What is a Mary Sue Character?
Common Mary Sue Traits
Impossibly cool outfit? Check.
Purple? Check.
Ethereal traits? Check.
Contradictory backstory? Check.
Stealing the hero's job? Check.
Sparkly? Check. She's good to go.
"Im good at too many things! WHY CAN'T I JUST BE NORMAL? IT'S A Freaking CURSE!"
— Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way, of My Immortal While Mary Sue is too nebulous to be judged by any hard and fast standard, certain traits have become surprisingly popular. In an effort to make their characters more attractive without having to do the leg work of natural character development, the authors just add some of these superficial traits to their character. Below are the ones that the collective unconscious (so to speak) find especially attractive and end up incorporating into their characters with regularity. With the way the word has mutated over time, a great many people just end up labeling any character overdosed with these traits as a Mary Sue regardless of her importance within the story. That's not necessarily true. Even if a character has quite a number of the traits described below, Mary-Sueness can still be averted by a good enough explanation for why they're there. Some female characters may seem over-powered and a bit "too good to be true" on paper but when placed in context they can be well-developed, three-dimensional characters. It's when a trait exists more to make somebody stand out than to develop them as a character that it starts going into Mary Sue territory (unless it's Played for Laughs). Alternatively you may feel as if the writer is frantically trying to justify a trait to themselves and the reader. Sadly, a lack of these traits does not automatically mean the character isn't a Sue: see Anti-Sue and Suetiful All Along. This article will concern itself with gender neutral and female traits. For (the few) male-exclusive variants, see Marty Stu. For a litmus test that draws on much the same source material, see here. open/close all folders Personality
Overused Settings and Storylines
Here’s a special subset of clichés I like to call the Van Helsing Rules, named after the infamous vampire movie which employed nearly every hackneyed monster movie cliché in the book and which shattered nearly every law of physics and reason…
Impossibly cool outfit? Check.
Purple? Check.
Ethereal traits? Check.
Contradictory backstory? Check.
Stealing the hero's job? Check.
Sparkly? Check. She's good to go.
"Im good at too many things! WHY CAN'T I JUST BE NORMAL? IT'S A Freaking CURSE!"
— Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way, of My Immortal While Mary Sue is too nebulous to be judged by any hard and fast standard, certain traits have become surprisingly popular. In an effort to make their characters more attractive without having to do the leg work of natural character development, the authors just add some of these superficial traits to their character. Below are the ones that the collective unconscious (so to speak) find especially attractive and end up incorporating into their characters with regularity. With the way the word has mutated over time, a great many people just end up labeling any character overdosed with these traits as a Mary Sue regardless of her importance within the story. That's not necessarily true. Even if a character has quite a number of the traits described below, Mary-Sueness can still be averted by a good enough explanation for why they're there. Some female characters may seem over-powered and a bit "too good to be true" on paper but when placed in context they can be well-developed, three-dimensional characters. It's when a trait exists more to make somebody stand out than to develop them as a character that it starts going into Mary Sue territory (unless it's Played for Laughs). Alternatively you may feel as if the writer is frantically trying to justify a trait to themselves and the reader. Sadly, a lack of these traits does not automatically mean the character isn't a Sue: see Anti-Sue and Suetiful All Along. This article will concern itself with gender neutral and female traits. For (the few) male-exclusive variants, see Marty Stu. For a litmus test that draws on much the same source material, see here. open/close all folders Personality
- What personality? In these cases, it's fairly blatant the author is just writing the character for amazing stuff to happen to instead of a character that actually exists as a person. Obviously, this is only a Mary Sue trait if what happens gives the character special powers, fantastic romances, or somehow lets her be a big damned heroine; otherwise it's just another faceless first-person perspective.
- The personality of a Mary Sue, if she has one, is not nearly as important as how other characters react to it. No matter how shy or socially awkward Mary Sue is, other characters will be drawn to her and (for some reason) prefer her company over that of anyone else, all of her ideas are brilliant, all of her jokes are funny, any insight she offers (no matter how obvious it may seem to the reader) will be an amazing breakthrough that no one has ever thought of before, people (unless they're being portrayed negatively) will trust her immediately (or learn to trust her very quickly) and feel more comfortable talking to her than to anyone else (even their own family or their significant other) even if she hasn't done or said anything to make them feel that way about her.
- If another character critisizes Mary Sue, the author will usually have written that in for the sole purpose of making that character look bad.
- Mary Sue doesn't have to actually do anything to be considered a good person, she just is good and by extension anything she does is good and even when she does nothing she brings more good into the world simply by existing than any other character ever could. Goodness just seems to seep out of her body like radiation.
- Its like invoking Godwin's law, but backwards
- Highly persuasive, regardless of the actual content of their conversations. Everyone finds her opinions are just better than their own - even when they're usually stubborn bastards. This is especially likely in an Author Tract.
- Friend to All Living Things. It's becoming gradually less common as authors catch on to the Mary Sue Classic framework.
- Is either brave and cheerful (despite her past), or unnecessarily mopey and depressed.
- Incorruptible. In fact, unaware of the possibility of temptation.
- Occasionally a complete asshole, especially when she's supposed to be all of the above. Nobody will call her out on her abrasive, casually abusive behavior. Plus, strong badass characters who would normally rip someone's spleen out for looking at them cross-eyed are instantly cowed and become meek, spineless Wangst factories as soon as she "puts them in their place."
- Her "major flaws" will be stubbornness and a bad temper. These will only ever help her, never hurt her — because she's always right, so whatever cause she dedicates herself to with such stubbornness will be a good cause, and whoever she loses her temper with will deserve it.
- Sometimes they'll mess her up once so she can learn an important lesson. And then they'll help her for the rest of the story.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Being super awesome is a curse. Now in a franchise like X-Men, a character can find their awesomeness a curse, but at the very least it's because mutants are feared. Mary Sue claims she wishes she was normal even when there's no actual downside to her powers.
- Inexplicable and/or poorly defined abilities in general, especially if they play no factor in the plot after their introduction (not even as a Required Secondary Power) and are only there to make the character seem even more awesome.
- Clumsiness is a popular flaw but it never shows up beyond tripping Sue into her lover's arms - it is never inconvenient, and only ever embarassing in a cute way.
- Regardless of what skill level the canon characters have established, she might just simply be better than them, often in ways that do not make sense. See also: Always Someone Better, God Mode Sue.
- Not to mention that if she isn't already skilled at something, she'll pick it up in a fraction of the time required.
- That's if she even needs to learn them at all.
- Magical powers similar to what the other characters have, only with the limitations removed.
- A perfect singing voice. Most often shows up in Mary Sue Classic. This died out for a while, but is returning due to the popularity of pop divas.
- Extreme proficiency with an instrument of her choice.
- And if it's a Song Fic, she'll possess the ability to compose her own lyrics and songs. Of course, they're NOT her own lyrics, they've been ripped off the internet by the author.
- She tends to not have normal sex, but the most mind-blowingly divine sex ever, regardless of how experienced she actually is.
- And her lover is often a Draco in Leather Pants quickly Heel Face Turned by her vagina.
- Speaks several languages fluently. This can vary depending on the setting, of course. A modern-day diplomat is expected to know at least one or two other languages, but a 14-year-old peasant girl in Medieval Europe shouldn't speak Japanese and Hindi fluently. It's much worse if it includes animals. Bonus points if an alien lands in her backyard and she can communicate instantly (provided it doesn't speak the language already).
- The most common second languages are probably Romance languages (because they sound awesome), Japanese (for the otaku), and Lakota (many Sues* A Mary Sioux? are of American Indian admixture, but never more than half).
- Skilled in a type of martial arts in a setting or with a backstory that doesn't allow for it. Not regularly skilled either; she could kick the ass of the resident ninja of her choice.
- Just random magical powers, such as telepathy in a universe where it's never even been mentioned.
- Or in a universe where her ability is naturally impossible to have, say ... bog standard real life?
- Absurd natural athletic ability - she can run like the wind without ever having worked on her running, and has impossibly high acrobatic skills.
- And with all this - don't expect the Green-Eyed Monster to show up. Envy appears in the Mary Sue's life only as a means of angst, and so does not appear just because the Mary Sue has everything.
- Alternately, anybody who does get jealous is a bitch and is wrong. This is typically a single other character and may be Die for Our Ship or for other reasons.
- Mary Sue always has excellent fashion sense, even if she's meant to be a ruff-and-tumble, Tom-Boy type who doesn't care about that sort of thing, she will always look effortlessly beautiful (Unkempt Beauty) and other characters, often males, will frequently talk about how they like that she isn't as high maintenance as other girls (if she has a female rival they might mention her specifically.)
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse™. While being attractive isn't a qualifier of Mary Sue (who wants to be ugly?), it's a bit excessive to try and play it as being some sort of disadvantage. Alternatively she may only be Suetiful All Along. In an Anti-Sue, this is reversed into a hideous monster. Regardless, her astounding beauty (or astounding lack of it) will make her stand out from the crowd - or so we're constantly being told.
- Unusual hair and/or eye color relative to canon is another common characteristic of Mary Sue. Alternatively, these features may be amazing in other ways - shining and shimmering eyes, or Anime Hair in non-Anime fandoms.
- Rapunzel Hair is also common.
- Another variant is Kaleidoscope Hair, where the Mary Sue can change her hair color.
- Note that White Hair isn't really considered all that unusual in anime-based fiction. It only becomes Sue-ish if it makes her special.
- More important than colour is highlights. Of course hair dye is nothing special, but somehow Sue's streaks are not only a colour completely different to the base, but also natural. Nature allows some leeway here - blonds with dark roots aren't unheard of, but that's not what Sue is after.
- Similarly, these "natural" highlights are often a color such as blue, pink, purple or any other color that doesn't occur naturally in hair outside anime.
- Kaleidoscope Eyes. Seeing it in text is practically an instant Mary Sue qualifier.
- She might have a waiflike figure, so slim and delicate... and yet her breasts are perky, supple D-Cups (because obviously, otherwise boys won't appreciate her personality), totally disregarding the fact that in reality, the slimmer you are, the smaller your breasts are likely to be (though there are real-world exceptions, a few even natural). These breasts never get in the way, or make running difficult, or sag. If height and weight figures are given, expect it to violate physics (unless she's made of Styrofoam or something).
- This particular trait is magnified if her role in the story has her doing things that would require a lot of upper body strength and therefore bulk, such as wielding a sword or fighting hand-to-hand. It's magnified even more if there are other female canon characters with similar roles who are built more like female mixed martial arts fighters. Having one lone waifish and delicate young girl in that group because the author thinks muscular women are gross-looking and to have that lone waif fight just as well or better than someone with more muscle mass despite her physical limitations is a bog standard Mary Sue trait.
- Mary Sue is also never depicted as putting too much effort into maintaining her body, she may get an Adrenaline Make Over, but she never has to diet or exercise (she may exercise for other reasons, but never just to maintain a certain weight or to look a certain way) or use any cosmetic products, she just naturally looks (the authors idea of) perfect and usually doesn't understand why everyone is so impressed by her effortlessly flawless appearance.
- No matter what she's been through, Mary Sue will never look ugly. The worst she'll ever be reduced to is Unkempt Beauty, and even if she is somehow injured and scarred or handicapped, the scar will always be a cool looking, Bond villain type scar that serves as more of a decoration than anything else. Plus, when she overcomes the handicap, she will be just as amazing as she was before getting injured (or better.)
- Likewise, if Mary Sue has a birth mark, it will be in a significant shape (heart, half moon, etc.) and never in a place that compromises her beauty.
- She'll often wear revealing outfits with tons of gems, fishnets, Frills of Justice, and other extraneous details, even if it may be difficult or impossible to find such an outfit in her world (or be well outside of her realistic price bracket). Such flashy outfits will likely be just too impractical to wear in Real Life.
- Similar to the above, she will often wear special clothes even when the rest of the cast is supposed to be in some form of uniform.
- Alternately, she will wear a uniform that resembles the standard one that other characters wear, but it will be customized, and in a skimpy and impractical sense. For example, if the uniform includes a skirt (or even when it doesn't), Sue's skirt will be skin tight and extremely short, and will usually be paired with thigh-high fishnets.
- Purple seems to be popular. After all, Graceful Ladies Like Purple, Purple is Powerful, and Supernatural is Purple. This applies especially when the canon characters are a Five-Man Band color-coded with red, yellow, green, blue and white/silver/black/pink. Gold is about the second most popular.
- In text, massive descriptions of their clothes, or links to images of her outfits. Bonus points if it's designer clothes in a situation where it would be unlikely and/or expensive for her income.
- Descriptions of her looks are usually overly-detailed and distinctly violet-hued. Because saying she's slim with long black hair and blue eyes only tells you what she looks like. Saying she's a delicate, willowy goddess with flowing tresses that shimmered onyx like the feathers of a raven and sparkling cerulean orbs that shone like the ocean and radiated with femininity tells you she's special.
- Magic jewelry. It might be used as a Green Lantern Ring to justify her abilities.
- Exotic weaponry in a setting where she shouldn't have access to such. Usually, the question of why the law enforcement allows her to carry it doesn't come up and nobody seems to find a girl carrying a large sword intimidating. Bonus points if there is no explanation for where she keeps it.
- A katana. Now it's not impossible to have a katana outside of Japan anymore, but when it's because Katanas Are Just Better (especially in a place they either shouldn't exist or would be technically useless), you've got Sue-ness coming on. Two katanas is almost always a dead sure sign.
- Sometime they'll use guns instead, especially if the setting doesn't usually have them, and in which case they're almost always revolvers. Or a minigun.
- Or if they're particularly into firearms, just check the list of Rare Guns. (see Desert Eagles) Often as lavishly described as the outfits.
- If she has her own transport, it will always be cool and expensive. Sometimes she has her own Time Machine - even worse if it's based on something from a different canon.
- She may have access to a Humongous Mecha in a universe that lacks them, or only hands them out on a case-by-case basis.
- The web exists everywhere for her— she can whip out her laptop anywhere and have access to both our normal internet and the local internet of whatever world she lives in. And use it to hack toasters and the Pentagon. Additional Sue points if her laptop displays an unnaturally long battery life. (i.e. the battery never runs out, even while adventuring in places where there's no obvious means of recharging it, such as forests, deserts, or mountains.)
- If the Suethor's favorite character has a one-of-a-kind weapon, Mary Sue will usually have a previously unheard of identical weapon. The trait is reinforced when Mary Sue's weapon was handed down to her through generations, especially if, in canon, no one knows where the original weapon came from. For example, if Sephiroth has the Masamune, the Mary Sue that has been foisted on him in a particular story will have an identical weapon called the Murasame.
- Some Wish Fulfillment with a character you think is hot isn't that bad. But Mary Sue seems to grab their attention straight away. Even if they already have a stable love interest in canon, that relationship will be treated as either non-existent, or the couple will be split up in some way.
- Bonus points if the love interest stands aside or sacrifices himself/herself so Mary Sue can be happy, or is twisted into a hateful person to justify Mary Sue breaking up the canon couple.
- Or perhaps Mary will be introduced as the canon character's New Old Flame and this is their rediscovery of each other, though it's never really explained why they split up in the first place if they loved each other so much.
- Turns out to be the offspring of a canon character. Made worse if that character would have been too young to have the Mary Sue, is gay/asexual, or perhaps is just physically incapable of it. For added Wangst, it's the villain.
- She may be related to a canon character in some other way. This can be the explanation for a Copy Cat Sue. And why spend chapters explaining why the heroes accept a total stranger into their midst so readily, when they can just shout, "Luke, I am your sister!"
- Kid from the Future may explain away the 'young' part, but not much else.
- If It's You, It's Okay can explain the "gay/asexual" part. Alternatively see Mr. Seahorse which only makes said Mary Sue more unique.
- Even the characters who don't have sex with her give her more heed than they normally would. Characters she likes can't stop talking about her beauty and power. Characters she doesn't like can't stop making themselves look bad by insulting her. There may be just "something special" about them, with no particular reason why anybody would think that. In the worst-case scenarios, they pay no heed to their own responsibilities or lives, only to Sue.
- Bonus points: the disliked character behaving badly toward the Sue eventually sees the "error" of his/her ways and grows to love Sue as much as everyone else does.
- More bonus points: the bad behavior and treatment of the Sue by disliked characters is portrayed as jealousy.
- Bonus points: the disliked character behaving badly toward the Sue eventually sees the "error" of his/her ways and grows to love Sue as much as everyone else does.
- Previously-established personalities change in reaction to her. Arrogant gimps may admire her for everything. Sweet, mild-mannered characters (that she and the author don't like) insult and degrade her. A leader with responsibilities pays attention only to her. Young, reckless characters who would never settle down just yet will become totally reliable. Evil characters follow her around like a puppy or seem uncharacteristically obsessed with her. Extremely competent characters become stumbling buffoons who require her help to do anything. The characters in general just seem unnaturally focused on her, positive or negative.
- If she's inserted into a story from before a canon character turned out to be evil, she will be the only one who suspects him.
- Or if the canon character's evil was the result of a Face Heel Turn, she will be the one who prevents this alignment switch from happening.
- She gets special treatment in-universe. The classic example is the Harry Potter "exchange student" fic where a sixteen-year-old American girl enters Hogwarts as a sixth year, is immediately given a spot on the Quidditch team and doesn't have to wear the uniform. Chances are good that Sue will be making all the calls that should be somebody else's prerogative; she's probably the one telling the Sorting Hat which house she's going to be in.
- May serve as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl if her love interest is especially dark, brooding or troubled. She "cures" him of that, often at the expense of his characterization.
- She may have relationships of some kind with multiple major canon characters. For example, she's the secret daughter of A who gave her up to be adopted by B's parents, making her his sister, and she goes on to have a passionate affair with C, remaining friendly with him even though she goes on to marry D, and she's E's best friend, F's closest advisor...and so on.
- Mary Sue is always on the Spotlight-Stealing Squad. Without her, there would not be a story.
- If she has any flaws intentionally written in by the creator, expect them to be Informed or not really flaws to begin with. Bonus points if they're genuine flaws that would actually be pretty awesome were it not for their drawbacks (e.g. substance abuse, nymphomania, etc.), and of course the drawbacks will never be shown.
- Clumsiness is a common "flaw".
- Which tends to manifest itself only a few times throughout the entire story, like the author saying, "No, she's not a Sue. See, she has flaws!"
- Clumsiness is a common "flaw".
- She's The Chosen One. Even if the canon hero is already The Chosen One, she either 'shares' the position or just steals it away from them.
- Or she might be part of the same specialized species/organization as the hero. See Sailor Earth.
- Alternately she is "destined to help the destined one fulfill their destiny" which pretty much means do all the real work except for the final blow so the prophecy isn't technically wrong.
- She is often around the age the author is, or just looks that way despite being Really 700 Years Old so that she can be wise and leaderly. This doesn't have to be bad (there are many settings where it's acceptable) but when you start seeing hardened military officers that are 16...
- Sympathetic Sue has an unusually Dark and Troubled Past to the excess, but other subtypes often have them too, just to emphasize how brave and special she is to live through it. This past is never really a point in the story, just dropped casually into the conversation to get attention. Alternatively it's written badly owing to not doing much research. How much she Wangsts about it is usually out of proportion with how bad it really is.
- There are several popular methods:
- She might be a Blithe Spirit and reform an entire population center of its negative qualities. Bonus points if this involves The Power of Love, The Power of Rock, or (to paraphrase Lisa Simpson) being "[...]rebellious... in a conformist sort of way".
- Perform a Heroic Sacrifice as a way to prove that she's Too Good For This Sinful Earth. Bonus points if the story goes out of the way to ensure she doesn't leave an ugly corpse (whether it be by a method that doesn't involve external physical damage or by her body not being recovered).
- More bonus points if it turns out to be a Disney Death.
- She might turn out to secretly be half-human, half-(insert species here). Or maybe just full (insert species here). Elf is extremely common, but any sufficiently human looking, "pretty" race will work. For added points, make her feel outright shame because she's not human even though, if anything, it only makes her more beautiful and/or powerful.
- Or maybe she's a Cute Monster Girl. Bonus points if this does not mesh with canon (i.e. canon dragon girls have heavy scales, flat chests, large talons for hands/feet, and are just flat out monstrous, but this character is just simply human with dragon wings, tail, unobtrusive horns, and a couple random scales on her shoulders and midsection).
- Similarly, if she's half-cat or dog, the only physical proof of this is that she'll have cute ears and a tail.
- Also common is vampire-anything (like a Half Vampire), with no discernible monstrous attributes or drawbacks, which often leads to great amounts of Purple Prose or a Copy Cat Sue syndrome.
- In some cases she's somehow half-human + half-elf + half-veela + half-angel + half-saiyan + half-God-like ridiculous hybrid creature. Bonus points if one of these races does not even exist in the story's canon, or if the end result would be illogical by definition (i.e. a half-demon/half-angel).
- If the character is already a furry, they'll typically be some incomprehensible hybrid, a rare or little-used (always pretty) species, and/or have wings regardless of species.
- Bonus points if whatever species she is makes no sense in canon. Sure it's okay in a fantasy book, but in a regular fiction book there probably shouldn't be any elves walking around.
- Or maybe she's a Cute Monster Girl. Bonus points if this does not mesh with canon (i.e. canon dragon girls have heavy scales, flat chests, large talons for hands/feet, and are just flat out monstrous, but this character is just simply human with dragon wings, tail, unobtrusive horns, and a couple random scales on her shoulders and midsection).
- Redeems the villain through her overwhelming goodness. Might be through Redemption Equals Sex (bonus points if it leads into IKEA Erotica). Even more bonus points if the story decides to mention that this is her loss of virginity. Yet more bonus points if the villain comments on how awesome she is in bed despite said virginity.
- As she gives the most awesome, mind-blowing, divine sex ever, it obviously comes with super-redeeming powers. Yet, if the villain isn't her choice love interest, her love interest of choice will be better at it.
- Is a princess. Everything's Better with Princesses, after all. Bonus points if she grew up as a peasant (or equivalent social class) and only just discovered this during the story. Of course, in any case, it will be a position of high opulence and little actual responsibility.
- On a similar note, the Changeling Fantasy is popular enough in its own right without ever involving Rags to Royalty to begin with. It's certainly advantageous to the writer to have a set of cruel parents that can be replaced with ideal ones.
- In fantasy canons, she can break the Rules of the World at will. Often, nobody will even be surprised.
- If she ever does anything wrong, she's both instantly remorseful about it and Easily Forgiven by those she wrongs. Sue: I'm sorry I Just Shot Marvin in the Face. Marvin's Friend: It's okay. I never liked him, anyway.
- She will often suffer from Special Snowflake Syndrome, having some trait or backstory that sets her apart from her race.
- This can be taken to the point of being from another setting entirely. It's no coincidence that many of the most notorious fanfics are mega-Crossovers.
- Sometimes, the Sue has only one supernatural power: being The Chosen One. Her chosenness makes her critically important to the world, but since she has no other godlike powers, she will spend most of the story being kidnapped (usually by a villainous love interest) and/or otherwise victimized. This is becoming more common as writers catch on to God Mode Sue, since it allows her to continue stealing the spotlight while still avoiding the "god mode" label.
- Will often be either of the author's ethnicity, an ethnicity the author wishes to be (often Magical Native American), or both. Not bad by itself, but can lead to Unfortunate Implications, and often occurs in cases when it's not even likely.
- In fanfiction at its most unoriginal, an Author Avatar is sometimes just inserted into the story as it happened (the Tenth Walker is to The Lord of the Rings as the American exchange student is to Harry Potter) and has basically no effect on the plot — she's there to either elbow aside each of the canon characters in turn and take over the plot points they were responsible for, or even more boring, just stand around and watch them do their thing, thinking all the right thoughts to show what a good judge of character she is — maybe with a romance with a canon character or an occasional Fixer Sue moment thrown in. Reading these fics is like experiencing the original work with a thirteen-year-old fangirl talking in your ear.
- Mary Sue is also often written into fanficiton as a character that just happened to not be shown in the actual movie (book, graphic novel, etc.) but who was really super important behind the scenes.
- You remember that dark, brooding, emotionally closed off character who always had his guard up and never confided in anyone? well, little did you know, he had a best friend/relative/therapist/love interest who was the only person he ever felt comfortable talking to and he told her all of his hopes and dreams and secret motivations.
- You know that lone vigilante who saved the day and then disappeared into the night? well, little did you know that he had a friend/love interest who was secretly by his side through it all and even helped him to execute his plans/ helped him come up with all his best ideas/ was his whole inspiration to be a hero in the first place!
- Writing an OC who has a connection to an existing character isn't necessarily bad but must be handled delicately; too many fanfiction writers make the mistake of making their OC solely responsible for everything that was good about a particular character or putting her behind every significant canon event.
- May be named after the author in some form. Becoming less frequent as people catch on to the Litmus Tests.
- The more common practice is to give the Sue a name that the author really, really likes. As in, wishes it were their own name or the name they'd give to their firstborn. Names like Raven, Hunter, Samantha, or Sam are really popular for this.
- May have some overly long, complicated, usually Meaningful Name that relates to her abilities or personality - whether this is usual in canon or not.
- Her name is sometimes a gemstone, a flower, celestial bodies, (i.e. Luna, Stella, Celeste) or a pretty color (e.g. Violet, Sapphire). With Emo-Sues, her name is something spooky, mystical, or related to darkness (e.g. Raven, Trinity). Of particular note, Serenity seems to be a cliche often finding its way into parodies.
- May have an unusual spelling of a normal name, like Krystal or Syndi.
- Maybe they have a generic Japanese name like Hikari or Sakura. Bonus points if it's a decidedly non-Japanese setting.
- The reverse can also occur in other cultures, when people are given "exotic" English words for names. Often results in name which doesn't mean quite what the author intended, due to the large vocabulary and connotations attached to many supposedly synonymous words in the English language.
- And of course the same can apply to any other language that the author thinks is cool.
- It is not uncommon for a Sue to have a combination Japanese/Western-type name, e.g., Hikari Rose Nightshade or Sapphire Morimoto. While such names are not unheard of in real life, they are practically a six-foot-high neon sign flashing I'M A MARY SUE when it comes to fanfic.
- The reverse can also occur in other cultures, when people are given "exotic" English words for names. Often results in name which doesn't mean quite what the author intended, due to the large vocabulary and connotations attached to many supposedly synonymous words in the English language.
- Above all, the name is inconsistent within their particular culture. So you get cases of a small isolated village where Bob and Andy are lusting over Serenity Jasmine Sunrise Snapdragon.
- Which raises another point: if standard western names have 3 or 4 parts—a first, middle, and last name—expect her to have four or more. For example, Robert Charlie Smith and Mary Jane Jones will be friends with Raven Fire Trinity Helena Hope Marissa Insanelylongandhardtopronouncelastname.
- If part native, expect one of a list of native names that probably don't mean what the author thinks they do, aren't really native, or are the names of tribes.
- Her name may be an awkwardly feminized version of the author's favorite male character's name. For example, Final Fantasy VII fanfic is littered with Sephiras, Sephirothas, Sefiras, etc. There has even been a Sephora.
- A massive amount of time gets spent on describing her every feature in her introduction. Obviously, most canon characters are already well-defined to the reader whereas the new character needs an adequate description, but if it spends paragraphs, continues cropping up throughout the story, and includes detailed appendices on every little detail, just abandon all hope.
- She gets Purple Prose (usually with heavy Fetish emphasis) while no other character (canon or otherwise) gets it. Whereas her love interest extends his hand out to her, she slowly but confidently raises her slim, tender, yet dexterous left hand that has a ring on her index finger to hide a small birth mark, shifting her weight to her front stiletto adorned foot and causing her long, flowing aquamarine hair done with two front tails to ripple and her supple yet firm right breast to shift ever so slightly, rubbing against her slightly loose but supportive black lace bra and causing her heart-shaped face to gain a slight bit of blush underneath her sparkling emerald eyes.
- Relatedly, many things about her are described as "[adjective] yet/but [adjective that often comes into conflict with the other adjective]".
- In visual media, the camera just can't stop staring at her. Every angle is seen several times and her every action gets a heavy emphasis with close-up shots galore. Other characters don't get to be in the frame alone if it can be helped.
- New words get made up to describe her. She isn't just fantastic, she's megariffic!
- Whole passages seem minimalistic, as though the author knows what's going on and only wrote the parts that he/she wanted to fetish-obsess over.
- Pressing concerns of the actual story such as a villain who's actively trying to take over the world, aren't even addressed because everybody is too busy taking an interest in the new girl's life.
- Alternatively, major plot points (that aren't solved by the new girl) are done entirely off screen. If the handsome yet evil character walks in and explains that he has seen the error of his ways, confronted his evil father, killed The Dragon, and found the seventh and final MacGuffin all in one sentence and nobody seems to really care because Princess Doctor Professor Saint Serenity Jasmine BelleSunrise Snapdragon the Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot, KBE, Esq., wasn't directly involved, that's not a good sign. (also, a pretty stupid thing in itself)
- When the character is off screen, if ever, the other characters are still talking about her, taking it as a chance to speak "honestly" about the new girl. If they like her, they sing her praises; if not, their dislike will be taken as jealousy, as her "haters" will only talk about petty issues (Sue's background, perceived promiscuity, etc.), and not genuine gripes (massive attention whoring for starters).
- The story is often told entirely from the POV of the Mary Sue, sometimes in first person so the focus can never shift away from her.
- The same character—either literally the same character or the same in spirit—tends to appear in all of the works by a particular author or artist because they identify so closely with the character.
- The author takes personal offense at any criticism of the character or story, no matter how well-meaning or justified it is.
- Bonus points for an overblown ego behind it.
- The author may get upset when she sees her favorite character paired with anyone but her OC.
- In extreme Small Name, Big Ego cases, the author will create a fan club for her own Mary Sue and/or aggressively ships the Sue with a canon character and makes a fan club for that.
- The author/artist has a massive gallery of art exclusively of the character. A few illustrations to give an idea of what a character looks like is a good idea. Over a hundred illustrations of a single OC is an obsession.
Overused Settings and Storylines
- THE Fantasy Cliché - Hero starts off as a farm boy/servant/shepherd etc., has his family killed (which turns out not to be his actual family), and, through a process of self-realization and learning, becomes the all-powerful prophesied hero.
- A brave hero steals from the rich and gives to the poor.
- A brave hero steals from the rich and keeps it for himself.
- A brave hero incites a slave revolt just by defeating an opponent or opponents in a feat of gladiatorial combat.
- A brave hero incites a revolution by foiling a single well-attended public execution.
- The old sage helping the hero develop his skills so he can defeat the bad guys:
- is killed by the bad guys before the hero’s eyes, thus inciting the hero to try even harder to defeat them.
OR - turns out to be an an even worse bad guy who is only using the hero as a pawn against his rivals (and who plans to get rid of the hero once he’s served his purpose of defeating said rivals.)
- is killed by the bad guys before the hero’s eyes, thus inciting the hero to try even harder to defeat them.
- A band of heroes travels to various and sundry distant lands searching for the pieces to a key or to a device which will help them defeat the bad guys. After months of continuous trials and tribulations, they finally succeed in finding it and assembling it together, only to have it stolen from them by the bad guys who were smart enough to sit on their arses and wait for the heroes to do all the hard work for them. (Suckers!)
- A hero/heroine is called upon to take the place of a recently kidnapped member of royalty to whom they bear a conveniently uncanny resemblance.
(Corollary: No matter how different the impostor might be in terms of background and personality, he/she will have no trouble impersonating the member of royalty. For some reason, their resemblance will be even MORE uncanny if the person they’re impersonating is of the opposite gender. (This is known as The Makoto Effect). - A pantheon of gods gets together and decides to play “chess” (or Risk, or Monopoly or whatever) with human beings as tokens.
- It has been prophesied that a certain baby born with a certain birthmark is destined to destroy the villain when it grows up. Said baby is then whisked away to the forest to safety where it is raised to strapping young adulthood by:
- wolves
- little folk
- fairies
- a curmudgeonly, yet endearing old hermit.
OR - the baby is placed in a basket and sent floating down a river where it’s found and raised to strapping young adulthood by:
- a female member of the villain’s family
- a kindly, old, childless peasant couple
- The hero’s best friend is a member of the alien/magical race currently oppressing humanity, thereby making him and his friend the target of racism and prejudice.
- An immortal being falls in love with a mortal and elects to give up his/her immortality so the two of them can live together.
- The story takes place in an advanced society where spaceships and high technology reign, but where people inexplicably dress in costume from ancient eras (Roman togas, medieval gowns and armor, 18th century coats and cravats, etc.)
- A fortuneteller:
- tells the hero that something awful will happen, and sometimes, even how to prevent it, but the hero disregards the advice,
- a decision he later comes to regret.
- tells the hero that something awful will happen and despite the elaborate steps the hero takes to prevent this awful thing from happening, it happens anyway.
- will give the hero a prophecy that’s deliberately vague and convoluted, knowing full well that it will cause him to follow a certain course of action (which the fortuneteller secretly wants him to pursue.)
- A marriage is arranged between a prince and a princess, for political purposes. Both the prince and princess refuse the match but are later sent on a journey/adventure together, during the course of which they fall in love and eventually come to wonder how they could ever have refused the marriage in the first place.
- The plot revolves around the fact that the villain is after a certain piece of jewelry that the hero owns. (Usually some kind of pendant that possesses some magical power.)
- An individual from the 20th century, (a Connecticut Yankee, an Astronaut, an Annoyingly Cute Kid from the Cosby Show) travels back in time to King Arthur’s Court where he/she finds everyone able to speak perfectly intelligible English and where he/she is able to wow the locals by:
- performing music that is contemporary to the date the movie/TV show was made
OR - by showing off high-tech 20th century doodads like safety pins, firearms, skateboards, and snacks.
- performing music that is contemporary to the date the movie/TV show was made
- A hero/heroine visits a museum or an archeological dig where they get bonked on the head and find themselves waking up in the past. While there, the hero/heroine experiences a grand adventure, at the end of which, they get bonked on the head again. When they wake up this time, they find themselves back home in the future, with the impression in their mind that their grand adventure was all a dream. HOWEVER (in a farm-fresh, Rod Serling-esque plot twist), they soon stumble upon something at the museum/archeological dig (a scene from an ancient cave painting featuring their portrait, or a suit of armor with a bullet hole in it), which convinces them that maybe they weren’t dreaming after all.
- Poor/low social class Hero falls madly in love with princess/high social class girl. Princess/high social class girl’s overly protective father finds out and attempts to kill hero but is:
- swayed by the girl at the last possible moment
- robbed of killing the hero by sheer chance
- the girl gets in the way and he accidentally stabs her instead. (Oops!)
- Girl is held captive by evil dragon who finds her entertaining, thus saving her from becoming crispy fried.
- Hero finally gets a chance to beat arch-rival senseless, only to find that arch-rival has become insane/impoverished/lonely/dejected and generally not worth beating…
- Evil Dragon turns good and befriends heroes, just in time for the “savior” of the heroes to come and kill it dead bug.
- Talking magical object utterly bamboozles hero, in a world where talking magical objects are completely the norm.
- Hero finds magical weapon, and is told never to use it, ever. Hero accidentally uses weapon when hero, trusty sidekick (probably either the tone deaf bard or the honorable thief), or lover is in mortal peril.
- Hero sets off on a quest to find something or someone, only to find at the end he had it/them with him the whole time. (D’oh!)
- Heroine falls in love with guy A, then out of love with guy A and into love with guy B. Guy B dies, Distraught Heroine marries guy A. Theme of unrequited/thwarted love.
- Evil Emperor’s beautiful daughter falls in love with the hero.
- Evil Emperor’s homely daughter feels compassion for his captives and sets them all free.
- Hero/Heroine is trying to learn a new move/spell/secret at the beginning of film/episode, but has failed at every attempt. Somehow (be it the power of love, truth or the ol’ chestnut- faith in ones abilities) said Hero/Heroine manages to pull it off and defeat the creature/villain who could only be killed by that one move/spell/secret.
- Evil doers with multi uber awesome powers always come unstuck when a newbie hero/heroine turns up with one super lame attack all powered by (you guessed it) LOVE! (Known as the Pretty Sammy effect.)
- The princess in the story is:
- a damsel in distress who constantly needs rescuing.
- a selfish snob who sees the error of her ways after mingling with the hero and the “common people” for a while.
- a tomboy who prefers trousers to skirts and who constantly has to tell the hero she can take care of herself (even if it’s bloody well obvious she can’t).
- A friar or clergyman is lecherous, has a potty mouth, or is in any other way notoriously worldly.
- A bounty hunter/mercenary hired by the villains to dispatch the hero, turns out to be more interested in honor and/or the thrill of the fight than in the money.
- A plucky street urchin who befriends the good guys is eventually discovered to be an agent (albeit perhaps, a reluctant one) for the bad guys.
- The heroes encounter an all-female race which:
- are Amazons or warriors, with no evidence of any agricultural activity within the community, means of commerce, construction, or craftspeople.
- are young, big-hootered and beautiful. And, with the exception perhaps of a council of elders, there isn’t a single old, fat, or ugly amazon in the bunch.
- are led by a queen or ruler who is in the prime of her life, strikingly beautiful, and who invariably falls head over heels in love with the hero.
- A lute-toting bard who tags along with the heroes:
- is useless as a fighter or as much of anything else.
- promises to “sing great songs” about the heroes after their adventures have ended.
- is almost completely lacking in any real musical talent whatsoever.
AND - in rare cases, gets himself into trouble with a lady or with her family (”You spoony bard!”)
- Creatures that are half-man/half-animal always look more animal than man. Creatures that are half-woman/half animal, always look more woman than animal and almost always wear little (or no) clothing and have extremely large breasts.
- The evil wizard is played by either Jack Palance or Christopher Lee.
- The hero has an American accent. The rest of the cast have English accents.
- Blonde princesses are good, brunette/dark-haired princesses are evil.
- Evil emperors:
- crave wealth, money and power
- dress in robes or armor, or a combination of both and tend to cover up every inch of their bodies even if the temperature is 98 degrees outside.
- sometimes have an attraction to the heroine or to the hero’s girlfriend.
- Evil empresses:
- crave wealth, money and power
- dress in leather, bikinis, or a combination of both, and tend to dress scantily even if the temperature is 20 degrees below zero outside.
- ALWAYS have an attraction to the hero (and sometimes to the heroine or to the hero’s girlfriend.)
- The best fighters are always men. The best healers/white magic users are always women. (I’ve seen many a console RPG guilty of this one.) #14
- The sword the hero is carrying has a blade made of pure light energy which goes VOOOM! whenever he swings it.
- A villain who is particularly vain or pretty receives a scar or burn on his/her face, courtesy of the hero. Said villain then dons a mask (usually) and spends a good chunk of the rest of the story sulking in a dark place, plotting his/her revenge.
- As a child, the hero:
- trains hard to be a great warrior/mage/etc., though no one believes he/she can do it.
- is destined to be a great warrior/mage/etc., and refuses to train because he/she finds it a waste of time.
- The hero of the story is:
- incredibly arrogant and cocky, but can never back it up.
- a coward who does nothing until the very end, when he gets over his fear to do one thing that accomplishes his mission, eventually being declared a hero for that one deed.
- a great warrior, except when he is drunk, (and he is almost always drunk).
- A member of the group who is a child will be ignored and/or mistreated by the others, even if he/she is smarter than all the other group members combined.
- The hero is always either a really gorgeous guy (enabling him to capture the hearts of all the girls) or an atrociously ugly guy (enabling him to capture the hearts of all the girls, albeit through pity, his inferiority complex, and the lack of love he’s received from everyone.)
- Clergymen who are affiliated with any kind of established church appear noble and serene, but inside are actually pompous, hypocritical, or secretly in league with the forces of evil. (Japanese RPGs are ESPECIALLY guilty of this one.)
- Clergymen who are NOT affiliated with any kind of established church and who are instead wandering monks and friars appear to be rude, hard-drinking, and worldly, but inside secretly have a heart of gold and are disposed to give help to the hero whenever he needs it (as well as be on hand to marry the hero to his sweetheart at the end of the movie/story.) #22
- The larger and more titanic the size of the heroine’s breasts, the less likely they are to impede her ability to fight, run, flip backwards several times, etc.
- The cool, anti-hero type vampire hunter with superhuman strength turns out to be (in another brilliantly original, Serling-esque plot twist) a vampire (or half-vampire) themselves.
- A hero is boastful, claiming nobody is better than him. As a result more people who are able to defeat him show up in the story/series. (That’s what you get for tempting the fates).
- If the character in the original book is female, a warrior, detests men with a passion, and a cold-hearted villainess, in the movie she’ll be a bratty little plot device who falls in love with every male she comes in contact with.
- A Barbarian appears in the story.
- If it’s female, it will dress in a skimpy, bust-enhancing, leather costume, carry around a big sword, and will frequently insist that the only man she’ll marry is one who can defeat her in a fair contest. Despite how tough she might be, she’ll scream like a schoolgirl every time she encounters a rat in a dungeon.
- If it’s a male, it will dress in a leather thong and a headband (and not much else), carry around a big sword, and will, in most cases, sport a thick Austrian accent. Will have a tendency, when surprised or when rushing into battle, to shout epithets involving the names of extremely masculine-sounding gods. (”By CROM, I will defeat you!!!!”)
- The comic relief is:
- A cowardly yet amiable thief/pickpocket.
- A cute (sometimes wise-cracking) animal who seems pretty annoying and useless except during those rare times when a situation calls for filching dungeon keys or for heroically sacrificing oneself in an attempt to distract the villain.
- A tone-deaf bard. (see aforementioned comments concerning bards above).
- A pair of lovable droids with clashing, Odd Couple-esque personalities.
- Any animated character whose VA is Robin Williams, Dom DeLuise or Gilbert Gottfried.
- An inept, out-of-shape, out-of-his-league, self-declared “hero” who tags along with the real heroes in the hopes of experiencing a grand adventure, (and who usually winds up instead being a pain in the ass, being eventually compromised by the villain, or just plain mucking up everyone’s plans.) In rare cases, his/her ineptitude will result in his/her performing an action which, through sheer luck, will result in causing a setback for the villain (oftentimes by causing his accidental destruction).
- Usually completely unnecessary.
- A dragon appears in the story. Said dragon is possessed of a sentient mind and the ability to converse in human languages fluently, (a seemingly meaningless talent for it to have, considering all the dragon wants to do with his life is to find an enormous hoard of treasure, plop his big, scaly ass down on top of it and sleep for all eternity, waking only to shoo away/eat the occasional armored knight, hobbit, or callow teen-aged hero which might come round to try and claim it).
- Fairies (the 6 inch tall kind) are usually:
- scantily dressed and female
- cute beyond all reason,
- extremely hot-tempered
- jealously attracted to the Hero. (The fact that he’s 300 times bigger than she is and that the two of them have no hope of engaging in normal intimate relations does not appear to shake her resolve to love him one bit.)
- Villains dress in dark or sinister colors such as black and blood red.
- Wizards wear tall pointed hats and robes embroidered with moons and stars.
- Any character you see within the story that has a western name either has it spelt differently or is a secondary character who bears no importance whatsoever. All other proper nouns (names and places) will be completely foreign and hard to pronounce.
- Evil people always sound more evil and deadly with a British accent (unless it’s Dick Van Dyke)
- Orphans become heroes.
- Stepmothers are evil.
- Villainous or dark characters are the way they are because of a tragic occurrence in their pasts.
- The heroine/hero is always so beautiful that everyone falls in love with him/her.
- A wedding takes place where the phrase “And if there’s anyone present who can see why these two shouldn’t be joined in marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace,” is followed by a scene in which nobody holds their peace. (Corollary: It is a Universal Rule of Fantasy that the hero and his buddies, when attempting to stop a wedding between the hero’s love interest and the villain, MUST choose the particular moment after that phrase is uttered, to launch their attack, even if waiting to do so puts them at a strategic disadvantage.)
- The all-powerful wizard/seemingly unbeatable enemy turns out to be a mischievous child or a dinky old man behind a curtain.
- The villain’s fortress starts to crumble around our heroes the moment he is defeated, leaving our heroes just barely enough time to escape before it collapses.
- The overly friendly (or, in some cases, vaguely menacing) bishop or church official turns out to actually be at the head of the evil cult.
- The hero runs into a competent swordswoman:
- whose great skill with the sword is matched only by the great size of her hooters
AND WHO - engages him in battle (at first)
- sleeps with him (later on)
- sacrifices her life for him (at the end)
- whose great skill with the sword is matched only by the great size of her hooters
- Secondary characters who are killed in the first season of the TV series or movie are brought back to life in the sequel/next season for the flimsiest of reasons, because they were popular OR because the writers/producers of the show are too gutless to risk offending soccer moms by killing off sympathetic characters (and showing kids that, yes, sometimes evil actually wins.)
- The hero and his girlfriend who, although looked like they were headed down the aisle at the end of the first movie or season of the TV series are inexplicably separated or estranged at the beginning of the sequel/next season.
- One of the good guys falls in love with and becomes engaged to a character with no background and no previous presence in the storyline. Said character will invariably:
- (if it’s a female) get kidnapped by the bad guys, forcing the good guys to rally around the groom and help him go save her.
- turn out to be a spy or operative for the Bad Guys.
- turn out to be a criminal or con-artist who wants to scam the heroes out of an important item or out of their pocket change.
In any event, the mysterious fiance turns out to be a one-shot character who, at the end of the book/episode: - dies
- gets thrown in prison
- is discovered to be already married to somebody else.
- decides they want to get to hitched to an old flame instead of to the good guy/gal she/he’s engaged to.
- just plain up and leaves for no damn good reason.
- A virgin, slated for sacrifice, is rendered unsuitable for sacrificial purposes thanks to a plot contrivance which conveniently places her and the hero alone in the same area just long enough for them to have an intimate encounter.
- The villain turns out to be the hero’s long-lost father/ brother/ uncle’s cousin’s sister’s best friend’s former roommate, etc.
- The hero inexplicably chooses to ride off into the sunset alone or with his buddies rather than stay behind with the hot princess he just rescued and help her rule her kingdom.
- The hero(es) extricate themselves from a hopelessly tricky situation by simply cutting a rope holding a chandelier. (Making sure it’s the right rope first, of course, ala Robin Hood: Men in Tights.)
- All it takes to defeat the villain is a good dousing with a bucket of cold water. (The Sci-Fi equivalent to this Fantasy plot device would be the all-powerful superweapon that’s about to destroy the world being disabled by simply pulling a plug from a wall outlet.)
- The villain charges towards the hero, intending to strike him down while his back in turned, but is prevented from doing do by a weapon shot/thrown by the hero’s friend or ally, who just happened to conveniently arrive at that very moment.
- A princess rescues the hero from jail by:
- drugging the guard(s) drinks.
- pretending to trip and exposing her shapely legs, thereby distracting the guard(s) long enough for the hero to reach out from between the bars of his cell and klonk him/them unconscious.
- An executioner or a priest performing a human sacrifice is stopped from doing his job at the last second by a hero who manages to pull off a one-in-a-million, defies-all-known-laws-of-reason-and-physics shot with a ranged weapon.
- A catapult successfully shoots a hero over the castle battlements where he lands safely on the other side in a pile of straw, instead of ending up as a stain on the wall or with his insides spilled on the cobblestones of the courtyard pavement.
- The hero from the future goes back in time and uses the old “Hey, what’s that over there?” trick to elude the villains, and it works because said villains come from an era in history when men were less-media savvy and more prone to believe in the sincerity of everything told to them by other people.
- The hero from the future goes back in time and uses the old “Hey, what’s that over there?” trick to elude the villains, and it DOESN’T work because, let’s face it, that old trick has been around since the days the first cavemen walked the earth. (Only then it was known as “Lookout ! There’s a velociraptor headed straight for us!” Needless to say, it didn’t work very well THEN, either…)
- An obnoxiously cute little creature that’s following the heroes around sacrifices it’s life for them, and at the end of the story, gets resurrected somehow. (This is usually much to the chagrin of the viewers/readers, most of whom had hated that annoying little turd from the moment it first appeared in the story and had cheered loudly when they thought it had been dispatched.)
- Modern (sometimes painfully modern) jokes/clichés/conventions of society, etc. are used for comedic effect.
- Archaic weapons are used improperly. (Or misused because it looks cool.) i.e.: A hero blocks his enemy’s downstroke while crouched on the ground with his back to him, a ninja catches an arrow or stops a swinging sword with his bare hands, etc.
- Weapons are used which could never really work in reality the way they do in the story/series. (Not without slicing the user’s fingers off. CHAKRAM *Cough!*)
- The most powerful member of the group (usually a wizard) refuses to use his powers unless absolutely necessary, even when doing so would have saved the group a month’s journey or prevented the death of one or more of its members.
- The most powerful member of the group leaves at the most crucial moment and comes back to find that the group completely screwed everything up because he/she was gone.
- When two members of sparring kingdoms travel together, they:
- (if they’re of the same sex) become best of friends and decide to work together to unite their kingdoms.
- (if they’re of the opposite sex) become lovers and decide to marry and have children to unite their kingdoms.
- When a hero has a dark past/secret, it is known by:
- the hero’s parent(s)/sibling(s)/guardian(s) who took care of him since he was a child. This person reveals the secret to the hero just before he dies, leaving the hero with no one to answer the many questions this revelation brought up.
AND - the villain, who is connected to the past/secret in some way.
- the hero’s parent(s)/sibling(s)/guardian(s) who took care of him since he was a child. This person reveals the secret to the hero just before he dies, leaving the hero with no one to answer the many questions this revelation brought up.
- The heroes seek the help of a legendary warrior. Upon finding him, they discover him to be a washed-up, aged, curmudgeon-y old drunk who can barely stand up much less save the day.
- When dealing with the heroes, the villain will always forgo the simple, straightforward option of crushing them utterly and instead, inexplicably choose to deploy his weakest weapons/minions against them first, thus allowing the heroes ample opportunity to build up their strength to the point where they become a bona fide threat.
- (Corollary from Rule #2 above) If the villain looks monstrous, ferocious or intimidating, it’s true form will turn out to be weak, almost comical. If the villain is normal, puny-looking, or handsome, it’s true form will turn out to be towering and monstrous.
- Comrades-in-arms who fall in battle are mourned by the heroes for a grand total of about three seconds and then callously forgotten about for the rest of the story.
- Characters are able to perform or witness acts of tremendous violence, (mutilations, explosions, decapitations, massacres, etc.,) without ever suffering any negative mental repercussions in the form of nightmares, neuroses, psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, or anything else of that nature.
- The hero shoots an arrow, the tip of which the camera follows right until it enters the forehead of its victim. (a’la Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, LOTR, etc.)
- All it takes to make a miraculous recovery from a mortal injury is having an extreme will to live. (Or by having a soulmate/wise old friend/mysterious person with magical healing powers who will play a large role in the up-coming plotline to destroy the villain help you.)
- The villain commits a cruel act that’s over-the-top in it’s senselessness (i.e. killing a messenger who brings bad news, crushing a canary or killing a cherished pet) for no other reason than to show just how evil he truly is.
- The Evil Emperor imprisons the hero’s girlfriend, dresses her like a skank, offers her all the power and possessions her heart desires, and then is genuinely mystified when she fails to fall for him.
- The Evil Empress imprisons the hero, dresses like a skank, offers him her beautiful, voluptuous body to do with as he pleases, and then is genuinely mystified when he fails to fall for her. (As are all the men reading/watching the story…)
- Even though all the odds are stacked against him, the (average-minded) hero somehow manages to outwit the (brilliant) villain, simply because the hero is a) on the side of good or b) has someone else doing all the thinking for him or c) when about to die, uses the power of love and life to lift himself up one final time, which is just enough to kill the villain.
- Scantily-clad and hatless heroes and heroines are able to walk for miles outdoors under a blazing sun without even the slightest hint of a sunburn or skin damage afterwards.
- A story or episode features characters from competing and wildly differing religious belief systems (i.e. biblical figures, figures from Greek and Roman myths) interacting with each other seamlessly and apparently without any theological conflicts.
- The story features a character employing some kind of a love potion. This usually turns out to be a Really Bad Idea because:
- Love potions being used by people with good intentions (who wish to have certain members of the heroes’ party fall in love with certain other members, ) invariably wind up being drunk by people they were not intended for,
AND - Love potions being used by the villain/villainess (to win over one of the hero characters) are annoyingly susceptible to being broken by that pesky ol’ Power of True Love Thing.
- Love potions being used by people with good intentions (who wish to have certain members of the heroes’ party fall in love with certain other members, ) invariably wind up being drunk by people they were not intended for,
- The heroes fight their way to the villain’s inner sanctum to find the villain, dressed in somber colors, playing creepy music on a pipe organ.
- A character who is killed off is brought back in the lamest way possible by having the same actor who portrayed them play the deceased character’s twin, secret love child, alternate persona from another universe, etc.
- Have I mentioned either the “Villain employs the hero’s evil twin or lookalike impostor against the hero” or the “Hero and Villain switch bodies and the hero’s companions don’t find out until it’s almost too late” clichés yet?
- The last day of the year when the magical keyhole to the magical secret passage is able to appear in the side of the mountain, is, by sheer coincidence, the very same day the heroes arrive with the key.
- Male characters who are kept in dungeons for several days exhibit no signs of beard growth, even though they may have been chained to a wall and thus, unable to shave themselves. (Same goes for scantily-clad female characters and leg and armpit hair growth.)
- Characters absolutely cannot change their clothes or get them dirty unless, of course, it is story related. Addendum: No matter how many times the hero’s clothes are
burned, bloodied, stained, torn, slashed, or otherwise mutilated, by the end of the episode/chapter, the clothes will be as good as new. - Right before the villain is about to be killed by the hero, he pleads for his life. Naturally, the hero takes pity on the villain and spares him, provided he vows to give up his evil ways. (Which he almost never DOES)
- The hero will arrive at the last possible second to defeat the dark lord and save everybody.
- Grand viziers are ALWAYS evil. Same goes for high priests. Something in the job description probably.
- If the storyline features a joust or martial arts tournament, the heroes will wind up entering it (and winning it, in spite of it having been fixed by the villains.)
- When the hero wins a contest set up by the villain, he will be denied his prize and/or thrown into jail. (Example: Japanese Final Fantasy 2)
- Gunpowder hasn’t been invented. (Have you ever noticed how many fantasy stories are set in worlds where nobody has developed gunpowder?)
- Magic and technology advance unequally. Magical worlds usually possess ancient and medieval technology. Likewise, in technological worlds, magic tends to play a secondary role at best.
- The Dark Lord inspires such terror that no one dares to speak of him by name (at least aloud.)
- Any person a main character marries (if they’re not a main character themselves) is toast. You can count the time they have left to live in seconds. (Corollary: If two people have sex in a non-hentai anime, one or both of them will be dead by the final frame.)
- The forces of good reside in beautiful lands, while lands belonging to the forces of evil are unattractive. (The science-fictional equivalent of this cliché is that benevolent civilizations dwell on beautiful planets, while the planets of malevolent cultures are unattractive.)
- The existence of magicians who can easily raze or bypass castle walls doesn’t render traditional castles obsolete.
- Societies are traditional monarchies and traditional aristocracies.
- Royal families include evil relatives who scheme to steal or who have stolen the throne from the rightful rulers, their heirs, or both.
- The hero/heroine will find the code to something or other and spend a long time trying to break it, only to find out it was a simple password that didn’t deserve the time it took to break, but bears significant importance to the plot.
- The story is actually an allegory of some real period which occurred in history (ie: Nazi Germany, Renaissance-Era Venice, Communist Russia, etc.) with characters who are thinly disguised versions of real historical figures.
- The villain of a “barbarian fantasy”/sword-and-sorcery story/movie maintains a harem of scantily-clad slave girls.
- A villain raping a female hero = a tragic, criminal act which inspires vengeance. A hero raping a female villain = the female villain falls head over heels in love with the hero and spends the rest of the story trying to win him over.
- Our world is connected to other dimensions through portals and linking rooms. (Corollary: In fantasy worlds, teleportation is usually based on magical not scientific principles and is used [mostly] as a cheap device to quickly get characters to the next plot point.)
- Heroes from our world visit other dimensions and thwart the schemes of resident Evil Overlords. (Corollary to above: Heroes from our world who find themselves in other dimensions usually have at least one member of their party who’s seen or read a lot of fantasy stories and who believes themselves savvy as to how their new world actually works.)
- Heroes and villains from other dimensions visit our world and decide to turn it into a battlefield for their final conflict (which usually results in the near destruction of our world. Fortunately, the otherworldly visitors usually have the ability to undo the damage they’ve caused by turning back time or by casting a clean-up spell.)
- People who travel into dimensions which are vastly different from their own suffer very little in the way of culture shock, even if the place they came from was a small medieval dirt-hut village and the world they traveled to is an advanced, futuristic, neon-sign and machine-filled cityscape.
- In contrast to villains, who often dress in dark or sinister colors, heroes frequently dress in bright but sensible colors.
- Monarchies are hereditary. With the possible exception of religious hierarchies, elective monarchies do not exist.
- Popular monarchies do not exist. The titles of monarchs are linked to their states instead of their peoples. Likewise, monarchs are regarded as governing well-defined states rather than peoples.
- Survivors of a postmodern apocalypse (or people from a futuristic society who crash-land on a primitive world) will revert to a primitive way of life and start speaking like cavemen. (Alternatively, they’ll speak normally but selectively mangle the pronunciation of common terms and place names for no good reason other than to prove how “changed” they are.) Items and inventions from the ancient (modern) past will often be treated like sacred relics. (Nuclear missiles will be held in especially high regard and worshipped as sacred totems. At least until they blow up.)
- On a post-holocaust Earth, the inhabitants adopt magic instead of science and technology. (Corollary: Commonly on post-holocaust Earths, magic is rationalized as being based on psionics.)
- Magic is actually a form of science that has never been systematized in our world.
- Fantasy cultures are frequently derived from northern Europe.
- Fantasy cultures in Japanese RPG’s are also frequently derived from northern Europe (but will have at least one village filled with Asian architecture where everyone looks and dresses Japanese. This village is where all the ninjas, martial arts training monks, and cool ronin samurai warriors live.)
- Magic is passed through bloodlines. (This can create castes within magic-user communities where “purebloods” think themselves better than “half-breeds” or “mixed-bloods”.)
- If a hero has an identical twin or clone, it will invariably turn out to be evil.
- If a villain has an identical twin or clone, it will usually also turn out to be evil. (This is especially true if the villain is killed off at the end of one season, and the producers of the show don’t want to hire a brand new actor to fill up the “villain” slot in the cast for the next season.)
- In the rare event that a character’s identical twin or clone isn’t evil, they’ll usually turn out to be a polar opposite of that character in terms of personality. (This is often done for comedic effect, with the result sometimes being that the character’s friends and cohorts come to like the twin even more than they like the character, and are sad to see the twin go…)
- It is not unusual for all members of a hero’s family to look exactly like the hero. (Even female members will do so it’s not unusual for the hero’s grandmother to look just like the hero himself wearing a bad granny wig.) Identical cousins are really common, as are identical ancestors or descendants, who look like the hero even down to the way they style their hair!
- During the final, climactic fight of the first book/season of a series, a hero will inadvertently discover a power they have that is very scary and that no one else has.
- The lands of the hero are suffering a horrible drought that ends the moment the villain is killed.
- Somehow or another, no matter how many dangerous fights the heroes get themselves into, they are never hurt or scarred. If they are hurt and scarred they will quickly heal it themselves or it (amazingly) will disappear in the next chapter/episode.
- Somehow or another the villain ALWAYS comes back, even if the heroes witness him being killed with their own eyes.
- A villain who starts working along with the hero/heroine will always earn their trust, even after all the times the villain almost killed them.
- There seems to always be a mysterious tavern…
Here’s a special subset of clichés I like to call the Van Helsing Rules, named after the infamous vampire movie which employed nearly every hackneyed monster movie cliché in the book and which shattered nearly every law of physics and reason…
- Van Helsing Rule #1: All anti-hero types must dress in black, have mysterious pasts, a gruff demeanor, and the ability to crack witty remarks during the heat of battle. No matter how competent they are, or how many people they manage to save, they’ll always find themselves hated by the public and mistrusted by their superiors.
- Van Helsing Rule #2: If the cool anti-hero gets paired with a sidekick, it’ll most likely be a kooky comic-relief gadgeteer who, inexplicably, winds up getting laid more often than he does. Corollary : It is NEVER right when the kooky comic relief gadgeteer winds up getting laid more often than the cool anti-hero. Especially if the cool anti-hero happens to be played by Hugh Jackman.
- Van Helsing Rule #3: Lower-ranking clergy NEVER take the whole “obeying the ten commandments” and “celibacy” thing very seriously. (In spite of this, they are almost always more trustworthy and compassionate than the Vatican higher-ups…)
- Van Helsing Rule #4: Cool anti-heroes love their hats and will do anything to keep from losing them.
- Van Helsing Rule #5: The cooler-looking and “seemingly-more-likely-to-go-out-of-control-and-kill-the-person-wielding-it-than-the-person-it’s-aimed-at” a weapon is, the better it works.
- Van Helsing Rule #6: All crossbows basically behave like machine guns with arrows.
- Van Helsing Rule #7: High heels and a tight corset are considered acceptable vampire-hunting garb.
- Van Helsing Rule #8: Powerful supervillains like to keep their friends close, their enemies closer and the one object which is capable of saving the hero and contributing to their own demise in a lightly guarded room located within their own fortress.
- Van Helsing Rule #9: All unknown viscous fluids are dangerous and should be avoided at all costs.
- Van Helsing Rule #10: In Eastern Europe, the full moon occurs approximately once every four days.
- Van Helsing Rule #11: You need never keep track of where you’re going in a desperate pitched battle, because ALL you need to do is swing on a rope and/or crash through a window and you’ll automatically find yourself at the one place you needed to go to next.
- Van Helsing Rule #12: The stroke of midnight can, if the plot calls for it, go on for twenty minutes or more.
- Van Helsing Rule #13: Female characters who fall in love with the cool anti-hero are invariably doomed. (The fact that they were able to kick ass and survive high falls, beatings and monster attacks for the first 98% of the movie is irrelevant. All it will take to dispatch them at the end is a simple stab wound.)
- Van Helsing Rule #14: Cool, creepy art direction and millions of dollars of special effects cannot make up for a script conceived and written by a severely impaired tube worm
- ~http://dragonwritingprompts.blogsome.com/2007/09/29/the-not-so-grand-list-of-overused-fantasy-cliches/
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