This is not a hot take, this is a truth take.
The Donner Superman is a completely different character than pop culture's idealised idea of Donner's Superman. He fails pretty much the very litmus test his "fans" use to judge other Supermen to hold him up as a standard of portrayal

He grew up with no drive or impetus to help anyone, he lives in a world where his surrogate father allows him to exploit his abilities for self gratification or to make others look stupid. Why? Bc they were initially afraid ppl would fear him but then realised no one would care.

Yes, his Jon (like comic & DCEU!Jon) also expressed a fear that the world would hate him but is not shown turning that fear into a warning to hide himself, only not to score touchdowns with his gifts. So the fact he admits to having this fear at all went over ppl's head.

His role as Superman is not his choice. Jor-El takes him away for 12yrs to educate & train him in everything but how to genuinely care about helping ppl. By the time he's returned, he's a man 12yrs out of loop. And just like Jon said, no one cared he was an alien or has powers.

As Supes, he renders only the bare minimum help to anyone. The night he saved Lois, her pilot was unconscious, he doesn't check on him, just smiles at Lois, a stark contrast to how fans frame his behaviour in order to put down another Supes who does more than bare minimum.

Contrary to pop culture claims that he's a smiling Superman, he wasn't. Everytime he smiles, he's in the presence of Lois Lane. The exception has been the kid who's cat was in a tree. The same goes for the sequel too. Outside of children & Lois, he carries a stoic expression.

Catching robbers, saving air force one, saving the day in the third act, all were done with a stoic expression until its saving Lois, then suddenly he's beaming from ear to ear. But ppl would like you to believe another Superman is done wrong for having a stoic expression too.

Conversationally, he's a man of few words too. His longest words have unsurprisingly being to Lois and Lex. He's explained himself to the first cop he ever handed a criminal to and a warden for...reasons (screw the judicial system) but beyond this, he doesn't converse with ppl.

In comparison, pop culture frames him differently as this father figure who shakes your hand, asks you how life is & sticks around after a save to ensure your feelings are ok. This is a myth and a shit one at that. At best he asks ppl to stand back while he drills into the street

He doesn't even like being Superman. He does it bc Jor-El controls his life decisions. He says as much when he pointedly states he doesn't want this responsibility anymore & "will there ever come a time when I've done enough?" In a world that glorifies, not reviles him, he QUITS.

But pop culture not only overlooks this, it praises him ultimately being bullied back into the role. Not learning that he does want to be Superman but being punished for wanting a choice to be loved instead of being superman. It instead pretends this 'choice' never even happened.

For a Superman held up as down to earth, he isn't. The film and it's Jor-El hammer it home that he's superior to humanity bc he's not human and must take pride in that genetic heritage, thus not mingle with humans in any true sense or acknowledge them outside of his "Kent" act.

This is why loving Lois is framed as selfish bc its choosing a love of humanity over Krypton and its like being a human, therefore he's not allowed to also be SUPERman. He's given a mandate to choose one & he chooses Lois who represents "humanity", therefore he can't be SUPER too

This would be all well and good if this was where the film ended on the matter, if not for the aforementioned "punishment" the film doles out on him for his one choice, forcing him to crawl back for his powers & it all being framed like some "test" of the prodigal son for daring-

--to cast a vote in how he lives his life, rather than kowtow to another of his overbearing father's demands. Pop culture refuses to acknowledge how above humanity this places him and instead frames him as the opposite. It's not that he's as perfect as they say, but it's ignored.

For all his praise as the standard, he has no noticeable impact on his world. He's just the guy everyone likes. He's not changing anyone or the world itself bc the ppl of that world are cartoons with no real input into anything. They exist to gawk, cheer him or scream for help.

They're so insignificant and the world so hollow, they walk right into rubble and then go, "Superman, help me" or walk right underneath a collapsing structure, stay there & then scream for help. No sense of danger or self preservation. They even rejoice at Superman getting beat.

And when in a follow up film, the guy who's been browbeat into placing his pride as a Kryptonian above any allegiance to them, ups and disappears for 5yrs on them, they chant like morons immediately he returns. No negativity, no resentment, nothing. A cartoon populace.

So we have a Superman who doesn't like being Superman, quits twice on ppl that love him relentlessly for personal interest (human love & Krypton love), is a stoic man of few words & is completely Lois centric in expression of positive emotions. This is the real Donner Superman.

But pop culture erases all this to say he not only likes but "enjoys" being Superman, never quits, is personable & chatty with ppl bc he talked to one kid one time, is a relentlessly smiling ray of sunshine & never puts his own interest before anyone. A complete revision of fact.

Instead, pop culture wants you to hate a Superman who actually wants to & keeps being Superman in a world of dicks who don't appreciate him. A Superman who only ever quitted to protect ppl from suffering negative consequences of his existence. Who chose humanity over his own ppl.

Who handed himself over to a villain to protect them, who killed to save them & put their needs before his & his family's happiness everytime, simply bc he's a stoic man of few words, who isn't staying behind to make small talk or smiling from ear to ear which 78 didn't either.

Contrary to what anyone thinks, I don't hate the Donner Superman but I loathe pop culture's historical revisionist take on it for creating an erroneous, sterile perception of the character as a weapon to undermine any attempts to update him. The real '78 Superman isn't like that.