In NTT his disability was a focus of the character. What helped him accept his new cybernetic body was that he met a group a kids with disabilities and prosthetic limbs and became an inspiration to them.
Keeping some focus on Vic being disabled would have been fine if he remained an auxiliary character in DC and maybe stayed on the Titans forever. But in the New 52 they wanted him to be the most prominent black superhero in the DCU. Helping to found the Justice League and be one of the main faces of the company. At that point they needed to shift him away from being a “freak” character who hates the way they look like Marvel’s The Thing. Instead they doubled down.
One thing that frustrated the hell out of fans was that DC never let him grow past that initial role. It would have been understandable if he struggled at first with his transformation and new body/abilities but then had character progression where he learns to use his powers and transforms into a sleek modern tech god superhero who fits right in with the other beautiful looking members of the JLA. It took them 5 years until they finally allowed someone like David F. Walker to take him in that direction, then of course they quickly changed Vic right back to the tragic mangled freak superhero.