Mary Sues! *Shakes fist*

[shadyh8er]

Duke Togo from the anime Golgo 13. He NEVER fails a job, gets laid multiple times, and is fucking unkillable. I gave up on the show after he beat a guy in a quick draw because he apparently planned to stand in a spot where he would be at an advantage from the beginning.

 

[Sillyrian]

Rose Tyler

Rose started out normal enough. She was young, inexperienced and had just left with a strange man to see time and space. With 9, their relationship was sort of like teacher and student. And I can get why 9 decided to take a companion. He wanted to ease his loneliness and return somewhat to the way things were before the time war.

Then the Regeneration happened. Gone was the more open brooding, replaced by a carefree personality hiding survivor`s guilt. The teacher-student type relationship gave way to something akin to two teenagers on a roadtrip. Rose grew a lot quicker during the second season. Then she left the show.

Martha Jones could almost be a Sue, but the key difference is that...I actually felt sorry for her. She quickly fell in love with 10, but he was oblivious, focusing on his lost Rose. Never felt like he was talking to her, but Rose's ghost instead. It's that tragic quality that holds her above Sue status in my head.

Donna was my favorite companion, as she felt like an actual companion instead of a potential love interest. With her feelings of inferiority and brash nature, I almost cried when the mindwipe happened.

The elevation of Rose to Sue status is something I disliked following her departure. When she returns, she is incredibly competent, she gets to keep a clone of the Doctor, she gets to live in luxury with her dead father, yet at the beginning she abandoned her mother and boyfriend to travel with the Doctor. She used to get called out on this. I still like her original tenure, but after she left, whenever she comes up, I just want to bash the Doctor's head in. Hey Doc, if you're so lonely, why don't you visit your granddaughter Susan? At times I questioned whether I was watching the sci-fi equivalent of Twilight.

THIS, so much this.

And somehow, all the Whovians in my family HATE Donna for some reason - but she's my favorite Tennet Companion, she's the only one that feeled like the writers sat down and said "Okay, what characterize the Tenth Doctor and what character will work the best with him?"

And I personally don't feel that River is a Sue. For me, a Sue needs to take the spotlight to herself - Something that River doesn't really do. Sure she gets a lot of awesome moments in "Her" episodes, but she never saves the day, she never make the clever plan to defeat the enemy - She's smart, she knows stuff that thedoctor doesn't know, but he's still clearly smarter than her.
Forest of the Dead - The Doctor figure stuff out, and while River made a heroic Sacrifice, the plan was all the Doctor's
Flesh and Stone - The idea of throwing the angels to the crack? the Doctor
The Big Bang -Plan how to solve the shit that happened in the last episode? Doctor. Big Bang plan? Doctor. Saving the Doctor? Amy
Day of the Moon - The Doctor saved the day
A Good Man Goes to War - River only did two things in this episode, non of them were saving the day
Let's Kill Hitler - River was the antagonist of the episode, and while she saved the Doctor's life - it was thanks to the Doctor that she turned good
The Wedding of River Song - the one who screwed everything up in the first place, the Doctor fixed it and cheated death

And I'm pretty sure Susan died in the Time War.

Let's Kill Hitler is the worst River Song episode by a country mile. Firstly, she's meant to be only human, but yet as a Mary Sue often will, she gets to try the things only the main character can normally do. She regenerates, and has her own crappy little "omg i look so funny now I've regenerated!" sequence, which was painfully bad.

Then she gets away from the doctor and gets shot like a bazillion times with machine guns, which would have just killed her stone dead before her regeneration could kick in, but instead just survives that. She also takes the spotlight from the doctor all the bloody time, the worst one I can think of being getting A FREAKING DALEK to beg for mercy, even though Daleks can't actually have any notion of mercy. Everything she does is just so full of plotholes and inconsistancies, and the writers just seem to be obsessed with her for some reason.

Oh yeah, and she has powers greater than the doctor, "using all her regenerations" to restore his life even though that's never been mentioned before in 50 years of the show!

 

[AlexWinter]

You know, I'm going to be controversial here and say Marty McFly. I've only watched the first film - and don't get me wrong, I really liked it - but just stop and think about it for a second. He doesn't have a single character flaw.

Yes he does. He almost gets himself killed by overreacting any time somebody calls him chicken.

OT: Gotta go with Bella.

 

[John Farrell]

I'm tempted to put Link on the list.

*Comes from nowhere, gets involved with the fate of Hyrule
*Can complete quests trained soldiers couldn't do
*Multiple love interests
*Has part of a powerful relic
*Instantly skilled at any weapon or magic he acquires
*No real personality

 

[Harkonnen64]

You know, I'm going to be controversial here and say Marty McFly. I've only watched the first film - and don't get me wrong, I really liked it - but just stop and think about it for a second. He doesn't have a single character flaw.

Does wearing a ridiculously out-of-place life jacket count as a character flaw?

 

[Faladorian]

... I'm throwing Light Yagami out there. He just... did he fail? Up until the end of the show, did he fail at all? Cuz, just... yeah. Irritates me the nonsense he got away with.

How about L?

Tons of criminals dying in prisons from heart attacks?
Can't be a disease, MUST BE SOMEONE WITH MAGICAL POWERS.
Just because it turns out to be right doesn't mean it makes sense.
There could've been many solutions to all his situations, but he continually singles out the stupidest one and it happens to be correct.

At least L was wrong a few times.


If you want a Mary Sue in Death Note, you're looking for Near.

 

[Ganath]

Sesshoumaru, as far as I can recall. But it was many years ago I watched Inuyasha. He appeared kinda Mary Sueish to me. I might be wrong though. Not the most memorable anime I've watched. I even had to google Inuyasha's brother to get his name.

 

[Goro]

Richard fucking Rahl from the Sword of Truth books. Started off fairly sympathetic, flawed, and well-rounded, but turned into Lord Sue with greater force than a Harry Potter fanfic self-insert. This is a classic example of why using fiction as a medium for soapboxing is a dangerous route, folks.

And if I ever read 'Graaatch luuug Raaatch-aaard' again, the apocalypse begins....
Other than that, mmmmm.... Superman..

 

[JaceArveduin]

- Lessa from Dragonriders of Pern. I mean, really, slum girl to time traveling dragon queen, just look at that.

Hold up there, Lessa wasn't a slum girl, she was of Ruathan blood. The only reason she was slumming it was because a bastard killed her family. As for coming to the point of riding a Queen, it doesn't become as uncommon later on once the other weyrs fill back up. Really, after that, she starts taking more of a backseat to the others, specially F'lar.

For my addition, I'll say the Clone Commandos probably are, but I still love'm to death.

 

[Stikibunn]

I disagree with almost everything on this list that I know well.

The Doctor: The protagonist, character develops slowly over time. Tennant's doctor WAS a sue but the earlier and later doctor were not
River Song: Yes and no. River does have traits but unfortunately due to the nature of her story she just seems like one. The thing that makes her look like a sue is River has to develop backwards. She started out a complex completed character and every time we encounter her she has to be less and less awesome. "Let's Kill Hitler" was the midway point of her development so now she should become less and less interesting this season until she will fade out of existence when the Ponds leave midway through this season.

I don't think that the Mary-Sue idea fits with original fiction at all. Protagonists I believe should have immunity to this and other characters in a fiction should be judged by a more lax system.

Personally I just dislike the idea of Mary-Sues altogether... I myself use a character I admit to being a Sue in my fiction.

 

[Zaldin]

Rhonin in the Warcraft books, under Richard A. Knaak's writing. Guy summons a fucking raptor army. A Raptor. Army. Let that sink in people.

 

[Byzantinium]

I've always found Kratos to be one of the biggest Mary Sues. He's such an idealized over the top wish-fulfillment fantasy character I don't think he can be anything but a Mary Sue.

Kratos...idealized? Really? I'm gonna have to ask you to elaborate, because the games are pretty clear that he's a terrible, disgusting person whose bullheaded obsession with "vengeance" literally destroys everything.

 

[DioWallachia]

I was about to say Luke Skywalker but wasn't Luke supposed to be a George Lucas insert? I'd end arguing against the Mary Sue designation here - mainly because Luke spends most the films (and the later novels) stuffing up and having his decisions backfire.

No comment about Anakin.

Rocky Balboa is the only Mary Sue that works (mainly rocky iv), though Sly Sylvester in the Expendables is another thing.

I always thought that George inserted himself on Luke in the last movie when confronting The Emperor. The way i saw it, it made believe that The Emperor represented the movie executives that demonstrated the point that hate can be a powerful ally. In this case, the executives demonstrated that WITHOUT their intervention on the first movie, it would have sucked and flopped at the box office because Lucas keep making weird shit up (remember that the original script, Han Solo was supposed to be some kind of frog creature and Luke Skywalker was supposed to be a robot named StarKiller) they demostrated that the audience cant stand things that are different from the standard formula of the Hero's Journey. In the real world, George already lost his faith on making movies and that us why he decided to create the Ewoks (just for the sake of making money and not art) but Luke was supposed to represent his idealist self still intact, that is why he not interested in the power that hates gives.

Maybe i am overthinking things but why do you think he was a Mary Sue?

 

[Trivun]

This guy. He was the first Mary Sue (well, Marty Stu) I ever saw in media, long before the term was popular. And I never realised how much this was the case until just a few days ago...

Spoiler

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

Does Bella Fucking Swan count?

Actually no, i don't think so. A Mary Sue is supposed to be flawless and talented while Bella is not particulary good at anything and kind of a gigantic *****. The only sue-ish thing about her is the fact that she dates guys who are actually way out of her league.

Edward on the other hand...

 

[Evil Smurf]

Donna was my favorite companion, as she felt like an actual companion instead of a potential love interest. With her feelings of inferiority and brash nature, I almost cried when the mindwipe happened.
I did cry

Hey Doc, if you're so lonely, why don't you visit your granddaughter Susan?

This still infuriates me. HE HAS A TIME MACHINE! Even if she died, visit before she has!

You know, I'm going to be controversial here and say Marty McFly. I've only watched the first film - and don't get me wrong, I really liked it - but just stop and think about it for a second. He doesn't have a single character flaw.

Does wearing a ridiculously out-of-place life jacket count as a character flaw?

I hope not....*Looks at own life jacket*......

 

[Dangit2019]

Does Bella Fucking Swan count?

Aaaand I'm Ninja'd. Bella Swan is the ultimate example of wish fulfillment without any flaws. Everywhere she goes, she is instantly loved by all those surrounding her, even though her main personalities (if you can call them that) are being reclusive and introverted. It just reeks of the fantasies of a chubby middle school girl who's hobbies may include, oh, I don't know, reading teen fantasy novels about sparkly vampires. Oh wait, I think I figured it out.

 

[Dangit2019]

You know, I'm going to be controversial here and say Marty McFly. I've only watched the first film - and don't get me wrong, I really liked it - but just stop and think about it for a second. He doesn't have a single character flaw.

Edit: Seeing as I've just been quoted for the sixty bajillionth time, if you're going to say the thing about the chicken, I KNOW.

What about pride? Remember, he can't turn down a challenge (cue every "Are you chicken McFly?" scene).

 

[Terminal Blue]

Actually no, i don't think so. A Mary Sue is supposed to be flawless and talented while Bella is not particulary good at anything and kind of a gigantic *****. The only sue-ish thing about her is the fact that she dates guys who are actually way out of her league.

See, I always thought Mary Sue just referred to an author insertion character who is there for wish fulfilment, and given that Stephanie Meyer has outright admitted that Bella is an author insertion, and a lot of what happens to her is clearly wish fulfilment, I do think she qualifies.

It's easy to talk about how she's kind of pathetic and bitchy and flawed, but at the end of the day everyone still either thinks she's awesome or is jealous of her. She doesn't come across as a particularly interesting or special person, in fact she's a bit of a *****, but everyone still loves her unquestioningly anyway. Her flaws don't actually affect her character, they are insecurities whose only purpose is to make her more relatable to neurotic teenage girls (and presumably to repressed mormon women).

She's the centre of the entire series, she's the centre of the entire world the books take place in, and yet there's absolutely no reason for her to be. Personally, I think that qualifies her for Suedom.