Happy Disability Pride!
My thoughts below the cut and honorable mentions!
My thoughts on every disabled character's portrayal:
Okay, starting right off the bat, I need to warn you that this series treats "sociopath" and "psychopath" as both insults and synonyms. This series started in the early 2000’s and hasn’t seemed to age since
Wolf (Disability: Psychosis)
Psychotic fans, you're getting stereotyped to hell, I'm so sorry 😭 Wolf's story is that he was once a sane law-abiding citizen who had a psychotic break after his company went bankrupt and he started killing people and robbing banks. 🤦 Everyone really likes to put emphasis on the fact Wolf is a violent, unstable individual. That psychotic break made his personality do a 180 and he's (permanently?) turned into a reckless and sadistic soldier. He's also mildly infantilized at times? Wolf isn’t stupid, he just likes to be out of line. He is also paranoid and imagines people are after him, it’s implied he has hallucinations.
But as a character, I really adore Wolf; he's aligns with the 'serial killer who's also happy-go-lucky' trope which I find fun. I love his dynamic with the rest of the heisters, especially Hoxton. He reminds me of Pyro from TF2
Gage (Disability: paralyzed below the waist/wheelchair-user)
Gage is a wheelchair-user after being injured during military service. The series treats him in a "He may be in a wheelchair, but don't underestimate him," way. That is what they say about him verbatim. 😭 He regained control of his legs in the secret Payday 2 ending but this was retconned in Payday 3
Gage is a fun dude! He's funny, sarcastic and is a genuine ally to the Payday gang :-)
Jacket (Disability: Anti Social Personality Disorder, he also likely has brain damage)
Go home ASPD fans, I'm so sorry but he is genuinely abysmal representation. His whole gimmick is that he is a sociopath who hurts people for fun. His in-game Perk Deck is literally called "Sociopath" I don't even think the original Jacket has ASPD because he's shown empathy on two separate occasions?? (Saving the Girl and his reaction to homeless man) Jacket in Payday 2 is just littered with ableist language and stereotypes
Jacket as a character in Payday is quite fun actually! (If you ignore the Dragan Files) He communicates through a cassette player which would technically count him as mute rep! His dialogue is sarcastic and oddly conversational, I like him he’s my second favorite character
Hoxton (Disability: PTSD, he is also a burn survivor)
Hoxton is heavily implied to have PTSD from his time spent in prison, he sings all about it in the Payday 2nChristmas album. His trust with his closest friends has been shaken and he has intense paranoia. He is snappier and ruder than he was before he was incarcerated. Hoxton is also technically a burn survivor? He had bleach poured in eye but there seems to be no lasting damage besides the facial scar, his vision is unimpaired.
Hoxton is literally awesome and I love his character, he's perhaps the most developed character in the entire series! He’s a jackass who’s unfortunately very charismatic, also he has a fun Yorkshire accent
Jimmy (Disability: Prolonged hard substance abuse and addiction)
Jimmy is an alcoholic and is addicted to cocaine! Not your typical disability rep but we love all disabled people 🙏 his addictions don't noticably affect him in-game besides the fact he's blackout drunk at the safehouse 80% of the time and he has a perpetually bleeding nose
Jimmy is a crossover character from Hardcore Henry, a true cinematic masterpiece 😌 he's funny and full of energy
Locke (Disability: Half-blind)
Locke was slashed in the eye from an attempted assassination! It's safe to assume that he's completely blind in that eye
I don't know much about Locke honestly but he seems like a jolly fellow!
Houston (Disability: None Confirmed)
HOUSTON ISN'T CONFIRMED TO HAVE ANY DISABILITIES BUT 90% OF THE FANDOM AGREES THAT HE HAS LEVEL 1 AUTISM! The evidence; Houston is terribly particular about his way of doing things and keeping his possessions in order, Houston is literally incapable of holding down a standard job for nonspecific reasons, Houston speaks with a flat affect, he's asocial and less than polite with his words, he can't stand sudden changes in plans, and has a special interest in cars and mechanical work. You be the judge
He's my favorite. Literally the best heister, nobody can tell me otherwise 😊
Two honorable mentions!! These are characters that I don’t have the proper knowledge to say what exactly ailments they have but I feel like they belong here
Sokol (Disability: Crippling adrenaline addiction?)
Sokol is addicted to adrenaline and abandoned his highly successful career as a professional hockey player in pursuit of robbery, murder, gambling, and whatever he could do to get his high. I'm not exactly sure what this could be classified as? I'm counting it as a life-ruining addiction
Sokol is friendly and charming! He’s also ableist 😭 particularly against Jacket’s use of a tape recorder. He says Jacket should “talk like a real person.” Besides that, he’s a fun character
Chains (Disability: Something)
I don't know what Chains could possibly have but he has a few traits that really stick put to me; He is jumpy, paranoid, occasionally speaks in the third person, quick to unreasonable levels of anger, and is terrified of the supernatural. I wish I had a name for this? Maybe it’s just PTSD from his time in the military. A part of me wants to say he’s on the schizophrenia spectrum but I don’t have nearly enough knowledge to speak on that
