When it comes to characters deemed Mary Sue, I’d argue it’s not always the flawlessness that makes them like this but also the inability to take them to where they’d logically become given how writers are tempted to turn them into. If only they stuck to it. To give you an example, Marvel’s Kitty Pryde isn’t necessarily flawless.
She’s very quick to anger, beats up people and holds a grudge. She’s not a Mary Sue, at least in the formal sense of the word but it seems writers are afraid to take her to where she’d logically become and stick to it given how often they’re tempted to. But that would mean she’d actually mature or develop in ways they don’t expect her to.
It did happen in a way but if they were to stick to her being a werecat Wolverinesque ninja there wouldn’t be any need for both X23 and Psylocke as she’s stereotypically presented as. If because she occupies both roles. (Actually there wouldn’t be any need for the werecat Feral either.) That would involve doing things the hard way.
Even if that’s actually allowing the character to grow up or develop naturally.
fynm 