Parody Sue: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:EnsignSue 869.jpg|link=Ensign Sue Must Die|frame|[[Interactive Narrator|Now featuring running commentary]], complete with [[Face Palm]].]]

 

[[Mary Sue]] makes great [[Snark Bait]]. Who doesn't love to pick apart these paragons of failed attractiveness? But wouldn't it be even ''more'' fun to create an intentional Sue and play it for comedy?

 

If you come across a piece of blatant Sueishness in fanfiction and feel [[Snark Bait|the need for some justified cruelty]], it can be wiser (or at least, fun) to [[Poe's Law|assume that it's a parody]]. If you're right, you're right, and if you're wrong, you've insulted the author far more than any accusation of poor writing ever could.

{{examples}}

== Fan Works ==

=== The Abridged Series ===

** He learned.

 

=== Fan Fictions ===

* [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2722948/1/KotOR_Marisu_Saves_The_Day This] ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'' fic neatly skewers the tendency for fanfic writers to make female!Revan into a Mary Sue. ([[Punny Name|Note the character's first name.]])

* ''[http://flyingmoose.org/tolksarc/theories/war_babe.htm Arwen, the Warrior Babe]'' takes to a ludicrous extreme the [[Action Girl]] change that some feared the movie version of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' would bring.

* Many wonder whether the infamous ''[[My Immortal]]'' is a [[Stealth Parody]] or not.

* [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6016295/1/Dont_Let_a_Mary_Sue_Into_Titans_Tower Don't Let A Mary Sue Into Titans' Tower] A ''Teen Titans'' fic that hilariously parodies traditional Mary Sues, with the titular Mary Sue (who has the required super-long, super-stupid name) being incredibly lame and all the Titans trying to get rid of her but being unable to.

* [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3435160/1/The_Worst_Thing Perfectua Bellenina], star of a grotesquely exaggerated ''[[Star Wars]]'' [[Story Within a Story|Suefic]] that the canon characters themselves are unlucky enough to stumble upon...

* ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5580734/1/Alucard_Meets_a_Mary_Sue Alucard Meets a Mary Sue]''

* [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5779981/1/The_spectacular_adventures_of_bMiz_b_bBid_b_and_bRig_b The spectacular adventures of Miz, Bid and Rig!] Now with Zag! Parodied [[Relationship Sue]]s for everyone!

* Danielle in ''[[Total Drama Chris]]''. She may be considered more of an [[Anti-Sue]] than a proper Parody Sue.

* [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5077152/4/Though_A_Bird_Cant_Fly_Doesnt_Mean_It_Never_Will Chapter 4] of ''[[Though a Bird Can't Fly|Though a Bird Can't Fly, That Doesn't Mean It Never Will]]'' (a ''[[One Piece]]'' [[Alternate Universe Fic]] in which [[Dead Little Sister|Kuina]] survived her accident but was instead left blind) features Kitty Raven the Hunter, a [[Loony Fan]]girl of Captain Kuro whose exaggerated opinion of her own charm and skill leads to Kuro sending her on a fools' errand to take out Captain Morgan... and also leads to Kitty getting her ass handed to her by Kuina, who by this point has been developing into a [[Distaff Counterpart]] of [[Zatoichi]].

* The ''[[Pokémon]]'' fanfictions [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6664200/1/Gash ''Gash, or, There Once Was a Beautiful Young Pokémon Trainer Called Gash''] and [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6667669/1/Kanto_Quest Kanto Quest] by [http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1151627/Darkblade701 Darkblade701] feature these characters.

* [[Never Leave Fanfiction Lying Around]] features two Parody-Sues, Starr and Celeste. It uses the real characters reading the fiction the parody-sues are in as a framing device. Hilarity and pain ensue.

* [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6565945/14/Mary_Mary_Quite_Contrary Mary Mary? Quite Contrary!] starts off as an advice guide to avoid making a Mary Sue. Then in Chapter 14, it becomes an actual story featuring a rather blatant [[Mary Sue]], who is even ''aware'' that she is a [[Mary Sue]] (named Christiana Sophia Maysalee Thomas). More recently, there's Dark, who is a parody of the kind of [[Villain Sue]] commonly found in ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' fanfiction.

* The [[Harry Potter]] fic ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7762173/1/ Sapphire Eleanor Rose Suzette de Mont vs Canon]'' has, well, [[Captain Obvious|Sapphire Eleanor Rose]] [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Suzette de Mont.]] The prequel, ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7351304/1/Ebony_Darkness_Dementia_Raven_Way_vs_Canon Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way vs Canon]'' did this as well, parodying the hell out of [[My Immortal]].

* [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5777260/1/Quiero_ser_una_Mary_Sue ¡Quiero ser una Mary Sue!] (''I want to be a Mary Sue!'') is a Naruto Spanish fanfiction about a real world girl who is suddenly teleported into Naruto's world. As she has been reading a lot of fanfiction she thinks she can manage this new world and become a Sue pretty easy. She quickly sees she's wrong, [[Hilarity Ensues]]. It also plays a lot with the [[Common Mary Sue Traits]] as the main character aspiration. Saddly is incomplete and we don't know if the author is going to continue it. Really funny and sarcastic.

 

=== Tabletop Games ===

** When the Crew want her dead, what do they do?? {{spoiler|[[Red Shirt|Easy. Give her a red uniform and beam her down on a mission.]] At the cost of unleashing many, MANY other Mary Sues across the myriad universes.}}

* The ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' [[Sprite Comic]] ''Power Rings'' has the character [http://www.wizard-alcove.net/comic/generic-the-hedgehog/ Generic The Hedgehog].

* The ''Fire Emblem Online Comics'', a [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|series of comics on a site called "Fire Emblem Online"]] used the Type 2 version. Half the cast of [[Author Avatar]]s attempted to put themselves across as flawless protagonists while the other half were [[Deadpan Snarker]]s who saw right through it and lampshaded how their greed, lust and laziness was condemning the entire planet. Which half was which depended largely on who was carrying the [[Idiot Ball]] and who ''hadn't'' previously been reduced to [[Ludicrous Gibs]] by it.

{{quote|"And order is restored to the Sue-niverse..." }}

* ''[[Dragon Ball Multiverse]]'' gave us [http://www.dragonball-multiverse.com/en/page-284.html this]. {{spoiler|She ends up as a mix of Type 1 and Type 2, as while her mere presence forces all the canon characters to fawn over her, the alternate Arale she's up against knocks her into orbit while she's waxing Sue-ish before the fight.}}

** {{spoiler|The author later revamps him, but he still serves as good example.}}

* [http://raygirl.deviantart.com/art/Summer-the-MaRAY-Sue-192837505 Meet] [[Rayman|MaRAY-Sue]].

* [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-10101-j SCP-10101-J] and [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-777-j SCP-777-J], of the [[SCP Foundation]].

** [http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-732 SCP-732] turns Foundation documents into bad fanfic, which makes for a handy [[Cosmic Retcon|excuse]] for the periodic Sue-purges.

* [[Lover Not a Fighter|He's a lover, not a fighter]], [[Inverted Trope|but he's also a fighter so don't get any ideas]]. [[Badass Beard|His beard alone has experienced more than a lesser man's body]]. [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|He once punched a magician in the face. That's right. You heard me]]. [[Cultured Badass|He can speak French... in Russian]]. [[Anal Probing|Alien abductors have asked him to probe them]]. [[Serial Escalation|His blood smells like cologne]]. [[Overly Long Gag|If he were to punch you in the face, you would have to fight off the strong urge to thank him]]. [[All Blue Entry|He is]]... [[The Most Interesting Man in the World]].

{{quote|[[Badass Baritone|I don't always drink beer. But when I do, I prefer Dos Equis]].}}

 

* Nabeshin, the [[Author Avatar]] of director [[Shinichi Watanabe]] from ''[[Excel Saga (anime)|Excel Saga]]'', ''[[Puni Puni Poemi]]'', and ''[[Nerima Daikon Brothers]]'' who even has his own ongoing B-Plot in the former. [[Widget Series|Not that these shows take themselves seriously anyway]]....

* The eponymous character from ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'' skirts this. He's fast, near-perfect in all regards, [[Clueless Chick Magnet|liked by almost every major female character]] who meets him ([[Chaste Hero|though he doesn't really understand how to return their love]]), but is counterbalanced by the fact that the universe [[The Chew Toy|loves to screw around with him]]. He also seems a little [[Book Dumb]], especially compared to a [[Teen Genius]] like Maria and Nagi.

* [[The Sociopath|Max]] [[The Pied Piper of Hamelin|Piper]] of ''[[Fables]]'' is a parody of [[Villain Sue]] [[God Mode Sue]] characters in general. Jack can also easily be perceived as this.

* The [[DC Comics]] universe has the legendary Rex the [[Heroic Dog|Wonder Dog]]. He's a decorated veteran [[Captain America (comics)|World War II experimental supersoldier]]. He's an investigative journalist. He can drive vehicles. He can speak every language that exists, has eternal youth, and has ill-defined magical powers. He once nuked a T. rex. He almost certainly knows more than Batman and Mr. Terrific combined. He's also a dog, who gained the ability to talk ''after'' he had already accomplished most of his impressive stuff.

 

=== Films - Animation ===

** The character was originally not intended as so much of a parody, described as more of a renaissance man by the actor who played him.

*** According to the movie materials, everything in the movie is a dramatization of real events.

* The film ''American Dreamer'' was about a woman who has a concussion, and wakes up believing she's a character in her favorite pulp novels, and an over-the-top female [[James Bond]].

* ''[[Rushmore]]'' begins with Max Fischer dreaming he's popular and can solve an unsolvable math problem.

* [[Austin Powers]] is, like Derek Flint, a Parody Sue of secret agents.

* Similarly, Dr. Neil Connery (played by Sean Connery's brother) of [[Operation Double 007]]

* ''[[Black Dynamite]]''.

* ''[[The Other Guys]]'' has a type 2 example with two [[Cowboy Cop]] characters played by [[Samuel L. Jackson]] and [[Dwayne Johnson|The Rock]]. In universe, both are definitely in the [[Jerk Sue]] category, loved by all and chick magnets, routinely creating massive property damage, and huge jerks to the "little people" at the station. They [[Death by Cameo|kill themselves]] early in the film in what is clearly a case of believing too strongly in their own hype/[[Wrong Genre Savvy|assuming too much that the world works the way it does in cop movies]].

 

=== Literature ===

* ''Dearly Devoted [[Dexter]]'' pulls this on a [[God Mode Sue]] in typically vicious fashion. When a [[Mad Doctor]] inflicts terrible revenge on one of his former Special Forces coworkers, the feds send in Agent Kyle Chutsky. He's an Adonis, physically fit, expert at most everything, swiftly gets into a [[Slap Slap Kiss]] relationship with Dexter's sister Deborah, and has a personal history with the villain. So is our [[Villain Protagonist]] about to be pushed out of the book? Not quite. {{spoiler|Remember that personal history? The mad doctor grabs Chutsky, and by the time Dexter finds him he's lost two of his limbs and ''all'' of his composure.}}

* Donald Ogden Stewart's short story "How Love Came to General Grant", a parody of novelist Harold Bell Wright, establishes in this paragraph the purely pure pureness of Miss Ella Flowers:

* Brilliantly done in the ''[[Frasier]]'' episode "The Show Where Diane Comes Back", in which Diane's play ''Rhapsody and Requiem'' is a thinly veiled reproduction of ''[[Cheers]]'', with "Mary Ann" as the [[Author Avatar]]. ''Everyone'' loves her in the bar (even delivering an ode to her), which drives Frasier nuts, particularly since everyone also downplays the time that "Mary Ann" abandoned her fiance at the altar—which, since Frasier was the fiancé who got stiffed in real life, he has some alternative perspectives and objections towards. When the actor "Franklin" openly asks why his character would forgive Mary Ann so easily for leaving him at the altar, it causes Frasier to explode in a famous speech:

{{quote|'''Frasier:''' What you are feeling is that this woman has reached into your chest, plucked out your heart, and thrown it to her hellhounds for a chew toy! And it's not the last time either! Because that's what this woman is! She is the Devil! There's no use running away from her, because no matter how far you go, no matter how many years you let pass, you will never be completely out of reach of those bony fingers! So drink hearty, Franklin, and laugh! Because you have made a pact with Beelzebub! '''''And her name is Mary Anne!''''' }}

* Parodied on ''[[Garth Marenghi's Darkplace]]'', in which Garth casts himself as Rick Dagless, MD, described by his priest as "the most sensitive man I know, and I know God."

* One episode of ''[[My Wife and Kids]]'' has [[Betty White]] guest-star as a [[Mary Poppins]]-like housekeeper who can do anything perfectly, and in doing so elicits an awed "... Wow..." from everyone around her...except for wife Jay, who feels put out by the attention she's getting. At the end of the episode, the Kyles' neighbor runs into the house, saying that he just saw her flying through the sky with an umbrella, garnering one final "...Wow..."

I seem to be the only one fit to command'' }}

* The [[Harry Potter|wizard rock]] band House of Black made a song called [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3RWk34GYZQ "Mary Sue"] poking fun at, well, Mary Sues.

 

=== Tabletop Games ===

*** And let's not forget the [[Chick Tract|Jack Chick parody Bible tract]] in the Daeva clanbook...

*** White Wolf released a "new translation" of ''The Testament of Longinus'' on PDF, which reads like other holy scriptures if the narrator (of the first part) were a raving egomaniac. Including repetitions, contradictions, and historical inaccuracies... and translator notes which argue with each other about the significance and authorship of various verses. It's a hoot.

** ''[[Spelljammer]]'' has Reigar—a whole race of near-immortal beautiful [[Mad Artist]]s with [[Bishie Sparkle]]s. [[Shrouded in Myth]] except a few certain facts, such as they do anything at all only [[Doing It for the Art|for the art]] and that it included [[Earthshattering Kaboom|blowing up their homeworld]].

* ''[[Witch Girls Adventures]]'' includes a "Mary Sue" trait specifically intended for playing a Parody Sue.

=== Video Games ===

* Fraziska Von Karma from ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]'' is considered one of the [[Jerk Sue|Jerk]] and [[Villain Sue|Villain]] varieties, complete with several [[Common Mary Sue Traits]]. Daughter of the previous game's [[Big Bad]]—Check. [[Like Brother and Sister]] relationship with [[The Rival]] from the last game—Check. Gets away with physically assaulting any and all law enforcement officers and even using illegal evidence in court—Check. 18 years old lawyer who started her illustrious career at 13—Check. Beating her is a big [[Take That]] at the typical [[Mary Sue]] that Edgeworth fangirls tend to use in their self-insert fics. Also in case 4 of ''Investigations'' a couple of the people she tries to intimidate [[Not Now, Kiddo|either shrug her off or laugh at her]]. [[Butt Monkey|So she just takes it out on Edgeworth and Gumshoe.]]

* The ''[[Disgaea]]'' games give us Kurtis. He's handsome, he's badass, he is a genius, a cyborg, has a quite tragic backstory ''and'' is [[The Rival]]... And then he {{spoiler|does a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] and ends up transformed into a [[Everything's Better with Penguins|Prinny]]}}. [[Hilarity Ensues]].

* [[Duke Nukem]], though the "parody" part was subverted in ''[[Duke Nukem Forever|Forever]]''. [[Word of God]] has said that in that game he's meant to be taken completely seriously, and that he is supposed to be the coolest thing and center of his world. Most people who played the game seem to have thought it was a parody regardless of the intent.

 

=== Web Animation ===

 

=== Web Comics ===

** The story ends up playing the Sue author pretty sympathetically—her brothers whine that she's telling the story wrong, but her mother comforts her by telling her she made her own Mary Sue stories when she was a girl.

* In [http://nonadventures.com/2008/07/12/poultry-position/ this strip] of ''[[The Non-Adventures of Wonderella]]'', the author claims in the [[Alt Text]] that his [[Mary Sue]] character is an annoyed elderly rooster.

* Lewis Powell of ''[[Terror Island]]'' took ''that'' idea even further, claiming in [http://www.terrorisland.net/strips/163.html this strip] that his [[Mary Sue]] character was ''a fake magic cube''. {{spoiler|Ben wrote Lewis's commentary that day, for what it's worth.}}

* Dave Anez has admitted ([http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/index.php?date=060224 and lampshaded]) the fact that Bob is ''[[Bob and George]]'''s [[Marty Stu]]. He dresses like Proto Man (easily the coolest ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]'' character), he's able to beat the main cast in combat and able to out-program Dr. Wily. He's the mastermind behind the events of ''5'' and ''6'' parodies, and a demi-god to boot. Since ''Bob And George'' was a [[Gag Series]], he ends up as the butt of jokes a bit more often than your average Marty Stu. Given the often ridiculously exaggerated things he's done (like ''killing a ghost/hologram''), he may even qualify as [[The Ace]].

* There's still some debate among fans as to whether Jade from the ''[[MS Paint Adventures]]'' series ''[[Homestuck]]'' was intended to be one of these or not. She ''does'' have a ludicrous number of quirky hobbies, skills, and "cute" flaws (narcolepsy and [[Cloudcuckoolander|general ditziness]]). Jade also has a magical pet, crazy supernatural powers, future technology, a grasp on the unfolding plot, and she lives under the wing of her equally talented and rich Grandfather {{spoiler|who is deceased, making her [[Conveniently an Orphan]] in addition to everything else.}} What makes her seem like a Parody Sue instead of a straight example is the fact that her Sue-ness (like every other trope used in the series) is [[Exaggerated Trope|exaggerated]] to the point that it becomes funny. {{spoiler|Then she loses her powers, her gear and her pet, and spends so much time dozing that all the other main characters zoom past her. Time to start earning your keep, miss.}}

* ''[[Living with Insanity]]'' features a parody on bad writing as a whole, starring a character actually named Marty Stu who can convince nazis to stop being evil just because he is sexy.

* Tsukiko from ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'' is this to an extend. She has several [[Common Mary Sue Traits]]—heterochromatic eyes, great beauty, skimpy clothing, unusualy skilled for her young age, oppressed by a stuck-up society not understanding her greatness.... Parody comes in two aspects. First, she is terribly [[Wrong Genre Savvy]], acting like she is in her own self-insert [[Thinks Like a Romance Novel|romantic]] fanfic and can do whatever she wants to get Xykon to fall in love with her and others are just obstacles for her to dispose without consequences {{spoiler|-- which gets her killed once she tries to get rid of Redcloak}}. Second, that "oppressed by a stuck-up society not understanding her greatness" part? She was jailed for [[I Love the Dead|necrophilia]] and her entire reasoning for that behavior is based on [[Insane Troll Logic]].

* ''[[Chainsawsuit]]'' got a few entries, including "[http://chainsawsuit.com/2012/03/13/brightshadow-academy-for-mary-sues/ Brightshadow Academy for Mary Sues]". Its newest student is [http://chainsawsuit.com/2012/03/29/brightshadows-newest-student/ Jane Peters], who "had no [[God Mode Sue|unique powers]] and a [[Dark and Troubled Past|very normal past]]":

{{quote|poor jane peters... but little did she know that she was going to become [[Anti-Sue|the greatest student that brightshadow academy had ever seen]]}}

* ''[[Family Guy]]'': The Griffins bring in a new dog after Lois points out that Brian's getting old. "New Brian" is polite, perfect, multi-talented and instantly befriends everyone (''sans'' Stewie), who rightly realizes that he's Brian's "replacement". New Brian goes on to improve everyone's lives and supplant Brian completely. However, he makes his fatal mistake when he... gets a little intimate with [[Companion Cube|Rupert the teddy bear]]. [[Woman Scorned|Stewie is not pleased...]]

** Don't forget Derek, Jillian's {{spoiler|late}} husband. He's depicted as a parody of a [[Relationship Sue]] .

* ''[[Home Movies]]'': You let Fenton play in your movies at your peril.

{{quote|"You're the dirty villain, and I'm the hero, and you suck. A-and you're really stupid and I'm really smart. OK? And you're fat and have bad skin, and I'm thin and I have small pores."}}

* ''[[The Life and Times of Juniper Lee]]''. One episode features a guest character with many [[Common Mary Sue Traits]], including taking main character burden. Then she turns out to be very incompetent in the terms of fighting monsters.

* ''[[Johnny Test]]'' brings us ''Mary'' and ''Su''san Test. It's only played with though.

* Poochie on ''[[The Simpsons]]'' is, arguably, a good example of a Stu character played as a parody of new characters who are just stuck into stories and then they annoy the fans. But the reason Poochie annoys the fans isn't just because he's new, it's because of his Gary Stu traits. He comes in with a whole rap song about why he's so cool, Itchy and Scratchy's usually violently comedic characters are changed into [[Creator's Pet|oohing and ahhing over him]], and he throws the story off course to show off how cool he is (cue Milhouse moaning "[[They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot|When are they going to get to the fireworks factory?!]]"). Also, like with many Gary Stu type characters, [[Creator's Pet|the fans are annoyed by him]], except for his voice actor, Homer, who acts like a fan who is overly protective of their [[Mary Sue]] character. Homer's idea of how to improve the show is to make Poochie louder, angrier, have access to a time machine, and to make the other characters say "Where's Poochie?" when he's not on-screen, which could also go under the [[Creator's Pet]] trope.

** This is, of course, why he is an example of [[Shoo Out the New Guy]].

** Luckily, the Marketing Executives who [[Executive Meddling|created him]] in the first place wised up quickly and [[Bus Crash|killed him off when he had to go back to his home planet]].

* Sierra from ''[[Total Drama Island|Total Drama World Tour]]'' has quite a lot of [[Common Mary Sue Traits]]. However, other characters find her creepy and annoying, especially Cody.

* {{spoiler|[[Deus Ex Machina|Mintberry Crunch]]}} from the ''[[South Park]]'' "Coon & Friends" trilogy.

{{quote|{{spoiler|'''Stan:''' Wow! Who would have thought that Mintberry Crunch had powers?}}

{{spoiler|'''Cartman:''' *sighs* Fucking Mintberry fucking Crunch.}} }}

 

{{reflist}}