History Main / MarySue

Wiki/TVTropes doesn't get to set what the term means; the best we can do is capture the way it is used. Since there's no consensus on a precise definition, the best way to describe the phenomenon is by example of the kind of character pretty much everyone could agree to be a Mary Sue. These traits usually reference the character's perceived importance in the story, their physical design and an irrelevantly over-skilled or over-idealized nature.

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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marysuetype.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Lt. Mary Sue ran the ship, and ran it so well she received the Nobel Peace Prize, the Vulcan Order of Gallantry and the [[Literature/SlaughterhouseFive Tralfamadorian]] Order of Good Guyhood."''-- Excerpt from ''Fanfic/ATrekkiesTale'' by Paula Smith.]]

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[[quoteright:358:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mary-Sue-Spoofs-fanfiction-net-2260543-350-350.jpg]]

* ThirtySuePileup -- '''''[[IAmLegion We are Legion]].'''''

A largely fanfiction interpretation, but it still rarely gets used in terms of actual shows. This viewpoint posits that Mary Sue is a character that involves changing the dynamic of a work and shifting the focus away from the established characters and styles. This may include characters that break the established rules of the setting (particularly if the explanation for it is poor or nonexistant). Often involves rewriting of canon elements and derailing of characters in the process.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"Lt. Mary Sue ran the ship, and ran it so well she received the Nobel Peace Prize, the Vulcan Order of Gallantry and the [[Literature/SlaughterhouseFive Tralfamadorian]] Order of Good Guyhood."''\\-- Excerpt from ''Fanfic/ATrekkiesTale'' by Paula Smith.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''"Lt. Mary Sue ran the ship, and ran it so well she received the Nobel Peace Prize, the Vulcan Order of Gallantry and the [[Literature/SlaughterhouseFive Tralfamadorian]] Order of Good Guyhood."''
\\ -- Excerpt from ''Fanfic/ATrekkiesTale'' by Paula Smith.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''"Lt. Mary Sue ran the ship, and ran it so well she received the Nobel Peace Prize, the Vulcan Order of Gallantry and the [[Literature/SlaughterhouseFive Tralfamadorian]] Order of Good Guyhood."''\\ -- Excerpt from ''Fanfic/ATrekkiesTale'' by Paula Smith.]]

[[quoteright:350:''Lt. Mary Sue ran the ship, and ran it so well she received the Nobel Peace Prize, the Vulcan Order of Gallantry and the [[Literature/SlaughterhouseFive Tralfamadorian]] Order of Good Guyhood."''\\
-- Excerpt from ''[[FanFic/ATrekkiesTale A Trekkie's Tale]]'' by Paula Smith.]]

Even back then, there wasn't a total consensus on what was or wasn't Mary Sue, since it's not always immediately obvious which character is an AuthorAvatar. As [[http://www.merrycoz.org/papers/MARYSUE.HTM this essay reveals]], suspiciously Mary Sue-like characters were noted in subscriber-submitted articles for 19th-century childrens' magazines, making this trope [[OlderThanTheyThink Older Than You Think]].

It can be a shocking reminder that there is a lot more to a story or character than just [[SoCoolItsAwesome good]], [[DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible bad]] and [[SoOkayItsAverage mediocre]]. As with all of the different qualifiers it only gets really bad when you combine all of them together. When they only have one or two they have a chance at redemption... or be the poster child for it.

* GodModeSue -- ''[[{{Starcraft}} Power overwhelming!]]''

[[quoteright:350:''Lt. Mary Sue ran the ship, and ran it so well she received the Nobel Peace Prize, the Vulcan Order of Gallantry and the [[SlaughterhouseFive Tralfamadorian]] Order of Good Guyhood."''\\

* PuritySue -- ''Love me!''

* JerkSue -- ''I'm [[JerkAss a complete and utter bitch]] and I have constant PMS...love me!''

* CopyCatSue -- ''I'm just like my favorite character, but even kewler!''

* AntiSue -- ''I'm genuinely useless, but everybody still loves me!''

* FixerSue -- ''No, that's not how it's supposed to go!''
* ParodySue -- ''Why don't they fall for my buxom charms?''
* ThirtySuePileup -- '''''[[IAmLegion We are Legion]].'''''

Sort of a merge of elements between YamatoNadeshiko, MysteriousWaif, MagicalGirlfriend, MacGuffinGirl, FriendToAllLivingThings, and/or TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth, usually with an emphasis on feminine perfection. Tends to have a DarkAndTroubledPast to emphasize specialness. This label doesn't really hold that much negativity to it, since there are people that actually label their stories as having them. See MarySueClassic for the plot framework that often gets invoked.

See CommonMarySueTraits for the superficial tropes that get involved in a lot of Mary Sue fiction, but are not immediately evocative of it. Also see MartyStu, which looks at both this and CommonMarySueTraits from a male perspective. For a short explanation of non-fanfiction Mary Sue characters, see CanonSue. See also PossessionSue (when an existing canon character is derailed towards this) and CopyCatSue (when a character is a blatant copy of a canon character). See MarySueClassic for the extremely common plot framework that the character often uses. Finally, for characters that often evoke this trope (but may not actually be proper entries within it), see MagicalGirlfriend, {{Tsundere}}, YamatoNadeshiko, AGodAmI, MacGuffinGirl, and OriginalCharacter.

!!!Mary Sue as [[ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike Protagonist You Don't Like]]

TV Tropes Wiki doesn't get to set what the term means; the best we can do is capture the way it is used. Since there's no consensus on a precise definition, the best way to describe the phenomenon is by example of the kind of character pretty much everyone could agree to be a Mary Sue. These traits usually reference the character's perceived importance in the story, their physical design and an irrelevantly over-skilled or over-idealized nature.

The name "Mary Sue" comes from the 1974 ''Franchise/StarTrek'' {{fanfic}} "[[Fanfic/ATrekkiesTale A Trekkie's Tale]]". Originally written as a parody of the standard SelfInsertFic of the time (as opposed to any particular traits), the name was quickly adopted by the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fanfiction community. Its original meaning mostly held that it was an AlwaysFemale AuthorAvatar, regardless of character role or perceived quality. Often, the characters would get in a relationship with either Kirk or Spock, turn out to have a familial bond with a crew member, be a HalfHumanHybrid masquerading as a human, and die in a graceful, beautiful way to reinforce that the character was TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth. (Or [[RecycledInSPACE space]], as the case may be.)

-->-- '''Drosselmeyer''', ''PrincessTutu''