A Study on[glow=violet,2,300]Mary Sues,[/glow] [glow=lightblue,2,300]Gary Stus,[/glow] and [glow=lime,2,300]Anti-Mary Sues[/glow]The Mary Sue is the "perfect girl" archetype in original fiction, fanfiction, roleplays, and (occasionally) real life. Most people have Sues they keep to themselves, but some people (usually preteen girls) will let their Sues run rampant on the Internet, thus becoming Suethors.
Mary Sues are an abomination against everything that is right, and Suethors should be persecuted relentlessly until they quit IRL.
Meet the SuesMary Sue has many faces, and also many names. Mary-Sue and Sue are both used, and all three are acceptable. Using “Mary” as a name for Mary Sue is uncommon, and may confuse some readers.
Mary Sue’s brother is a bit more complicated. The male version of a Sue is called Marty Sue, Marty Stu, Marti Gra, Sephiroth, Mary Stu, Gary Stu, and several other male-ish variations on Mary Sue. Also, some people may refer to a Male Sue as a John Doe.
Some Mary Sues are also author insertions, characters the author uses to put themselves into the story. Not all Mary Sues are author insertions, though, and by some definitions not all author insertions are Sues. Although most are. If not all.
Signs of a Mary SueTelltale signs of a Mary Sue include:
Her name is-- Has the surname of some canon character the Suethor likes or is otherwise related to at least one canon character
- Common names with unusual spellings, usually with K's or Y's in weird places: Ravyn, Jennifyr, Erika, Elizabetteth, etc
- Names that are meant to describe an appearance or object in connection with the character: Raven, Luna, Anya, Felina, etc.
- Names that are a combination of the above characteristics: Enoby Darkness Wray.
Common Traits-- Eyes that change color or are a color not common in that universe, hair that is so nice it takes a while to describe.
- Speshul magik powers (even in fanons or games where magic doesn’t exist) and/or unusual appendages such as wings, especially if they have them for absolutely no viable reason.
- Ability to master stuff, especially hard-to-learn stuff, with ease.
- Cute baby version of an imaginary creature for a pet (baby ancient dragon, baby griffin, baby unicorn, baby great Cthulhu, baby goatse)
- The ability to make male canon (and original) characters fall instantly in love with them. Or, failing that, just simply having the author play god to force the story to bend for them.
- Is written as sexually attractive to some canon character.
- Is enchantingly wonderful at singing, music, poetry, and/or bursts into song at random moments (and for the latter, none of the other characters seem to think that's wierd and they instead praise her for it)
- No actual, real flaws. (Being "too beautiful," or having "big hips/boobs," or "not being able to play the banjo" are not flaws.)
- Obvious author self-insertion. The character is what you wish you were.
The Many Faces of Mary SueBecause so many self-enamored gits write Mary Sues, there are many different kinds of Sues in the world. Trying to list them all would be impossible, but here are a few of the general categories into which a Sue can fall.
Feel free to troll and flame the everloving heck out of anyone who writes this garbage. Everyone knows the retards who write this stuff have glass egos and BAWW most beautifully when confronted.
Remember: Banning Mary Sue writers should be a right. Feel free to report their disgustingly written work or to get them banned whenever possible.
Burrito SueSimply put, a Burrito!Sue consists of all of the main characters or the most popular characters combined into one character and is often times as good as or better than the characters they are at everything they do. They typically are friends with everybody, have no real weaknesses and sometimes disrupt the continuum with random personality traits and interests that either don't exist in that continuum or aren't ever discussed or even hinted at in that continuum. For example, Edna Esmerelda Espinoza, created by TechnoMaru on deviantART.
Babies 'R' Us SueThis is a common Sue. They simply hook up with one of the main character of the opposite sex and have 5/6 kids. Oftentimes, this type of Sue may have more than one father or more than one boyfriend. They often get into messes trying to figure out if Draco or Harry is the father of their fugly child.
Canon SueCanon!Sue is a corruption of a legitimate canon character within the fandom to the point that they resemble the fanfic author itself. They may acquire new powers, undergo a makeover (including the dreaded Hot Topic punk variety), become good friends with canon characters the author loves, usurp the positions of - or become enemies with - canon characters the author hates, or just act completely out of character in a way that makes those familiar with the canon scream in horror. The Canon Sue can be used as a self-insert in and of itself or in combination with an author's original character Sue.
"Canon Sue" is also used to refer to stupid characters in the original canon itself (see Bella Swan, Wesley Crusher, and Eragon), where it instantly turns into a flame war.
Clone SueA common Sue that is almost an exact replica of a canon character, except that the gender is switched. Yet somehow the canon character completely overlooks this creepy coincidence and falls irrevocably in love with the Sue.
Combo SueThis Sue is a combo of at least two different characters from two different fandoms or more than two characters from one fandom.
This kind of Sue is Hagrid's niece, Luke Skywalker's mother, and a beautiful Na'vi princess who grew up to master the double-ended lightsaber at the age of four, then went on to conquer Endor with her massive army of baby dragons to win the heart of... ah, heck, just KILL IT WITH FIRE already!
Helpful SueThis Sue is everybody's friend, and a natural savior of the day. She heals the hero's broken leg with her expert medical prowess (because at only seventeen, she already has her M.D.), gently coaxes the token kid's cat out of a tree with her sweet singing voice, rescues innocent goats from cruel cashmere salesmen, and gives the canon gals a friendly shoulder to cry on - before, of course, eventually stealing away their boyfriends and pets with her bubbly personality and compassionate nature. But it's not her fault that everybody loves her! She's just written that way.
Our pal Helpful Sue is usually the antithesis of Angry or Evil Sue. Oftentimes, writers will throw in one of those too, just to give her a nemesis, who she will either a) come out looking better than, or b) change for the better with her contrived fairy godmother ways.
Raepist SueThe Raepist Mary Sue resides in the writer's most carnal, self-serving mindset, with an addiction to sex, excessive luxury, and power over others. This Sue is all hormones and will screw anything with legs, willing or not, and is always looking for more power to get more nookie.
Her writer is often obsessed with snogging canon characters and berates other writers for the same thing. Any good deed this Mary Sue performs is always motivated by self-interest. Her life consists of self-gratification, self-worship, and getting what she can out of those around her. This Sue is a homewrecker if the established character already has a romance in a book or movie. If he doesn't, Raepist Mary seduces him anyway, along with any number of other characters. Hopping into the sack with one or more characters, even all at the same time, is what this Sue is all about.
She uses her speshul magic powers to force characters not willing to do what she wants into catering to her every whim and thinking she rocks their world. She is quick to use characters' vulnerabilities against them for her own gain. Those she can't bewitch she browbeats or guilt-trips until they give in to her. All the other characters may become jealous of one another over Raepist Mary. They all kill themselves trying to win or keep her affections or rescue her from danger (not that she gives a fuck about them, as long as she gets laid or gets rich). Everybody excuses her mistreatment of them because she looks so beautiful and/or has any combination of typical Mary Sue traits.
[glow=red,2,300]The Anti-Sue[/glow]The most bearable out of all Mary Sues (or at least they would be if fanfiction writers knew how to write them correctly). Anti-Sues are supposed to be the complete opposite of Mary-Sues, meaning that every character usually hates them, they don't hook up with anybody, hardly ever get the spotlight in the fanfic (although this is rare), they're usually very ugly and weak, and have no desire to fight the bad guy, save the world, or sleep with every character.
Usually Anti-Sues are created to piss off the creators of Mary Sues. Either that or the author finally has realized that writing a Mary Sue is annoying as nails on a chalkboard.
Most of the time, however, Anti-Sues are just as horrendous as their Mary Sue counterparts, made especially grating when all the other characters still love them to death. Protip: If everyone loves them anyway, you have failed.
Angry SueSometimes referred to as a Bitchiwitch in the Harry Potter fandom, these Sues are typically rebellious, with some sort of angsty past, and known for wearing more black than should be humanly possible, especially Gawth and PunkRawk Sues.
Often they are Warrior Sues, capable of killing everything in their way in order to get revenge, or just because they can. One of the best-known examples is The Bride, in the Kill Bill films by well-known Suethor Quentin Tarantino. Only their "true love" can ease their angry, angsty angst, although this type typically plays hard to get, generally fangirling a rebellious or angsty male. See My Immortal.
Baby SueThis form of Anti-Sue is the Raepist Mary Sue minus about five or ten years. She is the angsty eight-year-old who is most likely an orphan in search for her parents, who she insists are not dead. She may be said to have a disability in order to get the other characters feeling sorry enough for her to let her get away with atrocious behavior. She is supposed to out-talk any grownup, making them appear bumbling and stupid next to her, which instead makes her annoying as heck.
Writers of the Baby and Raepist Mary Sues typically end up with the writers of other Sue types mad at them, leading to many stupid berating insults at both the Suethor and her characters. Protip: When your characters suck so hard even other Suethors put you in your place, become a hero.
Tell-tale signs that Baby Sue is growing into a Raepist Sue are the seduction or attempt to seduce a character, and further distortion of main characters to the point that it's sickening even to other Suethors; weakening them, dumbing them down to make them give in to Baby Marie or just to give her the most action and dialog.
Depressed SueDepressed Sue is filled with angst. Generally, this angst derives from some tragedy in her past (with the far-and-away winner being dead parents). She evokes the sympathy of at least one of the main characters (generally of the opposite sex) and develops a relationship based on crying about how hard it is to be an orphan.
If her parents aren't dead, she's usually crying about how much they abuse her and won't buy her an iPod. She is also fond of trivialized rape and or suicide attempts as means of provoking sympathy. Depressed!Sue will generally manifest some great power once she believes in herself.
Evil SueAn Evil Sue is typically involved in some way with the existing villain of the fandom, whether it be as a relative, boyfriend/girlfriend, or any other relationship, but can sometimes exist by him/herself or replace the canon villain. This Sue type is characterized by the stereotypical villain behavior such as sadism, long bouts of insane cackling, and attempting to kill canon characters, usually punctuated by angst-ridden soliloquies.
Another common element of the Evil!Sue is some sort of mysterious and/or abusive past, but this is often shared by the other categories of Sue. The only reason it's worth mentioning is that the sordid past is often pointed to in explaining and excusing/justifying the Evil!Sue's behavior, whereas with most other Sues a tragic past explains it all.
Gimp!SueGimp!Sue has a tragic physical handicap or illness. By far the most popular are blindness and inability to speak, but Gimp!Sue has also been known to suffer from paraplegia, deafness, horrific facial scars and even hemophilia. Srsly. Although Gimp!Sue is impossibly perfect in every other way, her creator will insist that her "flaw" means she can't be a Mary Sue. Often she will "prove" this by citing her low (i.e. good) score on one of those online Mary Sue tests that subtract over 9000 Sue-points if you make your character a cripple.
Note that though Gimp!Sue's disability supposedly stops her being a Sue, it gets her the sympathy of all the good guys and doesn't make her any less attractive to the hero. It also gives her an excuse for endless emo wangst. In the worst cases the entire plot can be summed up as "ZMOG!!! I'M BLIIIIINNND!!! OH NOES!!!111!!!!" As with Depressed!Sue, Gimp!Sue's creator expects that readers will automatically love her character just because of her suffering, and may hint that failure to do so is a form of discrimination.
While Gimp!Sue is usually an original character, her male counterpart Gimp!Stu is often a Canon!Stu. He is, in that case, always a maimed version of the most hawt male in the fandom, which has led some authorities to theorize that a creepy fetish may be at work.
Ugly!SueUnlike the romantically afflicted Gimp!Sue, Ugly!Sue is honestly unattractive. She's overweight, has zero dress sense, her hair is stringy and her teeth are crooked. She's also totally untalented and has tons of perfectly genuine character flaws, like being selfish, tactless and whiny. Instead of saving the day, she constantly does stupid stuff that actually gets her into trouble. All of this is quite refreshing for about three chapters– until it dawns on the reader, "Wait a moment. If I want to see a dumb, fat, ugly narcissistic loudmouth making a fool of herself, there's always MySpace. Why the heck am I reading this?"
That's right, authors– giving your character
nothing but flaws is just as annoying as making her perfect– and it makes it even more ridiculous when the hero inevitably falls in love with her.