YMMV / Only Superhuman

• Iron Woobie: Richard Shannon is compassionate and dedicated to helping others to the point that he left Vanguard to help rebuild Strider community after Belt War. This led to an estrangement with his mother as he felt sided with Thorne over him, had been more committed to her genetic research than to her own firstborn son. Especially she never attempted to contact him. He became a paramedic, rescue worker. When his wife Lyra he was brought out of his depression by the realization that he needed to be there for his daughter. Who responded by blaming him for her mother’s death and violently opposing any attempt at reconciliation, before ultimately disowning him when he tried t use a go between. Despite this Richard never stopped trying to help people ultimately dying in the line of duty.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic:
  • Emerald “Emry” Blair is presented as a Broken Bird, but all her pain in self inflicted. She spent several years as a juvenile delinquent and mod-gang member called Banshee. This was a rebellion against her father, who was once a member of the Vanguard habitat-nation. However while the other members were legitimate victims of Abusive Parents she ran away because she blamed her father for her mother’s death. While they just wanted some place to belong. Her recklessness Serial Escalation not only nearly led to two of her friends death but the death of an innocent person. Since it was entirely her fault her My God, What Have I Done? didn’t hold much water.
  • She also comes across as a Karma Houdini as she got Off on a Technicality and was Easily Forgiven by her victim. What truly makes her this is that even after she nearly killed someone she still hated her father going so far as to disowned him. When he tried to reach out to her after this. Her response to this is to become angrier and blame him for not being there for her when he was forced to keep tabs on her because she violently refused to stay with him.
  • She never even bothered to find out who actually killed her mother. Specifically invoking her mother’s memory for why she didn’t do it. Stating that she didn’t want to make her an excuse for hurting someone (even though she did) but had no problem making her an excuse for hating her father. It took seven years and finding out he was dead to forgive him
  • It’s also telling that she didn’t blame Arkady the Troubleshooters that was present during her mother’s death. He even vouched for her to become a troubleshooter. While her becoming a troubleshooter could be seen as was atonement. She completely misses the point. Her obsession with modifying her body came across as another way to spite him then guilt over her actions. As it was more for her mother and the fact that she couldn’t save her friends then guilt over how she treated her father
  • Rachel is this as well since despite engineering the abilities she didn’t notice the Big Bad and his daughter using them