Why?

Good news, you don’t need to have every toon when you’re a new player 

Sorry. That is they way swgoh gods is making it-strictly pay if you want to advance. If you don’t want to pay, they same people who don’t pay by taking players FtoP months/years to build any worth while teams. Didn’t used to be like that. Plus, swgoh gods are making events GAC/TW bunch of junk. They have ruined the game over the years and getting worse, unless you pay lot of money. 
My advice, quit playing. There are so many better games out there that are not so greedy as EA games/swgoh. Good luck.

As a f2p player, it’s good that the game is p2w. A game like this could never make profits selling cosmetics only so the p2w aspects are the only way we get to play. If it isn’t p2w then there can be no game. Just be happy that CG gave you a free 3 star character, a few mods, and a little gear.

My perspective… the newest characters are mainly for players who have been playing the game for years, and have most or all of the other characters. This means that new characters need to be really hard to get. 
There are literally hundreds of characters for new players to work on… almost certainly including the vast majority of your favourites. 
Some ppl here will complain about how SWGOH makes the money that lets them build the game. I’ve got almost everything in the game and have paid almost nothing. It just takes time but it’s free. 
Regardless, it’s a great game if you don’t worry about always having the newest stuff. And honestly, what difference does it make? If you enjoy building the teams, do it… if you don’t, then don’t. 

Oh the sweet sweet tears of modern day youth entitlement...  

Just take the free character and go. Be happy you don’t have to pay for tier 1

This game is easily played without paying. It’s aimed to generate some FOMO to make us chase latest stuff. I did not chase new characters for a few years because it’s more efficient to farm accelerated characters. This will not impact early game progress and there are some powerful teams which have aged really well to focus on. Look for a new player guide updated for this year so you can get the most efficient and don’t feel locked out of good squads.

Nonsense, OP stated they are a new player (and not even level 85). New players should be focusing on core teams and maybe their first GL and fleet arena Fleet for crystal income, although in OPs regard they are nowhere near that point even.

As a long term 12m GP  mostly f2p player it took me 5-6 years till I hit the end game where I can prioritise new characters comfortably.

You're in the very early game, you should be focusing on core teams not the new and shiny stuff.

Check out the many f2p guides on YouTube it will be help your progress immensely.

I would recommend finding videos on Free to Play accounts. There is a ton if content that explains the most optimal way to play for free. You will have limitations but you can definitely have viable account. Is it frustrating that you won't have access to everything? Absolutely! However, you have to acknowledge the limitations of your reality and find happiness from within instead of blaming others for your lack of happiness. 

However, you can consider this a life lesson. Life is pay to win and those of us that can't pay have to work 10x as hard to get 1/10 of what the whales have. The sooner you accept this imbalance and learn how to create something positive from inequality, The sooner you can start the climb in the game or life because if you allow the measurement of "fairness" to determine your performance, you will end up like countless others who put in minimum effort because it isn't "fair" and wonder why they are still making nothing after 20+ years of complaining about fairness.