I unironically enjoy it to be honest. It's dumb, but it's what a lot of people wanted to see (even if they didn't know they wanted to see it) - Superman going toe to toe with someone he can't beat.
When your character is as black and white as superman, you're going to have a hard time putting him in a moral dilemma like Cap, and when you have a whole Justice League and team of superheroes, it would seem mad that Superman would die saving the planet or whatever. No one would accept that an existing foe could beat him, because that's not how the stories play out. It had to be someone new.
I dunno, love ya Bob and watched all of your Big Pictures, but I reckon your dislike of the 90's is showing through here. It's fun, even if it was published cynically.