Boss Radio made some great points. Mythology, yes, and I'd extend that to the Jesus story as well. Movies like Star Wars and the Matrix also push the "super hero" button.
I think it does all boil down to Good vs Evil,
especially in the conflicted ones. The battle is played out from top to bottom - Peace vs Anarchy, Crime vs Justice, Justice vs Vengeance, Helping others vs Helping yourself, Guilt vs Redemption...decisions decisions decisions.
Peter Parker didn't stop a criminal because he didn't care, and that criminal killed the only father he'd known. Wrong decision, which he attempts to right forever. In the various Batman incarnations, he always gets to blame himself for his parent's death in some way (though he was only a kid and really wasn't his fault).
It also has to do with Trial by One Person vs Trial by Committee. There's a good reason Batman rises up only in a Gotham that is corrupted, with cops on the take. Bureaucracy vs individual decisions is another choice where we get to weigh pros and cons. There's something very satisfying in a universe where the guy that saw the criminal perform a crime is totally justified to beat the sh!t out of him. But this leads to the whole "won't kill the supervillain, even after countless attempts by the supervillain to kill the good guy." Good vs Evil again - controlling your base instinct and letting true justice prevail. That is, if the villain doesn't kill themselves somehow.
Addendum - I love the idea of doing a Civic Good but without having to join a Committee. Hmmm.
I push this out to One Person (or small band) against The System. Luke and the Rebels vs The Empire. Neo and Zion vs the Matrix. You can't control me, muthafckas.
Good bad good bad good bad....though I'm no comic book person I think that pretty much describes the genre, and every other compelling story ever written.
