I understand your issue, the backstories are a bit convoluted. On the other hand, if you ever played tabletop and saw your average player's backstory, then you know that starting at level one never really makes sense.
For me, the only problematic origin hero from this regard is Gale. It seems that he is being honest about the kinda power he used to wield and now it is strange for him to be such a wuss.
Maybe, the trauma of the Orb and containing the Orb significantly weakened him. That's a potential explanation for me.
