had always been.

The Superman on TV and film that you talk about having an optimistic and positive view of the world are products of the 1940's through the 1970's, including the old serials and movies, cartoons, and the Christopher Reeve's films. Even Superman III and IV, made in the 80's, are a little bit darker and more violent (and yet also more campy).