Airboy #2 isn't at all as bad as the reviews make it sound. Robinson's character uses the t-word, which as the reviews admit is still a common word today and something a jerk like him would realistically say. And Airboy's reaction to something he doesn't understand is also realistically portrayed. But Robinson's character also explains to Airboy that the pre-op transwoman he had sex with was not a man.
There's a tendency in today's reviewing to assume that if a character says a bad thing then we must never read that character again. But that's a very anti-art, anti-nuance attitude. The reviews are basically saying "this made me uncomforable and complicated my reaction to the characters, so it's bad." It's a very Comics Code attitude that elevates only the stories that have uncomplicated, safe messages (war is wrong, sexism is bad).
Besides, not using a word that a jerky character would realistically say just softens the character. It's like not using the n-word in the film of Gone With the Wind didn't make the story less racist, it just softened the characters by not portraying their racism accurately.