Unfavourable Routes

I sometimes think some characters tend to be Mary Sue’s because said authors are afraid of making them go the logical/consequential way but that involves taking their actions and portrayals into consideration. Most often or not, the logical conclusion’s only there in apocryphal stories. Keep in mind that Kitty Pryde often loses her temper a lot, lashing out at another person, showing a perpetual grudge and even killing somebody.

Add to her being made into a ninja and trained by Wolverine she could easily be an anti-heroine assassin which’s what she was in Age of Apocalypse. That portrayal’s the most realistic she’s ever been but in the sense of taking her canonical tendencies into consideration. Even if she isn’t a villainness, it’s not that she should be highly incompetent but that she wouldn’t and shouldn’t have any issue breaking the law and being amoral when necessary.

It doesn’t make sense for Psylocke to become a ninja in hindsight as she wasn’t meant to be one, let alone for long whereas Kitty should easily pull that one off. But that also involves realising the more realistic/logical conclusion. This is why I consider the AOA Kitty to be the least Mary Sue she’s ever been because it’s actually the more sensible route for her to go to. Especially if that involves having her to necessarily go and fight dirty.

Realistically and parsimoniously speaking, if you’ve got a character who’s trained as a ninja against her will, loses her temper real badly, has no issue killing somebody and has a nasty grudge then Kitty’s this one character who’d easily do cheap shots. If she can ruthlessly hack into computer systems, logically she wouldn’t have any issue fighting dirty a lot anyways (she did canonically to some extent).

But the assassin route’s actually the most realistic she’s ever been. In the sense of going where she’d naturally go to.

The more unflattering route

I think in turning Kitty Pryde into a ruthless assassin at least in Age of Apocalypse was in some regards the least Mary Sue she’s ever been but because this is the most logical/realistic route. She’s got a vicious temper to the point of beating up people real easily, vindictive and trained as a ninja. These are all there in the actual canon (the 616 stories). But for some reason her being an assassin’s rendered apocryphal and specific to the Age of Apocalypse tales.

Though that’s because the most realistic/logical conclusion’s also the most unflattering and even abhorrent (to fans). To put it this way, if Caitlin Snow became a werewolf whilst it wouldn’t be a stretch in that she’s now an actual predator wolfing on heat logically Barry Allen’s going to be her Red Riding Hood. This writes itself but one that’ll really rile up audiences should this happen at all.

Like I said, sometimes the most realistic direction’s also the ugliest.

She wasn’t supposed to be this way

I actually long suspected that X-Men, for all its multiculturalism, handled characters like Psylocke real badly. I mean the fact that she not only yearned to be white again but also got it back suggests that she wasn’t meant to remain a Japanese ninja for long. The longer she stayed in that body and considering her prior history as a white Englishwoman, the more ridiculous it got much moreso how stereotypical it had been (the ninja thing).

When I think about it, whilst turning the magnetic-powered Cosmic Boy Asian’s arguably not any better either but if/when there aren’t that many non-stereotypical Asians around let alone an actual athlete who’s not a martial artist (Rokk played Magnoball) this might even be a nice break. (If I’m not mistaken, Danny Phantom had an Asian jock and a black nerd.) Not to mention it’s actually Kitty Pryde who got trained by a ninja and should become the character Psylocke ended up as.

(She technically did to some extent in Age of Apocalypse but then again it’s considered apocryphal but because taking her to where she’d logically go’s too damning for some people even if makes much more sense.)

I actually still think it’s much more realistic for Kitty Pryde to commit to becoming a ninja full time than Psylocke did. But that would mean realising that Kitty Pryde’s true potential lies elsewhere whereas Psylocke wasn’t meant to be an Asian ninja to begin with. Not that we should racebend Kitty but that Kitty should’ve been the cutthroat ninja Psylocke ended up as. The fact that Psylocke’s transformation was undone proves my point right.

Henpecked by the lady love

Though this isn’t anything new in comics and superhero comics as well, The Flash stories have it in spades when it comes to Iris West. Comes to think of it, Stephanie Brown did nag at Tim Drake before but I have a feeling it would be far more frequent had she become a working mother. Chances are she’s going to boss Tim Drake around now that she wants him to help her lessen the load.

Tim Drake refuses then dismisses and condescends to her, angering her all the more. She loses her temper whenever he lazes around or refuses to. I mean Barry got henpecked for being late, Tim would be get henpecked for being idle. Not to mention I also think superhero writers rarely allow their characters to actually be human.

But that necessitates cases where they actually have to think their way through to survive (something like limiting Barry Allen to just running as fast as a car, no silly speed feats and becomes an escape artist), might actually be in the wrong (Tim being henpecked by Steph for being reluctant and sexist) and finally, considering what’s logically expected.

It’s like making Kitty Pryde into an antiheroine assassin, which certainly was briefly attempted before. It’s the most logical route she could go and the least Mary Sue she’s been. Logically, Barry Allen (and any other Flash) would be escapologists should their speed feats be significantly reduced and Tim Drake would actually turn out to stress Steph out by the vice of laziness and reluctance.

These aren’t very flattering or cool in any way, which’s the problem even if these are actually preferable to what’s constantly presented.

Developing in an unexpected direction

Like I said, sometimes the real peril with character development’s that the character develops in ways unintended by the author themselves. I even have a feeling should Helga ever have gotten her own programme, there’s a weird chance that she’s going to grow into a melancholic, remorseful and sweet girl. Logically if Stephanie’s biological family were retained and if she bothered caring for them a lot she’s going to nag Tim into helping her out or else throw tantrums when he refuses to.

(I also have a feeling that a certain mangaka might reuse his characters for certain, more wholesome stories.)

It could be down due to new experiences and interests, which inevitably happens. But there are also cases where the logical solution’s the more unexpected/unintended one especially when it seems like it to readers/viewers and sometimes authors themselves. Something like Tim becoming a bumbling, lazy man whenever he refuses to help Steph care for her family and do chores if because that seems too realistic for some.

Or Kitty Pryde being an assassin, which makes the most sense though sadly only occuring in the Age of Apocalypse apocryphal stories never mind there’s ample canonical evidence for those tendencies. (And I think Kitty Pryde should’ve been the character Psylocke ended up as.) In Psylocke’s case, the unintentional direction’s actually the worst the more her actual ethnicity’s brought up though that’s been undone.

Things like those are something future writers should take note of.

De-Mary Sueing chaacters

For some characters (and stories), what makes them Mary Sue isn’t so much the lack of (inconsequential) flaws but rather the inability to either go where they’d logically become (Kitty being a clawed assassin in Age of Apocalypse makes sense as a similar motif also recurs in Chris Claremont’s stories) or the logically damning option/alternative (Kitty being a clawed assassin fits in here as well as Tim Drake being somebody’s wayward nephew).

I think the idea of Tim Drake becoming wayward’s not at all lost in some stories like Titans Tomorrow, him as Saviour and his own DCAU trajectory. But that would mean he’d become the very thing he’s supposed to be against. If the DCAU’s any indication, Tim would essentially become Jason Todd. The very character he’s supposed to be antithetical to. Even if Tim needn’t to go bad or JT, he’d still be wayward in some manner.

Something like being more drawn to bad things whilst trying to resist it. Or if he shows up as Dinah Lance’s nephew, if her maiden name’s Drake (at least prior to her first husband as my comics memory’s not good) you’d be thinking of Donald Duck. Now assuming if Jack Drake went broke, Uncle Ollie would be more than eager to help him out. This not only brings out the similarities to Donald Duck more.

But that Tim’s got two Scoorge McDucks in his life. His own Aunt Dinah and Uncle Ollie. If Donald Duck’s any indication, even if Tim Drake doesn’t necessarily become wayward he’d still become similar to Jason Todd in other respects. Again whatever the influence, Tim Drake still ironically becomes the very thing he’s supposed to be against in his conception.

Solving the problem

I actually think the least Mary Sue Kitty Pryde could be’s found in Age of Apocalypse and X-Men Forever to some extent. But given she’s sometimes shown to be a deadly clawed assassin or even clawed with a seriously bad temper (at least in X-Men Forever), that’d mean considering the more realistic or logical option. She’s trained a lot with Wolverine and actually did have claws from time to time.

She’s also trained to be a ninja. It’d be much more realistic for Kitty Pryde to become the character Psylocke ended up as. She’d also make X-23 redundant. But that would involve seriously considering the logically realistic option (at least within the context of her trajectory) to the point where rather than being a highly idealised character, she’d probably be X-Men’s most formidable hitwoman.

The very fact that Psylocke’s transformation was literally undone suggests she wasn’t meant to become this. Kitty could’ve easily become this and that would’ve stuck. Keep in mind that realism in here means going where the character would naturally go/become. Though that would be realising that either Kitty has real flaws or that writers would have to develop guts to do so.

If Age of Apocalypse’s any indication.

Makes much more sense

I still think the least Mary Sue versions of Kitty Pryde would be the stories where she’s a deadly clawed assassin. That makes perfect sense given her strong ties to Wolverine, ninja training and cats have retractile claws. The odd thing about most clawed characters in comics is that they seem to have claws all the time. Though not necessarily a bad thing, Wolverine and X-23 are the only characters I can think of with retractile claws (at least in cape comics).

But they’re not even based on cats. Quite parsimoniously, it actually makes much more sense for Kitty Pryde to have retractile claws and if she’s originally intended to be this heavily influenced by Wolverine, she’d logically be a true feline. That’s even hinted in other stories too. But I suspect it also goes against certain author and reader idealisations of her even when that’s ironically the least Mary Sue take we’ve ever seen of her.

In the sense of going where she’d logically be(come). Age of Apocalypse shows it can work but it’s something not too many bother going there.

What you get is what you deserve

I think the tricky part in making characters truly fallible’s to realise they can and will do something unlikable. It’s like that in reality. That doesn’t necessarily make them bad people as much as when handled right it can either lead to good transformation arcs (if the character learns from their mistakes at all) or an interesting case study as well as going for the most logical and realistic option (Kitty being a ruthless hitwoman if Age of Apocalypse’s any indication).

Keep in mind that having consequential flaws isn’t just necessary in keeping a character from being a Mary Sue. There’s also the logically damning alternative that exists. Whether if it’s a wayward Tim Drake (it happened several times, whether as an evil Batman, Saviour or Joker on DCAU) or ruthless assassin Kitty Pryde, the alternative’s realistic but one that’s very damning and disappointing at that. So to speak.

I guess when it comes to giving characters flaws, you’re inevitably dealing with characters who’re bound to annoy people either way. Or at least making their beds and then lying on it.

Can’t be too fallible

I talked before about how male writers sometimes fail to make their female characters genuinely fallible is because they want them to be likable. That’s understandable just as I consider feeling disappointed or angry understandable as well. Especially if it’s offset by a need to have hope or attempts at understanding (I did this before).

It’s not wrong to empathise with somebody’s fallibility just as it’s not wrong to be harsh (at times). At other times I think male readers might be way too harsh even though ironically making them unlikable keeps them from being too Mary Sue. It’s like if they didn’t want Mary Sues they should be fine with women who’re genuinely fallible, have consequential vices and at least profound insight into their vices.

Or in some cases, the possibility that she might be better off as a murderess/hitwoman (Marvel’s Kitty Pryde). Complaining about women being too competent’s understandable. But it seems for some male writers, they prefer women’s flaws to be endearing rather than infuriating. Even if having infuriating flaws is needed to keep them from being Mary Sue.

As well as leading to believable maturity (for some).