"Sensible magic" is human-dependant and is subject to change with our perception of the applied sciences in our lives.

Superman can fly? humans can also fly with the right tools.

Superman can hear things from miles away? humans can also hear things from miles away.

Superman can set matter ablaze by eminating x-rays from his eye blobs? at some point we might all have our own little x-ray gadget.

I find your point about fiction not often explaining the mechanics involved in its plot to be mostly valid, however -- and linking it back to our reality -- when new technology arrives to the end consumers it is very seldom described minutely and would tend to go as far as to say "It uses X technology" and be done with it.

There is disconnection between the processes of technology advancements and the crowd, with probably the patent industry to be blamed for it.

Can we describe some sort of immensely-powerful reality warping that would still make sense to us who don't live in the fictional world?

We probably could, but the extent of how interesting it would end up be is also a crucial selling point in books and films. I only know about a handful of documentary films that have been able to capture my attention with their description of the workings of reality impacting, so-called "magical" innovations (again, related to our time in the history and the way we define magic).

Revolution OS, Linux/Software history documentary film

Into the Future 01 - Transport, describes battery and electric charging ideas

Just off the top of my head. And though I present a small data point of published media describing technology, I find myself able to logically extrapolate the (low) popularity of these as opposed to some other, non-descriptive films showcasing magic without presenting the mechanics behind it or why it should logically work (Many cartoons in popular media, and big-budget movies in the cinema).