From Mark Waid's intro to ALL-STAR SUPERMAN vol. 2:
But the big moment is the perfect line of dialogue. It comes in Chapter Ten, when Superman, without a second's hesitation, takes time from his world-building feats to embrace and comfort a suicidal young girl. When he tells her, "You're much stronger than you think you are," they become the most moving words we have ever read in a Superman story. And they are perfect because they reveal, in one sentence, the fundamental secret of Superman and why we love him so:
Gods achieve their power by encouraging us to believe in them.
Superman achieves his power by believing in us.
Now me, I dislike Morrison. Half the time, he leaves me absolutely cold. That scene from DOOM PATROL that someone just posted as a perfect example of that book's brilliance? Did absolutely nothing for me. However it resonated with others fell upon me with deaf ears, much to my loss I'm sure.
That said, I adore ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, and loved everything about it when it came out, even this scene. But I never realized just how deep, how powerful, how PERFECT it truly was until Waid explained it that way.
I was actually going to post this very page and Waid's reaction, so thank you for doing half the job for me!