I may only be a young hero, still learning the ropes so to speak but I have a similar complaint.
I worked to the bone to achive security level 20 and the right to wear a cape, more so to help my ego along. What did the city representative as me to do to earn the right to wearing a cape? Fly all over the city to learn about Hero 1. Now I may be a book worm but I know almost everything there is to know about Hero 1 yet for some reason the City of Paragon deemed me hearing about how good he was from several people who don't have the common sense to all meet at the train station in on part of town.
I wouldn't complain because I got a fancy new cape out of it... but hell, I would have prefered to take on an Arch-Villian in stead it would have been less painful.
Signed,
EV