# Mary Sue > An idealized character who is effortlessly skilled, admired by everyone and never seriously tested, so the story loses its tension. The name comes from a 1973 Star Trek fan fiction parody. ## In practice A Mary Sue is a character who is too perfect for the story to hold: brilliant at everything with no effort, loved by everyone who matters, forgiven for every mistake and never seriously tested. The term began as a joke in 1970s Star Trek fan fiction and became one of the most common criticisms writers hear. Its male versions are usually called Gary Stu or Marty Stu. The problem is not that the character is strong or likable. Plenty of great heroes are both. The problem is that the story bends around them. Rules stop applying, other characters exist to admire them, and every conflict dissolves before it costs them anything. The audience senses that nothing is really at stake, and a character who cannot lose is hard to worry about. The common mistakes in avoiding a Mary Sue are giving the character token flaws (clumsiness, a fondness for coffee) that never matter, and overcorrecting with a hero so damaged that they become unlikable. The fix is not fewer strengths but real costs: failures with consequences, skills earned on screen and people around them who disagree, compete and are sometimes right. ## Turning a Mary Sue into a character **A cadet's first flight test** ``` INT. FLIGHT SIMULATOR - DAY Alarms. Red light. CADET IRIS VALE (19) wrestles the controls as the screen fills with mountains. In the observation booth, INSTRUCTOR KANE (50s) watches, arms folded. IRIS I can pull out of this. The screen goes white. CRASH. The simulator lurches and goes dark. INT. OBSERVATION BOOTH - CONTINUOUS Kane makes a note. ARJUN (19), another cadet, grins at the monitor. ARJUN Top of the class, they said. KANE She will be. When she stops trying to save planes she should have bailed out of. ``` In a Mary Sue version of this scene, Iris pulls out of the dive no one has ever survived and the instructor stares in awe. Here she fails, a rival enjoys it, and her mentor names the real flaw: the same stubbornness that makes her good makes her dangerous. She is still talented, and the audience can see it, but now she has something to learn and a story to grow in. ## What a Mary Sue is A Mary Sue is an idealized character whose abilities, looks and goodness are so exaggerated that the story loses its tension. Typical signs are a character who masters every skill instantly, wins the love or respect of every important character, is never wrong in any way that costs them and solves the story's problems without real struggle. The name comes from "A Trekkie's Tale," a short parody Paula Smith published in her Star Trek fanzine Menagerie in 1973. Its heroine, Lieutenant Mary Sue, is the youngest officer in the fleet, half-Vulcan, adored by Kirk and Spock, saves the whole crew and dies to universal mourning. Smith was mocking a type of fan fiction she kept seeing, and fans adopted the name. The term often implies a self-insert, a character who stands in for the author's wishes about themselves. Not every Mary Sue is one, and not every self-insert is a Mary Sue. The label describes the effect on the story: a character the plot is built to flatter rather than to test. ## Mary Sue and Gary Stu examples Fan fiction is where the label started, and it is still used most there, for original characters dropped into a favorite world who outshine the canon heroes. In published fiction, critics have applied it to wish-fulfillment heroes in romance and fantasy, where the protagonist is the most beautiful, the most gifted and the most desired without having to pay for any of it. The male versions, Gary Stu and Marty Stu, describe heroes such as the action star who wins every fight without a scratch or the genius who is always right. James Bond and Superman have both been called Gary Stus, though fans point out that their best stories give them real weaknesses: Bond's losses, Superman's love for people he cannot always save. The label has also become a weapon in online arguments, often aimed at female leads in big franchises. Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy and Captain Marvel drew the charge, while male heroes with similar powers were rarely called Gary Stus. That debate is worth knowing about: the useful question is not whether a character is strong, but whether the story ever makes their strength cost something. ## Mary Sue vs. a strong character A strong character can be extraordinary. Sherlock Holmes is a genius, Ripley survives what kills everyone else and Hermione Granger is the best student at Hogwarts. They are not Mary Sues because the story challenges them: Holmes is defeated by Irene Adler, Ripley loses her crew, Hermione's cleverness does not make her popular. The difference is in how the world responds. Around a Mary Sue, other characters lose their own judgment, admire without reason or turn into villains just for disliking her. Around a strong character, other people keep their goals and opinions, and some of them are right when the hero is wrong. Competence is also earned differently. A strong character's skills are set up before they are needed and cost something to use. A Mary Sue's skills appear when the plot needs them. If a character can suddenly fly a ship, speak a language or win a duel with no setup, the audience feels the author's hand. ## How to avoid writing a Mary Sue Give the character flaws that matter. A real flaw causes problems in the plot: pride that loses an ally, impatience that leads to a mistake, loyalty that blinds them to betrayal. If the flaw could be removed without changing a single scene, it is decoration, not a flaw. Let them fail. At least once, and preferably at a moment that counts, the character should try their hardest and lose. Failure gives them somewhere to grow and gives the audience a reason to worry the next time. A hero who has never lost has no victories that mean anything. Give other characters their own minds. Someone should dislike the hero for a good reason, someone should beat them at something and someone should be right when they are wrong. A useful test is to imagine the story from a side character's point of view: if that character exists only to react to the hero, they need a life of their own. ## Is a Mary Sue always bad? Wish fulfillment is one of fiction's oldest pleasures, and some stories embrace it openly. Pulp adventure heroes, superhero origin stories and many romances give readers a protagonist who is special and lets them enjoy it. Readers who choose those stories often want exactly that. Many writers also begin with a Mary Sue, especially when they are young, and grow out of it. Writing an idealized version of yourself into a story you love is a natural first step, and the habits it builds (imagining yourself into a world, caring about a character) are worth keeping. Even in wish-fulfillment stories, the form works better with some cost. The audience enjoys a hero's triumph more when it was in doubt. So the question for any idealized character is the same: where does the story push back, and what does winning take from them? ## Official sources & context Sources reviewed Oct 30, 2026 - [Merriam-Webster — Mary Sue](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Mary%20Sue) ## Common questions ### What is a Mary Sue? A Mary Sue is an idealized character who is unrealistically skilled, admired and lucky, so the story never seriously challenges them. The term comes from a 1973 Star Trek fan fiction parody and is used as a criticism of characters the plot is built to flatter. ### Where does the term Mary Sue come from? It comes from "A Trekkie's Tale," a parody Paula Smith published in the Star Trek fanzine Menagerie in 1973. The story's heroine, Lieutenant Mary Sue, is a teenage officer who outshines the whole Enterprise crew and dies to universal grief. ### What is a Gary Stu? Gary Stu, also called Marty Stu, is the male version of a Mary Sue: a male character who is unrealistically perfect, effortlessly skilled and admired by everyone, so the story never puts him at real risk. ### What are the signs of a Mary Sue? Common signs are a character who masters skills without effort, is loved or admired by almost everyone, has flaws that never affect the plot, is never seriously wrong and solves the story's main problem without real struggle or loss. ### How do you fix a Mary Sue? Give the character flaws that cause real problems, let them fail at something important, set up their skills before they need them and give other characters their own goals and opinions, including some who disagree with the hero and are right. ### Is a Mary Sue the same as a self-insert? Not exactly. A self-insert is a character based on the author, and a Mary Sue is an idealized character the story never challenges. Many Mary Sues are self-inserts, but a self-insert with real flaws and struggles is not a Mary Sue. ### Can a strong character be a Mary Sue? Strength alone does not make a Mary Sue. A character can be brilliant or powerful and still be well written if the story tests them, makes their strengths cost something and lets them fail. A Mary Sue is defined by the story's lack of resistance, not by the character's power. ## Related terms - [Character archetypes](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/character-archetypes): Recurring roles that characters play in stories across cultures, such as the hero, the mentor, the trickster and the shadow. An archetype describes what a character does for the story, not who they are, so the same role can be filled by very different people. - [Character traits](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/character-traits): The qualities of personality, values and behavior that define a character, such as honest, reckless, loyal or vain. Traits tell the audience what to expect, and a story tests them under pressure. - [Characterization](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/characterization): How a character becomes specific on the page — the traits, tactics, and contradictions that show up in choices, not a résumé of adjectives parked in an action paragraph. - [Trope](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/trope): A familiar pattern that audiences recognize across many stories: a type of character, situation or plot turn, such as the chosen one, enemies to lovers or one last job. Writers play tropes straight, subvert them or comment on them. --- Canonical page: