When discussing popular characters, few things stir up contention as much as calling someone's favorite character a "Mary Sue." Despite being a term without any truly concrete definition, it is one of the most commonly applied labels across popular fiction, and has been used to describe characters in every genre and medium from classic literature to superhero films, and everything in between. Despite the vague definition of the term, there are still specific traits that make a case for a character to be defined, at least loosely as a "Mary or Gary Sue."
These characters demonstrate extraordinary competence that noticeably exceeds the rest of the cast, often with little to no explanation. Alternatively, they may have little to no actual characterization at all, but still be treated by the rest of the cast as though they are outstandingly charismatic or accomplished. In general, they are so capable that it is impossible for them to encounter a credible challenge. It should also be specified that these traits can apply to both male and female characters — thus Mary AND Gary Sue.
Notably, these characters are not necessarily bad, and can be incredibly entertaining to watch, especially when the plot is fully aware of their status. Merely being competent does not earn a character this title — Captain Marvel, for instance, is not only overwhelmingly powerful, but also possesses character flaws that get in the way of accomplishing her goals. They must be either extraordinarily competent with no mitigating traits that challenge them, or they must be presented as possessing charisma or magnetism that they actively do not demonstrate.
As is natural for a term without a real definition, there are other traits associated with the term, such as defining the character as an author's self-insert, the requirement for the character to be part of a fan fiction piece, and even the requirement that the character be female. For the purposes of this list, we will not be using these definitions, instead we will be referring to characters with no meaningful or impactful flaws, specifically in recent films, and of both genders as broadly defined by Studiobinder.
9 Brian Mills — Taken
At first glance, it is tricky to see the protagonist of the Taken films as all that hyper competent. After all, he does sustain injuries over the course of the films, and does find himself in challenging situations. However, the scope of his abilities veers sharply into the superhuman, and can come close to breaking suspension of disbelief when examining his actions under more scrutiny.
Through the course of the films, Brian never appears to actually be hampered by his injuries in any meaningful way, is never presented with anything that truly challenges him, and commits numerous criminal acts without so much as a slap on the wrist from law enforcement. While these are all hallmarks of the typical revenge rampage film, it cannot be denied that his capabilities and immunity to consequences are extreme, even for action films. The character's background does go a long way to justifying his "very particular set of skills," however, your mileage may vary whether it explains the magnitude of what he can do.
8 Legolas — The Lord of the Rings & Hobbit Trilogies
This elven archer from Tolkein's classic Lord of the Rings novels is an absolute joy to watch on screen, and proved so popular that he was later adapted into The Hobbit trilogy by Peter Jackson. However, as a supporting character, his main function is to be the most competent combatant in any given scene, and he is rarely given a quiet moment to demonstrate any other part of his character.
Making this lack of on-screen depth more noticeable is his frequent pairing with the boastful Gimli, a character whose stubbornness and pride is a central part of his character. The Legolas of the books is a more fleshed out and well-rounded character, but the film adaptation simply didn't have the time to explore this side of the character, and as a result the version played by Orlando Bloom comes across as little more than a shallow yet entertaining spectacle.
7 Princess Peach — The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Voiced wonderfully by Anya Taylor-Joy, The Super Mario Bros. Movie's version of Nintendo's classic princess got a major competence upgrade. Throughout the film, Princess Peach spends most of her time on screen making confident and inspiring speeches, demonstrating her ability to effortlessly perform feats of incredible strength and dexterity, and generally outperforming the titular plumber in every way.
It is even pointed out during a piece of dialogue that she never struggled, completing a difficult obstacle course, in her own words, "right away." While the performance is outstanding, her abilities make it hard to see the point of even having Mario as a part of the story. It is absolutely believable that this version of Peach could have defeated Bowser and saved the Mushroom Kingdom entirely on her own.
6 John Wick — John Wick Series
In an example of a story that is fully aware of its protagonist's invincibility, the John Wick series presents Keanu Reeves' titular hitman as "the guy you send to kill the boogeyman," with any and every character that goes up against him certain of his victory before the fight even starts. There is never any doubt about the outcome, and the movie doesn't even try to pretend otherwise.
Even as he sustains serious injuries, Wick just keeps going. His opposition is meant to be comprised of skilled assassins, yet he simply tears through them like tissue paper on the way to his goal in each film. Lampshades are hung on his long history as a nearly unstoppable killing machine, yet the gap between his abilities and those of his opponents is so great, and the chances of him encountering a meaningful challenge are so low that there really is no point in suspending disbelief.
5 Bella Swan — The Twilight Saga
Stephenie Meyer's heroine from the Twilight saga was intentionally written with minimal characterization in order to allow the reader to imprint themselves over her, something that was even mentioned on Meyer's own website. While this approach worked marvelously for the popularity of her book, it resulted in the main character of the Twilight films becoming a character that was both dull and incredibly difficult to relate to on screen.
This unemotional portrayal is made all the more jarring by the fact that the rest of the cast reacts as though Bella possesses incredible charisma, and even characters that stand against her find her charming. Outside hardcore fans, many audiences couldn't reconcile these reactions with the character's seeming lack of personality. It became a major criticism of the films that the main character didn't seem to have any agency or even identity of her own, in spite of being played extremely true to the writing by Kristen Stewart.
4 Superman — DCEU
Superman is a character that is and will always be difficult to make relatable, due in no small part to his overwhelming power. However, the DCEU adding other super powered heroes to the same setting didn't do the character any favors either. While Justice League made a point to talk up its main villain as a credible threat, and he was seen brutalizing the rest of the heroes, Superman managed to defeat this foe within little more than a minute of screen time.
Overwhelming power is not this character's only claim to the Gary Sue title, as he is also not plagued by any form of character weakness that challenges him in any meaningful way. Even death and resurrection had little impact on this character, as he simply delayed joining the fight for a brief moment before saving the day with a cheesy line about justice, courtesy of the Whedon reshoots lightening the tone of the film.
3 Hermione Granger — Harry Potter
While the version of Hermione Granger featured in the Harry Potter books is a brilliantly well-written and layered character, the film adaptations chose not to follow the source material in several ways that had a major impact on the character. While the film version of Hermione retained her high degree of intelligence, she also became one of the primary sources of information on the wizarding world, despite being new to the whole thing herself as a muggle-born.
Some of Ron Weasley's moments were also given to her, reducing his character's role while elevating hers. This included the immediate use of magic to defeat the Devil's Snare in Sorcerer's Stone, and the explanation of the "Mudblood" slur in Chamber of Secrets. This character also demonstrated a vindictive streak in the books that was left out of the movies, erasing what could be seen as a flaw in her morality that would have brought more depth to the character had it been included.
2 Steve Rogers — MCU
Steve Rogers, the star-spangled leader of the MCU Avengers, is a character that has virtually no character flaws, and whose level of power is inconsistent at best. However, he is so outstandingly entertaining to watch, and works so well with the rest of the cast that nobody notices. As early as The First Avenger, Steve consistently makes the best possible moral decision, and demonstrates a level of incorruptibility that no human being could ever match.
This continues through all of his appearances. Even when he disagrees with the rest of the Avengers, such as in Civil War, Cap comes across as the most moral of the group, defeating Iron Man in the process. He also briefly holds back Thanos on his own, mere moments after the mad titan had defeated the combined might of Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. However, Rogers' unfailing morality and determination plays beautifully with the rest of the cast, making this an instance of a character that actually benefits from being written this way.
1 Rey — Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
The main character of the Star Wars sequel trilogy is one of the most debated examples of the Mary Sue character type, with a great case being made both for her being a textbook example, and simply a capable character. When looking at the level of her skill and achievements, however, she easily falls into the definition we are using here. Throughout her appearances, she spends a lot of time demonstrating expertise over the rest of the characters, even in their own fields.
Within The Force Awakens alone, Rey is portrayed as so overwhelmingly gifted that it hints at a mysterious history that even she doesn't know. Having never flown a ship, she expertly pilots the Millennium Falcon, even managing to fix a problem with it that Han Solo himself was stumped by. Later, she demonstrates powers that it took Luke Skywalker multiple films to learn with training, such as summoning the Skywalker lightsaber while Kylo Ren, a trained and experienced force user, was attempting to do the same. This competence ultimately overshadows the rest of the cast, even making them into dead weight when they are operating together.
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