Because Star Trek originally was about a utopian ideal of humanity overcoming its worst traits and they created a great villain in Khan who was a perfect physical and mental specimen who believed himself superior to all other humans. It shows that the human ideal isn't a Nazi eugenics ideal of perfect people, but common people coming together and being as civilized as they can.
He's also a great foil for Kirk who constantly taunts and out strategizes him. People loved Wrath of Khan and generally consider it to be the best Star trek movie and they thought it would be a lot of fun to see how Abrams would update him for the reboot. Also, he's a fun character, especially the way Ricardo Montalban played him.
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