I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Duke Nukem yet.
Well, he likes to think he's Mary Sue, anywho.
Well, he likes to think he's Mary Sue, anywho.
Mary Sues! *Shakes fist*
- Thread starter Froggy Slayer
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You know, I was busy writing a near essay length comment on why Shikamaru Nara from Naruto was a Mary Sue, but I went seriously off topic and went into why nothing in the plot makes sense and how almost every character is either retarded or follows typical Shounen manga/anime logic, so it's not Shikamaru himself, but the enviroment and people aroud him.
Sasuke would count, with his good looks and supposedly noble quest we should all relate to and his ridiculous powers as the plot demands (Susanoo, anyone?(rather everything mangekyou related)) and then his 180 degrees turn wanting to destroy konoha because his entire entitled rebellious clan was killed by his brother whom he now wuvs, despite ruining his entire life through his desire to kill him.
And the whole kage summit thing, where he started laughing like a maniac, nearly killed his former team and his comrade Karin. Apparently in the newest arc he is good again or something, but whatever, I stopped reading at least a hundred chapters ago.
Bottom line: A character whose development is all over the place and doing some bad stuff whom we're supposed to relate with, because Naruto's angst coma says so.
Sasuke would count, with his good looks and supposedly noble quest we should all relate to and his ridiculous powers as the plot demands (Susanoo, anyone?(rather everything mangekyou related)) and then his 180 degrees turn wanting to destroy konoha because his entire entitled rebellious clan was killed by his brother whom he now wuvs, despite ruining his entire life through his desire to kill him.
And the whole kage summit thing, where he started laughing like a maniac, nearly killed his former team and his comrade Karin. Apparently in the newest arc he is good again or something, but whatever, I stopped reading at least a hundred chapters ago.
Bottom line: A character whose development is all over the place and doing some bad stuff whom we're supposed to relate with, because Naruto's angst coma says so.
Perhaps the dreaded Ebony/Enoby Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way is a good contender?
And yes, I just reminded you of My Immortal. You may now strangle me.
And yes, I just reminded you of My Immortal. You may now strangle me.
I'd say Holmes was only perfect in the context of the Holmes stories: namely that they need someone to solve a mystery and Holmes is really good at solving mysteries.Zetatrain said:
The flaw is that that's all he's good at. Ask him to do anything else and he's hopeless, its been theorised that he's based off someone Arthur Conan Doyle knew with Aspergers. Watson compiles a list of thing Holmes can and can't do in Study in Scarlet and is amazed to find he doesn't know the Earth revolves around the sun. It doesn't factor into his ability to solve crimes, so he doesn't care. The drug thing? Its because he finds humanity as a whole so supremely uninteresting that they're his only outlet other than solving things. Hell, its outright stated that the only reason he works for the police to solve crimes rather than committing crimes himself is because, if he were a criminal, he couldn't step up to take the credit.
I'm not sure you could be classed as a Mary Sue when you're recognised within your own book series as being a bit of a douche
I'm suprised no one mentioned Alice from Resident Evil. Even after losing her power she can still kick so much ass? Come on.
Bella. Fucking. Swan.
Also characters like Sasuke Uchiha, Eragon, and Berii Shirayuki (I wnder if anyone will get that one).
Superheroes like Batman/Superman can learn towards this, if written badly.
Also characters like Sasuke Uchiha, Eragon, and Berii Shirayuki (I wnder if anyone will get that one).
Superheroes like Batman/Superman can learn towards this, if written badly.
Yeah, but we still need to remember that that wasn't any of the producers or writers fault. That was all Hasbro. I actually think they did a decent job working around the corporate meddling. But she was really Mary Sue-ish, and her existence confused me as well. Kinda undermined how special Celestia and Luna are.The Jakeinator said:
Just goes to show that corporate meddling is a bad thing.
I was going to say Alice from those horrible Resident Evil adaptations, but you guys have her. How about Gibbs from NCIS? If only in the insane reverance all the protagonists have for him, and his absurd Batman levels of capability in a show that routinely portrays Marines, SEALS and Navy personnel in general as hopeless psychopaths or hapless victims.
Bella Swan is probably the best example so far, since she's the only one who is actually an author fantasy fulfillment character, instead of just SupermanHardkorSB said:
I read a feminist blog post not too long ago that pointed out how completely "Mary Sue"-like Batman is, and I can't help but agree a little. He's a martial artist, a brilliant inventor and business executive, the world's greatest detective, a handsome playboy who attracts women with his mysteriousness, and is frequently applauded for being a superhero without super powers, despite having more mental, physical, and material advantages than some heroes and nearly all humans.
It didn't stop me from liking him, because I find his underdog status as a mere mortal against superpower-ed foes appealing, but it's hard to refute the claims of people who refer to him as Bat-God.
Langdon and Blomvkist from the Da Vinci Code and Millennium Trilogy, respectively, are in line with the "author stand in" definition of Mary Sues (though nowhere near as blatant as Bella Swan). They're world-famous, bed improbable numbers of attractive young women, and are near universally adored despite being sort of pricks.
While we're on the topic, can we include the titular Girl With the Dragon Tattoo? Not a stand in for the author, per se, but maybe his one for his idea of a strong female character. Her backstory is almost comical in its over-the-top tragedy (which includes at least two rapes, a mental institution, and an abusive childhood at the hands of a Russian super spy), and if it weren't included it would have been incredibly hard to sympathize with her, given that she's sort of an ungrateful ***** to everyone.
Her restricted childhood makes it more puzzling that she became so darn good at everything she does, like boxing and computer hacking. The computer skills, by the way, allow her to commit more crimes than some of the people she puts away. She's no killer or rapist, mind you, but she still gets away with a good deal of larceny.
But what makes her so insufferable is how obsessed every other character is with her after meeting her. The men all find her attractive despite her unconventional appearance (their inner monologues always state how (a) pretty she is and (b) how she doesn't fit their typical notion of pretty). When Blomvkist jokes about of having dinner parties for all the people who have come across her, it seems more like the author patting himself on the back for the character he created.
I think Salander irks me more because she isn't just an author insert so much as she is a stand for this dark feminist action hero. I like the idea of one, and I like that the author attempted something to that effect. It would just help if she was more realistic...or likable.
It didn't stop me from liking him, because I find his underdog status as a mere mortal against superpower-ed foes appealing, but it's hard to refute the claims of people who refer to him as Bat-God.
Langdon and Blomvkist from the Da Vinci Code and Millennium Trilogy, respectively, are in line with the "author stand in" definition of Mary Sues (though nowhere near as blatant as Bella Swan). They're world-famous, bed improbable numbers of attractive young women, and are near universally adored despite being sort of pricks.
While we're on the topic, can we include the titular Girl With the Dragon Tattoo? Not a stand in for the author, per se, but maybe his one for his idea of a strong female character. Her backstory is almost comical in its over-the-top tragedy (which includes at least two rapes, a mental institution, and an abusive childhood at the hands of a Russian super spy), and if it weren't included it would have been incredibly hard to sympathize with her, given that she's sort of an ungrateful ***** to everyone.
Her restricted childhood makes it more puzzling that she became so darn good at everything she does, like boxing and computer hacking. The computer skills, by the way, allow her to commit more crimes than some of the people she puts away. She's no killer or rapist, mind you, but she still gets away with a good deal of larceny.
But what makes her so insufferable is how obsessed every other character is with her after meeting her. The men all find her attractive despite her unconventional appearance (their inner monologues always state how (a) pretty she is and (b) how she doesn't fit their typical notion of pretty). When Blomvkist jokes about of having dinner parties for all the people who have come across her, it seems more like the author patting himself on the back for the character he created.
I think Salander irks me more because she isn't just an author insert so much as she is a stand for this dark feminist action hero. I like the idea of one, and I like that the author attempted something to that effect. It would just help if she was more realistic...or likable.
I agree wholeheartedly with River Song. Seriously, she has basically no flaws, the story revolves around her, what flaws she does have are glanced over by the story, she is pretty much instantly forgiven for breaking time to save the Doctor...Sillyrian said:
Yeah, she bugs me. Amy Pond does a bit, but not nearly as bad, plus being married to Rory gives her instant awesomeness by association.
Seriously, I'd watch a spin-off of just what Rory was doing for those 2,000 years of guarding the Pandorica.
Skyrim's Dragonborn is also right up there, at least potentially. The Dovahkiin is a shifting character with an equal opportunity to be proficient at nearly anything and everything. His (or her) praises will be sung by all no matter if he's a gigantic asshole, and his potential cohorts of fairly reprehensible dudes like the Dark Brotherhood or the Thieves Guild aren't worried in the least that he's, y'know, the Dragonborn.
The only thing that holds the character back from true Stu-ism is the fact that without mods, you can't consistently level your character to reach 100 in everything. Statistically, the character therefore remains imperfect. This doesn't change the fact that he's still more proficient than any NPC by several orders of magnitude.
As far as the universe is concerned, having the ability to Shout is pretty OP, all things considered.
The only missing criteria would be heroic sacrifice. No Mary Sue is truly a Mary Sue unless she throws herself into the line of fire and allows her climactic death to somehow save the day.
The only thing that holds the character back from true Stu-ism is the fact that without mods, you can't consistently level your character to reach 100 in everything. Statistically, the character therefore remains imperfect. This doesn't change the fact that he's still more proficient than any NPC by several orders of magnitude.
As far as the universe is concerned, having the ability to Shout is pretty OP, all things considered.
The only missing criteria would be heroic sacrifice. No Mary Sue is truly a Mary Sue unless she throws herself into the line of fire and allows her climactic death to somehow save the day.