The Bestest Evar

The Bestest Evar: Revisiting Mary Sues -
And a Contest!

Way back in the day our friend and my grizzled old mentor HippieVan did a post discussing Mary Sues - and we followed it up with a Mary Sue "contest".

Many of us comic creator and reader types have probably known the term for a long time - it's gained more mainstream awareness in the past few years with some high profile characters who fit the bill very, very well.

Ah, these flawless, creator-loved beings are extraordinary! All the appeal of an athlete/movie star.
And so gifted with abilities that put everyone around them to shame!

Well…actually, having those abilities is not vital. Some Mary Sues/Marty Stus are useless lumps of less-than-mediocrity.

What matters is they're TREATED like these extraordinary beings, even if they aren't. Throngs of attractive suitors love and pursue them desperately. Canon characters (if the work is a fanfiction) are astounded by their wonderfulness.

There have been a few in every genre of fiction I'm sure, and a couple of really notorious ones in fandom - I'm not going to name them here, though we can talk about them in the comments below!

I think I first became aware of the phenomenon way back in the day of superhero comics' letters pages, where readers would complain about certain heroes being obvious favorites of the writer, with perfect powers and no flaws.

Many variations exist, and looking into them makes for interesting reading. The main thing that connects them is the eye-rolling they cause in the audience.

A CONTEST…sort of

I would like to revisit the Mary Sue contest from a few years back, though!

It'll be a single page featuring a Mary Sue of your own creation - show off your Mary Sue in all their glory, with them doing something beyond wonderful. You can include text or dialogue as you wish.
Keep it to 800 px wide and I'll put all the submissions in this space either next week or the week after.

You can upload your pics to your image locker here on the Duck, or at another image hosting site, and PQ them to me, Banes.

Since these are Mary Sues, this is not really a contest, per se. They're ALL winners! Of everything!

Meanwhile, have you got a favorite/least favorite Mary Sue? Or is the term outdated? I don't hear it as much lately, but, well,
i felt like visiting it.

Have a good one, you perfect angel!

-Banes