Earth is currently being visited by a space tyrant who makes Thanos look like a chump, because he is in fact the original Thanos. Understandably, Superman offers him a less-than-warm welcome.
The Speech:
"I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard, always taking constant care not to break something, to break someone. Never allowing myself to lose control even for a moment, or someone could die. But you can take it, can't you, big man? What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose and show you just how powerful I really am."
Above is evidence that you can do scenes with Superman punching villains through buildings, and the fans will accept it if the dialogue is good enough (like, compare this Superman to Man Of Steel Superman). The implication here is that Superman lives in a constant "dad tiptoeing around the house at night so the kids don't wake up" state, because he's afraid of hurting people -- bad guys included. Depicting Superman as a very cautious bull in a china shop adds another layer of complexity to the character, and let's be honest, it's just cool to watch Superman manhandle villains while dropping one-liners.
DC Comics