Welcome back my faithful readers. For those who are following the Justice Cycle Universe, book 2 is moving forward nicely. I am currently at around 66,000 words and 300 pages. I am approaching the total words and page count of book 1, so this book will most likely be much longer. I have a mission trip scheduled for the end of the summer, so I hope to have the first draft finished by then. So, for all of you that are looking forward to book 2, it is coming soon.
Today I want to talk about the all important, bestest ever, you must like or you are an ist or phobe, character the Mary Sue. Over the last few years Hollywood has paraded before us a constant stream of these "better then every man" characters. From Rey Palpatine Skywalker to any character Phoebe Waller Bridge plays or writes, we have been swarmed by these politically motivated characters. They have lost the big corporate entities that run modern Hollywood billions, and yet, they keep throwing money at creators who make them. Go woke, go broke. It took a while for Hollywood to see the backlash, but it is here now. Just ask Disney and Amazon.
So, now on to list of revenue killing, fan losing, characters....
4. She Hulk VS Black Widow
Ok, so I am not talking about the comic book version of this character, which is awesome and one of my favorites. No, I am referring to the Disney + show version of Jenifer Walters. All you have to do is look at the cringe worthy speech she gives Bruce about how what she has had to deal with in life was harder than his struggles. What an absolute load of crap. I mean come on! Bruce literally put a gun in his mouth to try to end his suffering. But she had to deal with cat calling and mansplaning! She is instantly better than Bruce at everything and doesn't even have an uncontrollable alternate personality. Set aside the fact that the writing, directing, special effects and acting in the show were abysmal, She Hulk as a character is an absolute boring, cringe worthy, uninteresting Mary Sue.
I tried hard to find another female marvel character to use, but just like every other writer, I always come back to Natasha Romanov. I am not, however, as in love with Scarlet Johansson's version as most, but the character is an amazing and well developed female character. She literally holds her own with god like heroes and villains and she has no super powers. She is vulnerable and flawed, but still manages to rise above those issues to become the heart and center of the Avengers. No other death effected the Avengers and the MCU more. Even the death Of Tony was not as impactful as hers. She rose above her past, her flaws and her lack of powers to become the most influential super hero in the MCU. It is sad that she only got her own film after her death.
3. Galadriel VS Galadriel
So, there is probably no greater atrocity in film to book translation than Amazon's Galadriel. Not only is she an insufferable Mary Sue, she borderlines on being evil. She even identifies with Sauron over her eleven brethren, who incidentally, is also an atrocious rendition of the original material. (Oh sorry, I mean people, since brethren is a patriarchal stereotype.) Not only is her story completely changed from the source material, but the rendition of the character is so completely different from Professor Tolkien's that she is Galadriel in name only. Amazon's the Rings of Power is universally hated by the fan base and this version of Galadriel is the top most reason.
Thanks to Peter Jackson and the always amazing Cate Blanchett, we already have a book accurate version of Galadriel. With but a look she exudes power, authority and femininity. She is both sexy and dangerous, but also shows moments of vulnerability. When she is tempted with the ring we see that she is genuinely torn, but overcoming her internal struggle, she choses to not give in. She even acknowledges that she will diminish and go to the west, and this is the choice she is making. A Mary Sue, like Amazon's version, would take the ring and find a way to not be corrupted by it. In fact, I have no doubt, that if Amazon could do that, they would. Galadriel is a powerful high elf princess and queen that is also feminine and flawed and had to struggle to get where she is, and in the end, gives it all up to do the right thing. This is why she is beloved by fans and why Amazon's version was so despised.
2. Rey Palatine Skywalker VS Ahsoka Tano
Ok, perhaps there is no more panned and hated Mary Sue than Disney Star Wars' Rey. In fact, she is the reason for my first ever introduction to the word "Mary Sue". Where as I did enjoy the Force Awakens, the subsequent instalments of the sequel trilogy were some of the worst Star Wars ever brought into the world. What can I say about Rey that hasn't already been said. She was able to fight like Mace Windu, use the force like Obi Wan, fix technology like Anakin and have the wisdom of Yoda all without having been trained. Rey is the light side of the force and doesn't need anything else to be the bestest ever. She is the very definition of a Mary Sue and has access to force powers that should only be available to the Mortis Gods or the Wills without having to earn them. No other character in Star Wars history has been more ridiculously overpowered without having to earn it. Even Luke, who at his time was actually the last Jedi and the avatar of the light side, had to fail and rise again before he could become the juggernaut that he was. (Well, that he is in the expanded universe not in Disney Star Wars.)
I could have gone with the standard Leia Organa choice for this list, but I wanted to use someone less obvious. Certainly she was the first female Star Wars character and is loved by all, but I wanted to go with a less obvious choice. I also choice Ahsoka because she was actually hated by the fans at first. She had to earn her place in the Star Wars universe through struggle and growth. Ahsoka has one of the best and most well written story arcs of any character in fiction. She is annoying, impetuous and failed time and time again, even getting her entire squad killed because of her arrogance. Yet, she rose above her failures and flaws to become one of the few Jedi to survive order 66 and a key component in the creation of the Rebellion and the fall of the empire. Ahsoka does something that Rey doesn't, she changes and grows. That is what makes her stand out from Rey. Rey doesn't have to change, everyone around her has to change because she is perfect. She is both powerful and feminine and is able to be both while also being a strong character. Dave Filoni didn't sacrifice her beauty and grace to make her more masculine. No she is both a feminine woman and a powerhouse who is able to retain all of the things that make a woman a woman and still hold her own with the male characters in the universe.
Captain Marvel VS Every Other Marvel Female Character Ever
So now we come to the poster child of all Mary Sues. The most powerful and strongest hero ever to exist, and they make sure and tell us in every story she is ever even mentioned in. (Here's looking at you Wanda Vision.) The illustrious and esteemed Captain Marvel Carol Danvers. Of course, she was originally Ms. Marvel, but we wouldn't want to take away from the other token, list checking character of Kamala Kahn. This is the real reason she is now Captain Marvel instead of Ms. Marvel, but I digress.
This character is so universally hated that even in the comics she has become bad. They took away her blonde locks, removed her curves and made her look more like a twelve year old boy than a beautiful woman. It got so bad, that the fans started referring to her as Karl Manvers instead of Carol Danvers. Her comic, just like her mini me's version, have been canceled time and time again due to lack of sales, and Disney had to use the threat of theaters not being able to show End Game in order to keep the movie out long enough for it to make enough money.
Non-feminine, better than everyone else at everything, stronger than the hulk, more powerful than Thanos with all six stones, and smarter than Tony Stark and all of this right from the beginning. She was just born this awesome. Just ask Marvel and Disney and they will tell you so. I bet, she could even beat Superman and Darkseid if she were DC. I am pretty sure that the reason they haven't introduced Galctus yet is that she would just kill him with one punch. In fact, she probably already has off screen and he is no longer an option for a main villain.
Even the worst of the other Marvel female characters is less of a Mary Sue than Captain Marvel. They are all better than her. Even Wanda, who I actually like, is less of a Mary Sue and she is an actual god of chaos who can alter reality. I could also mention Suri, Okoye, and pretty much all other Wakandan female characters, and still they would not be as Mary Sue as Captain marvel. No, she is the top of the line, the queen, the heavy weight champion of Mary Sues and this is why she is number one on my list. well, she is pretty much number one on everyone's list.
J
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