Very well put. Even as a ten-year-old, I used to think the heroes' over-the-top attitudes (such as Ollie and Hal's arguments, or worse, Ollie and Bats when Ollie dragged Bruce in wild Mickey Mouse quests) were exaggerated and immature.
I read this one when I was twelve and saw no subtext... but even then, the weird penis aliens disturbed me deeply (and damn, they still do, a bit) as I recognized them for what they obviously were. The story made sense, it was moving, but... still... brrr! This has always been one of my favorite comics, since I grew up knowing Clark and Bruce as a particularly strong friendship in comics (I saw it as on a par with Cage and Iron Fist, or Hal and ollie, back then)... but I rarely dared to read the second half of the story!