"What! Died!?"
"Calm down." Elsa put both her hands on my shoulder.
Calm down? How could I? All this time I'd been told that gramps was missing and now all of a sudden they claim that he's dead. How the hell could I have calmed down?
"He took in too much radiation. And because he was so strong, did he survive for so long. If it were anyone else in the world, he'd have died right that moment. But your grandfather survived for two whole years for your sake. To teach you more and he did: he taught you how to use a sword, he taught you how to use your powers, and he taught you how to live. But he requested that your memories of him be sealed, so you don't feel bad. It was all for you." Word's left mom's throat more fluently than even when she was sober.
I don't know, this might have been a bit cringe, but the guy didn't really remember anything about his grandfather, he couldn't be that sad either.
So yeah, though cringe, this was a crucial turning point in his character.