One reason I really hate the “superhero comics are our modern myths!” line is that there are superhero comics that actually do an incredibly good job of exploring myths and folktales—The Sandman, Hellboy—and those are never the books people are talking about. It’s always some Superman thing.
I don't even tell anyone that I'm reading The Sandman anymore cuz everyone just assumes I'm talking about that guy from Spider-man.
Myths aren’t owned by Disney.
There was a quote, can’t remember if it was Moore or Ellis—they were saying superheroes get remixed to suit each new era, exactly like what happens with myths/legends like King Arthur and Robin Hood. People took it to be “These are the foundational stories of modern culture”.
For those of us growing up in the 60s, they were gateway drugs to good science fiction.
What's wrong with Superman?
But stories that explore myths are not myths themselves. Myths are stories told so often that their rough edges are worn away. So yes, the Last! Son! Of Krypton! is mythic: the desperate parents who hoped a baby would live; the quiet couple whose child was a hero; the boy who adopted his planet.
That’s because myths help empower people, understand their own fears. Superhero comics support a victim consciousness where someone else will come and rescue you.
House of X would like a word
The sheer amount of religious and mythological sources Mignola draws from in Hellboy in Hell alone is really impressive!