Characters I’d like to redesign

Tigra: Somebody else praised the times when she had pawsy hands, which makes me think that given some cartoonists’ unconscious desire to make her look more animalistic often because she’s usually a normal woman in body paint makes me think there’s something wrong with her anatomy wherein her clothes might be minor compared to her body. Not because she isn’t fat but because when it comes to making interesting human animal hybrids the combination has to be convincing enough even if it’s not outrightly furry.

Something like paw hands and feet, cat ears and tail if one wants them and body hair as cats are hairy, though the elephant in the room’s that nobody ever depicted stripes on her scalp hair which would’ve been a more convincing design in this regard. Not that she’s a bad character, but if comics are a visual media then she needs to be a more convincing cat-human hybrid even when nobody wants her to be outrightly furry either.

She might as well be the poster girl for body positivity when it comes to body hair as she’s sometimes portrayed as having fur, which’s a step up from the usual body paint look.

Kitty Pryde: Though she did wear costumes that aren’t New Mutants/X-Men trainee uniforms, she usually wears a variation of those until recently though to be very honest about this, I would’ve liked her to develop a secondary mutation that makes her part leopard. She might not be outrightly furry but if she’s got more body hair, actual leopard markings on her scalp and body hair, paws, cat ears and a tail then that’s a good character design when it comes to portraying her as a wereleopard at all.

Like I said about Tigra that if Kitty Pryde were just leopard body paint, it wouldn’t be that convincing that there needs more animalistic features than just having the markings where you need to also add in more nonhuman anatomical features to get a more convincing catgirl if one wills. You might need to add in more body hair to make it more convincing, that if animalistic blokes get body hair so should their female counterparts if they want a more believable human nonhuman mammal hybrid done right.

That and a more mature (read grown up, mature for her age) outfit though that too’s proven right in a way today.

Nobody really wanted that

I have a feeling before that if writers were committed to giving Kitty Pryde retractile claws for good, it’s not just that she’d be more like Wolverine but also perhaps much more feline than originally intended. At any rate, she’d actually become the X-Men version of Catwoman when you think about. It’s as if Wolverine were once considered to be equivalent to Batman, Kitty would be Catwoman.

Her name’s obviously catlike. Cats go through spaces and so does she. Ironically, cats actually have retractile claws whereas actual wolverines really don’t. Heck perhaps out of all the better known mutants, She ought to be the equivalent to Catwoman. Storm was going to be one at some point but that didn’t define her once she started appearing. Feral might count but she’s not famous.

Tigra at some point was going to be like a heroic Catwoman (and perhaps they should’ve stuck at that or keep the usual presentation but made more feline/bestial and consistently so). Not that she’s a bad character. But I suspect committing to an idea consistently involves going where it should go and become.

Not only with the character design (somebody else had a good point about giving Tigra paws and fur) but also things like Tigra taking her son to hunting trips and exterminating pests (some mothers do this). Or stories where Kitty sneaks on prey. Again that would involve any real commitment to the concept.

But it seems nobody are interested in those things, even if it does make sense.

It’s not always appealing

I sometimes think when it comes to taking characters and stories to the most logical conclusion or development, it’s something writers can neither accept nor commit to for a long period of time. It’s like the thing with making Kitty Pryde any more feline, especially when she starts sporting retractile claws that it’s only natural any cat would have it. The same can’t be said of mustelids.

But then again if writers were to commit to making her actually more feline, she’d actually risk making not only X23 but also Feral redundant. (The latter’s a feline mutant.) Even though ironically this fits her the most. But that would involve not only any real commitment to the idea but also actually make her a proper female counterpart to Wolverine without even trying.

After all, she’s trained by him the longest so it should be natural that she’d emulate him whether unconsciously or not. But the logical conclusion isn’t something people commit to nor enjoy, even if it makes the most practical sense. It’s not that Kitty should be exactly like Wolverine. But giving her retractile claws would make her a lot more feline.

Perhaps the X-Men’s answer to Catwoman in this regard. (Maybe perhaps consciously nobody wants her to be a furry, even if some stories hint at this.)

Logical directions

I realised that if you let the character go where they’d logically or rationally do given the circumstances they’re in, their capabilities, development and tendencies that would mean giving a damn about characterisation and storytelling. Albeit not in a way people expect to. Consider this, if Caitlin Snow were to become a werewolf then Barry Allen would be Red Riding Hood.

As there are stories where RRH cons the wolf in order to escape, Barry Allen being a speedster would do just that. In fact he could and should be DC’s best escape artist. If a villain threatens to trap him, he’d either run away or punch through his surroundings in order to escape. (The real problem may be that writers may have to significantly limit his powers in order for him to do these.)

Likewise, given all the ninja training Kitty Pryde got and that she sometimes sported claws it’s shocking why almost nobody made her stay a ninja. Psylocke wasn’t meant to be a ninja, since she got body-swapped with one and earlier still she was a white woman (she did revert to it recently). Ironically since Kitty’s apparently more experienced with swords than she is, this should come naturally.

However with some authors won’t commit to it because if Kitty’s a character they live vicariously through that would mean letting her do what’s needed or necessary. Something like in Age of Apocalypse, which happened and briefly so. Realistically, she’d make X23 redundant should writers commit to her using claws more often given it’s been done before too.

Should they commit to it, that would mean not only significantly limiting their powers (as there’s no need to show feats) and go where they need do given the circumstances and plot. At any rate, we’d get Barry Allen escapologist extraordinaire and assassin Kitty Pryde 24/7. If they commit to it at all.

My idea of the Mary Sue

When it comes to Mary Sues, I feel like the definition’s been stretched beyond recognition and used to chastise characters some viewers and readers don’t like though I could be guilty of the same or similar. Admittedly I did have a Mary Sue character before when I was into DC Comics. Some older authors and commentators do consider the original definition of the Mary Sue as an idealised reader surrogate.

This makes much more sense as some audiences do want more interactive stories and to see themselves in those characters. Though Mary Sues can be author surrogates, not all author surrogates are necessarily Mary Sue as it’s not uncommon for literature to be semi-autobiographical to varying degrees. You could write a story that’s based on your life but the people you know become different characters.

Pardon if it’s unpopular but I actually think the real red flag of a Mary Sue character’s the inability to take a favourite character to a logical conclusion. Whilst the inability to take a character to their logical conclusion doesn’t mean they’re Mary Sue, it’s much likelier especially if it’s a pet character in question. Though that would necessitate being more practical.

Something like Barry Allen being an escape artist per excellence given being this fast’s helpful in escaping ordeals. (Though that would mean significantly limiting Barry’s speed power to just running fast and some amount of superhuman strength needed to escape should he get trapped.) Or Kitty Pryde being a deadly assassin ninja.

That would’ve made more sense than turning Psylocke into one since the latter wasn’t introduced as an Asian ninja (in fact she got bodyswapped with one) but Kitty only got training through brainwashing. If they ever let Kitty become the character Psylocke ended up as, we’d get stories where Kitty focuses on the totality of her phasing powers whenever she sneaks and kills people.

Something like in Age of Apocalypse and possibly the only time they’re committed to it. (Admittedly I don’t read comics much.) If Barry and Kitty were conceived as reader surrogates and idealised ones at that (maybe nearly so), it’s not that they’re flawlesss. But rather if they’re reader surrogates, the inability to take them to a logical conclusion makes it likelier for them to go Mary Sue.

Instead of going where it’s needed for them to do, they become conduits of writers who want to depict them as cool and likable even if in reality they’re capable of messing up and being jerks (especially Kitty if it weren’t for her attitude). It’s not that Barry and Kitty lack flaws. In fact they do, whether if it’s Barry bothering people with his tardiness or Kitty losing her cool a lot.

But I think the Mary Sue aspect comes from that they’re reader surrogates and thus easy to live vicariously through and try to make them seem cooler or whatever than they really are or initially were. Actually if writers dared to make them go the logical route, that would involve either significantly limiting their powers a lot or better yet, do something that’s necessary.

Especially for the plot. If a villain were to trap Barry (given now his powers are more limited), he’d have a few options. Either he runs away or he punches through something real hard and then escape. Likewise with Kitty Pryde, considering she got ninja training and sometimes sported claws, she should be doing many of the things Psylocke and X23 came to do.

Perhaps elegantly so as she got there first. (But that would necessitate the two being redundant.) So it seems my idea of a Mary Sue isn’t (just) about idealisation but also the inability to go where it’s needed in the plot considering their capabilities and development. Or the situations they face and as believably as possible.

Mary Sue, how does she do

I sometimes think when it comes to Mary Sue characters, the best way to tell them is if the writers not only love them a lot but also won’t allow them to logically develop into. Something like how writers never allow Kitty Pryde to become a full-time assassin, in canon. I actually think the real red flag’s that for all her training, she could’ve become the character Psylocke ended up as.

Kitty got ninja skills through brainwashing, Psylocke got it through body-swapping. Add to that she did sport retractile claws at various points should’ve enabled her to render X23 redundant. (That involves a lot of careful thinking really.) As for Barry Allen, he’d actually be DC’s best escape artist if only writers allow it to. Though that involves significantly limiting his powers to simply running as fast as a vehicle.

If Caitlin becomes a werewolf and threatens to kill him, if nobody wants him to kill her he should’ve conned her as to escape in time or even before that. (As velocity increases mass or something, there ought to be storylines where villains lock him up but he escapes by punching through something real hard.) It’s not that Kitty and Barry lack flaws.

But the real red flag’s the inability to take them to where they’d logically become and do. (The real issue’s that fans won’t even like that, which makes it a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.)

Too overpowered

I sometimes think when it comes to defining Mary Sues, it’s sometimes used to disparage characters that unfairly get this (especially Carol Danvers). I actually think she’s not a Mary Sue because she’s been a punching bag (especially for villains and Rogue, and to some extent the writers themselves) for so long that it’s about time to treat her kindly and respectfully. Giving characters flaws and consequences for their actions is the easy one.

Sometimes some characters are Mary Sue because authors won’t take them to where they’d logically become. This isn’t always the case but a surefire sign especially if authors like this character a lot as to avoid taking them to the logical option. I actually think that’s the case with Kitty Pryde where writers seem to like her a lot but to the point of avoiding what she could logically do. If true, this would make the Age of Apocalypse portrayal as assassin the least Mary Sue she’s been.

In the sense of focusing a lot more on stealth and assassination in tandem with a feline nature (retractile claws and going through narrow spaces) that it’s appropriate for her. It would just as appropriate for her to become the character Psylocke ended up as. Psylocke, as initially presented, was a white woman who certainly hadn’t any ninja training until she traded bodies with another woman. Kitty got brainwashed to do ninja stuff and would easily do the things Psylocke ended up doing.

In a way should she use the focused totality of her phasing powers when she’s about to assasinate enemies. Actually she’d also make both Feral and X23 redundant if only writers stuck to giving her claws and that she’s already got a feline name that she’d actually be Feral (there are some attempts at making her more feline). Some stories do treat her as a female Wolverine, right before X23 came into being.

That she’s closely associated with Wolverine still makes me think she’d have no issues with stabbing people brutally (again she’d make both Psylocke and X23 redundant if they let her become a clawed asssasin). Likewise writers are often tempted to make Tim Drake evil. It’s not that he lacks flaws but if he’s intended to be likable that makes it harder for some people to trust him. Especially if it feels manipulative that Tim Drake being shady is understandable.

It’s not that he should become evil. I’d rather have him do things that he thinks seems good but bothers people (just like in the real world). Something like poisoning animals to keep them from attacking him but ends up angering Stephanie a lot. (It could happen though.) That would mean even if Tim meant well, he’d become responsible for his own actions should it bother others.

Even if Tim isn’t evil, given the repeated attempts at making him so having him do shady things to do what seems good to him does make him less of a Mary Sue. But in the sense of facing the consequences for his actions, especially if it angers people like his girlfriend. Though that would mean either writers have spoilt him a lot or that Tim would have to actually have some unlikable tendencies to do what he thinks is good.

(Like everybody else.)

As for Barry Allen, whether if he’s a Mary Sue or not’s up to anybody’s guess. The real issue isn’t so much that he lacks a personality but rather he lacks a personality beyond being an idealised reader surrogate. Make him more than that and some readers would take issue with it. Again it’s not that he lacks flaws and personality but that the real issue’s that he’s so stuck in the idealised fanboy role that it’s about time to go beyond it.

Not so much to become unrecognisable though I think if people were to turn him into a surrogate for either Red Riding Hood or arguably Dante that Barry would inevitably develop his own mind either way anyways. In the sense of what else they can do about him other than doing super speed feats. Though that would necessitate going by whatever’s logically expected in a story.

As well as having to tone down the speed feats or at least provide realistic consequences (though writers tried). Something like that he can run as fast as a van, which’s highly plausible as well as no phasing, tornadoes and the like. In fact he could easily be an escape artist if only writers let him be. (Again that would necessitate having him go where he’s logically expected to.)

Something like Caitlin’s now a werewolf and she’s about to attack him. If noboby wants Barry to kill her, he might as well con her as to allow himself to escape in time or even before that. I actually think the tendency to make him so OP might be partly because having him become an escapologist wouldn’t just necessitate writers to tone it down.

Mary Sueing away

I sometimes think when it comes to calling Batman a Mary Sue, if he’s caught dead being wimpy or doing other stupid stuff that angers fans (whilst not always the case) he’s definitely not a Mary Sue because of that. Same with Carol Danvers or even Felicity Smoak at times. Actually to me, what makes a character Mary Sue isn’t necessarily always a matter of being flawless or wish fulfillment.

It would be wish fulfillment to want Kitty Pryde to actually have retractile claws and become a proper feline. In fact, I actually think Mary Sue goes beyond that since wish fulfillment can involve things that are practical or feasible if only others will to. Though not always the case, the inability to commit to a logical conclusion or possibility could make a character Mary Sue.

But in the sense of having counter-intuitive character development. I mean you have people tempting to turn Kitty into either a feline or a female Wolverine (ironically cats tend to have retractile claws, whereas wolverines don’t so it’s oddly more practical for her to have retractile claws on top of going through narrow spaces easily).

Why bother creating a female Wolverine when you can give Kitty claws. The other problem, to some, may necessitate making Kitty Pryde actually more feline than that and sticking to it given how writers are tempted to do so. It’s even part of her name and this writes itself well. Likewise there’s counter-intuitive plot development.

I mean if you’re faced with an evil demon tempting you a lot, if you do fall in love with it it should ruin your life or at least give an incentive to escape it. So I think my idea of a Mary Sue involves not so much a matter of infallibility but rather of a counter-intuitive development that makes some people riled up with certain fanfictions.

Weird sense

I still strongly think that to take characters to where they’d logically become, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll become unrecognisable or unrecognisably evil, but rather go where they’d realistically and practically become. Had writers stuck with giving Kitty Pryde claws and turning her into a clawed ninja, she’d make other characters who fill these niches redundant. Why have X-23 when there’s Kitty to do it.

Same with Psylocke and even Feral. But that would involve either a stronger hands off approach or to cultivate more interests and experiences to pull it off. If Wolverine was compared to Batman, it’s only natural that Kitty Pryde would be X-Men’s Catwoman. In fact a somewhat more precise version in that rather than merely sporting clawed gloves, she has retractile claws like an actual cat.

(That would further tempt people to make her more feline, which I think might unconsciously be why some writers and artists back away from this. She’d ironically be a more successful version of Hank McCoy as cat.)

I still if writers were to commit to giving Kitty Pryde claws, rather than X-23 we’d see a more feline Kitty Pryde anyways.

Mary Sue, not what you think they are

I actually consider a Mary Sue to be somewhat more nuanced than the usual line of thought considers them to be. But in the sense that a Mary Sue isn’t necessarily overpowered, flawless or whatever. It can be either due to sentimental author overidentification (I did it to one character before) or the inability to take a character to a logical conclusion.

If the very last one were to be believed, it makes a lot more sense why some characters don’t really hold up well. That’s if writers are rather to take to where they’d logically become and go. This pretty much plagued Kitty Pryde a lot where at some point writers were tempted to turn her into either a ninja, feline or female Wolverine.

The real problem’s that if writers were to take her to where she’d logically become, there’s a chance she’d make the other mutants (Feral, X-23 and Psylocke) redundant but also where rather than being an over-idealised girlfriend type, she’s Marvel’s answer to Catwoman. In fact even moreso than Black Cat in the sense of what Catwoman would be like if she were a mutant.

The retractile claws and going through spaces seems very much in line with what actual cats do, something Kitty would effortlessly pull off. But to pull it off for good, writers would have to stop over-identifying with her and let her do whatever she wants/needs to do. Or at least have more interests and experiences to pull it off. But that’s still proving my point.

Likewise with Tim Drake, you have writers tempted to make him a villain but if he’s supposed to be likeable that makes him even shadier when you think about it. (That really wouldn’t happen to the likes of The Joker but because you take his malice for granted.) He either becomes a bad Batman or another Joker in some stories. That doesn’t mean he’s necessarily that shady.

I think in order to realistically/plausibly pull it off, Tim Drake would do things he thinks are good but ones that end up annoying people a lot. What if he poisons an animal with the intent of escaping and self-defence but not knowing that’s Stephanie’s pet that he’d anger her and be made responsible for his own shortcomings. Again that doesn’t mean TIm’s bad.

But that he’s mistaken and may even do things where he’s not aware of the consequences like Stephanie Brown losing her temper because he killed her pet by accident. That would mean he’s well-intentioned but also reckless when sometimes doing so if he angers people like Stephanie for attempting to escape or defend himself. That would mean Tim would have to owe up to his own shortcomings.

Even if it’s a way to make him fallible without making him evil. Or at least unwillingly do something bad by thinking he’s doing good. (But that would mean even Tim’s not always aware of his own actions, should Steph get mad at mad.) So it seems with Mary Sues, the real issue’s not always a matter of whether if they’re flawless or not.

Sometimes if writers are tempted to turn them into something else, the inability to commit to it would make characters Mary Sue. In the sense of disregarding the logical or practical possibility (Kitty Pryde being X-Men’s Catwoman would necessitate rendering Feral, X-23 and Psylocke redundant) for telling readers how cool they are. Even if they tire of it.