A Mary Sue is a generic name for any fictional character who is so competent or perfect that this appears absurd, even in the context of the fictional setting. Mary Sues are often an author's idealized or flawless self-insertion. They may excel at tasks that should not be possible for them, or they may upstage the protagonist of a fictional setting, such as by saving them. They may disregard previously established aspects of the fiction such as characterization and natural laws. Mary Sue is a type of stock character. Mary Sue characters were first identified in fan fiction in 1973, but they have subsequently been identified in professional fiction and in films. A male character with similar traits may be labeled a "Gary Stu" or "Marty Stu". Critics, writers, and commentators have debated the way the term is used, both in general, and in its application to specific fictional characters.
Origin and development of the meaning
The term "Mary Sue" comes from the name of a character created by Paula Smith in 1973 for her parody story "A Trekkie's Tale" published in her fanzineMenagerie #2. The story starred Lieutenant Mary Sue, and satirized unrealistic characters in Star Trek fan fiction. The complete story reads: In 1976, Menagerie's editors referred to the original story, writing: While originally used to describe fan fiction characterization, the term has also been applied to professionally published fiction, one example being the main character of the Star Trek novel Dreadnought! by Diane Carey. The term "Mary Sue" has gained a connotation of wish-fulfillment and is commonly associated with self-insertion, though the characterization of upstaging the established protagonist remains fundamental. True self-insertion is a literal and generally undisguised representation of the author; most characters described as "Mary Sues" are not, though they are often called "proxies" for the author. The negative connotation comes from this "wish-fulfillment" implication: the "Mary Sue" is judged as a poorly developed character, too perfect and lacking in realism to be interesting.
Criticism
In chapter four of her book Enterprising Women, Camille Bacon-Smith states that fear of creating a "Mary Sue" may be restricting and even silencing to some writers. Smith quotes an issue of the Star Trek fanzine Archives as identifying "Mary Sue" paranoia as one of the sources for the lack of "believable, competent, and identifiable-with female characters." In this article, author Joanna Cantor interviews her sister Edith, also an amateur editor, who says she receives stories with cover letters apologizing for the tale as "a Mary Sue", even when the author admits she does not know what a "Mary Sue" is. According to Edith Cantor, while Paula Smith's original "Trekkie's Tale" was only ten paragraphs long, "in terms of their impact on those whom they affect, those words have got to rank right up there with the Selective Service Act". At ClipperCon 1987, Smith interviewed a panel of female authors who say they do not include female characters in their stories at all. She quoted one as saying "Every time I've tried to put a woman in any story I've ever written, everyone immediately says, this is a Mary Sue." Smith also pointed out that "Participants in a panel discussion in January 1990 noted with growing dismay that any female character created within the community is damned with the term Mary Sue." However, Bacon-Smith notes that fans have argued that in Star Trek as originally created, James T. Kirk is himself a "Marty Stu," and that the label seems to be used more indiscriminately on female characters who do not behave in accordance with the dominant culture's images and expectations for females as opposed to males. Author Ann C. Crispin is quoted as saying: "The term 'Mary Sue' constitutes a put-down, implying that the character so summarily dismissed is not a true character, no matter how well drawn, what sex, species, or degree of individuality."
Variations
"Marty Stu", "Gary Sue", or "Larry Stu" are alternative names given to this trope, when the same wish-fulfillment aspect is applied to male characters. The character Wesley Crusher was described, in hostile terms, as a "Gary Sue" by the feminist popular culture magazine Bitch. There is speculation amongst fans and academics, mainly pejorative, that Wesley was a self-insertion character for Gene Roddenberry, Roddenberry's middle name being Wesley.
Allusions
In 2004, David Orr, in a review of online fan fiction websites FanFiction.net and Godawful Fan Fiction for The New York Times Book Review, referred to "Mary Sue" as "a ludicrously empowered author proxy". The Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Superstar" has been analyzed as being a deliberate satire of Mary Sue/Marty Stu type of stories. A popular subject of debate pertains to whether the Star Wars sequel trilogy features a Mary Sue in its protagonist, Rey. Screenwriter Max Landis opined on Twitter in 2015 that the character fits this description, claiming that Rey is excessively gifted at a variety of skills. Conversely, Caroline Framke of Vox contended that Rey did not fit the Mary Sue profile, stating that "Any additional skills Rey has—mechanical work, hand-to-hand combat, climbing, etc—are explained when we first meet her... If she hadn't picked up those skills, she'd probably be dead". Other writers, such as Tasha Robinson of The Verge, have defended the idea of Rey being a Mary Sue, stating that "for women who've felt underrepresented through decades where most of the ladies onscreen were victims, tokens, rewards, or shrews, it's natural to feel a sugar rush of fulfillment over characters like Katniss Everdeen and Imperator Furiosa".
