The point of the Stephen King piece was to illustrate that several pieces are necessary for the whole of the story to be formed. Your basic argument this entire time has been that the information such as Medico's partner Caleb, and Parse's Aspbergers were unnecessary to the story of the multiverse. Again, Parse's Asperbergers demonstrates how she sees the world and how that perception of her world influences her powers. Medico's relationship shows that he is a family man raising a daughter in a healty monogomous relationship. These are details that enrich the characters and make them seem more like real people.
I don't feel that this information detracts from the characters in any given way. You used Tachyon as an earlier example of showing information the right way, but when the Freedom Four issue came out, there were people on Board Game Geek saying the same thing about Tachyon and Dana's relationship that you are saying about Medico and Caleb.
The point of the Stephen King quote is that a story which emphasizes only the points that are strictly important to the plot can come off as boring and without a lot of life. I think the positive support these characters have gotten for inclusion proves that they do reach and effect the audience in a way that's positive.
As I have previously mentioned, if The Sentinels backstory was written with just saying "Medico adopted her" there would be threads asking if he was doing it alone, did he have a spouse of some sort, or since Mainstay is the most obviously closes to them, that perhaps there was something going on there. After all, when Tachyon was revealed as a lesbian, people started saying that her lover was Unity. Was it desperately needed? Not really, but I find that it is nice to learn about the personal life of other heroes.
Medico being gay makes him more interesting as a character. I immediately wondered how that had affected his relationship with Mainstay, when did he come out, and how did Mainstay respond initially? It also tells us that Mainstay is accepting of Medico's sexuality at least now since they're still good friends. It tells us that Medico and Caleb as gay males probably had to fight pretty hard to even be allowed to adopt the Idealist and that they likely face continual prejudice on a day-to-day basis - there are many people out there who, while they claim not to have a problem with non-straight couples, insist that children should be brought up only in a traditional one-mum-one-dad family unit. This means that their family relationship is likely very strong in order to have even considered going though the adoption process, and also as a result of the struggles I assume they've had.
This of course impacts the Idealist too - she's much less likely to be pressured into conforming to particular societal expectations, especially gender-based ones. She'll also face prejudice.
If Medico was straight, none of these issues are there. And I believe his sexuality is important enough to be mentioned in his bio since it talks about the adoption, and the gender of his partner is absolutely relevant to that.
As for Parse, sure, the Aspbergers mention feels a little clumsy. But it works within the context of a being-able-to-spot-patterns-that-most-people-can't type character - it's clearly referencing the real-world phenomenon of "savant syndrome" (previously known as idiot savant or autistic savant) in which a person (usually on the autistic spectrum or with severe mental disability) hyper-fixates on a particular narrow area of expertise and subsequently develops an ability in excess of what would be considered "normal". It's a decent reason why Parse has natural "superhuman powers" even before Omniton affected her.
And looking beyond the game here, however bad or good the writing, I for one am extremely happy to see the inclusion of heroes/villains who aren't straight white American males, a group which is traditionally extremely over-represented in the genre. As a non-American not-entirely-straight female with a disability myself, it's refreshing to find a game that essentially gives the message that regardless of gender/colour/sexuality/nationality/age or even species, or even biology, all these people are worthy of being proper characters.
No. There is a difference between sharing opposing opinions and sharing opinions which are framed as being intolerant and biggoted. Why is there no discussion about how KNYFE being Scottish is not relevant to her powers or her as a superhero? That could have been easily shown and not told right? Soooo hamfisted! Who cares that Setback used to work at a casino, or that Argent was a bartender? How utterly tasteless! How about Ryan Frosts new high rise appartment? Unity didnt like going to class, how tasteless to mention!
No. Of course theres no issues there. But know what is an issue apparently? Being gay and having a mental disability. Thats what is being talked about as "innapropriate" and "classless". And you want me to respect that? In a public forum no less? I quite frankly resent that notion.
@Envisioner and Melon: The defenses of yourselves are crap. You honestly believe yourselves? I think you do. Homework for you both. Go read up on the concepts of "Cognitive Dissonance", "Self Reflection" and "Apathy" and get back to us.
You both are missing the forest for the damn tree bark.
That strikes me as at least somewhat logical. What are two fathers supposed to tell a little girl when she hits puberty and needs to know what's happening with her body? There are very legitimate reasons to think that some family dynamics are just not necessarily adequate to the need.
Alrighty, folks. Enough is enough. Feel free to discuss the characters and such elsewhere, but this is unproductive and negative and I'm not willing to watch it get any worse. It's already gone much too far.