Would all the nice characters please raise your hand?

This article on Newsarama, got me going about something I've been thinking about for a long time: what's happening with all the nice superheroes?

Quite a few people seem to be unhappy with Judd Winick's characterization of Ice (Tora.)  Back during the JLI years, she was sweet and mild, and in the current series Justice League: Generation Lost, she seems to have lost all that.  And, as you can see, straight from the horses's mouth, she seems to have deliberately lost all that as a result of DC's editor, or Judd Winick, or both:

Ice is not to be messed with. For real.

If you’ve been reading JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST, you know the character’s been going through her share of soul-searching. But how does one character go from pensive, shy flower to elemental badass?

Which begs the question: what's wrong with nice characters?  Ice used to be sweet, nice, and shy, and JLI fans liked her despite that (or because of that.)  Though she wears a unitard, she wears a cute little cut off sweatshirt that not only is reminiscent of 80's fashion, but shows she's modest.  I remember the exchange she had with her best bud Beatriz (Fire) about her outfit, which highlighted the differences in their respective personalities.  Despite their differences, they were best friends.  Not to mention the fact that Guy Gardner, perennial (if lovable) jerk, fell for total nice girl Tora, proving that opposites attract and that somewhere deep down, Guy Gardner does have a heart.

We can be different, and we can be best friends.  How awesome is that?

So why the need for editors and writers to make sweet characters into "badasses?"  Are they more believable?  Do they suddenly become cool if they swear a lot and beat bad guys to a bloody pulp?  Do comic writers have something against nice people?  Is this some kind of "ideal" they are writing towards and can't break out of, rather than trying harder and showing a more diverse view of people?  Is it to target a certain demographic?

And not just nice girls seem to be disappearing, but nice guys, too.  Not everyone has to be a badass, male or female.  Not everyone needs to be nice and sweet, either: in fact, seeing two different personalities like Fire and Ice interact was a lot of fun.  Is it too much to ask for a little variety in our characters besides "standard ass-kicking hero personality?"

Try harder, DC.