Mary Sues and why we hate them.

[outlaw_f0x 149]

mary sues are fine! ocs are for fun, after all. i totally understand preferring more balanced, realistic characters, i’m in the same boat as you! but you shouldn’t make fun of other people or their ocs because they’re too “flashy” or “overpowered. just have fun !! 

[honk friend 1,972]

I'll be honest the whole concept of Mary Sues irks me.

I'll put it this way: Why is it that so many Star Wars fans who grew up idolizing Luke Skywalker are quick to jump the gun on calling Rey a Mary Sue? Why can't she just be a badly written character, or why can't you just say you don't like the Disney sequels?
This is a rhetorical question mind you, I'm not looking for genuine answers, I find Star Wars in general quite boring.

Point is, it was invented as a way to deride fanfiction writers who made very self-indulgent Star Trek fanfiction, usually women. I don't like the senseless cruelty in making fun of people who make self-indulgent fandom material, that's kinda the whole point of being part of a fandom. The fact that the term now broadly applies to (usually female) characters that you don't like that much makes the existence of it as a term and as a concept all the more irksome to me.

[Sir Hugsalot 8,619]

Hate is a big word, but I am not a fan of Mary Sue as the concept. 

Every story, even the simplest one is in a way built around character's weaknesses. It's their journey to learn something, better themselves, grow as people. They make mistakes, they face struggles, hone their skills or even learn entirely new skills essential to overcome challenges thrown at them.

Mary Sue completely disables that, because it makes character flawless and immune to any kind of mistakes. They need to pilot a ship? Suddenly they were always capable of that. They need to fight in melee combat? They practiced that in unspecified period of time and somehow that skill hasn't withered with years of no practice. They need to use some foreign language? Oh, they know it too. They don't need to learn anything. They already know all they need, having learned it long before actual story takes place. In even worse cases they didn't even "learn" it at all. They simply can do it. Don't ask questions. They just can.

That effectively removes any tension in the story, You don't feel like there are high stakes, because You safely assume protagonist will beat the challenge anyway. Even in My Little Pony victories against villains, while easy to predict always come from mane 6 learning something new, creating tighter bond, growing. They didn't beat Nightmare Moon until they discovered their bond and what it stands for, for example. They don't just step in and blast villains into oblivion.

Mary Sue is just a trope, that in my opinion works only for completely comedic purposes and has no place in other kinds of stories or at least I never saw it executed well.