It does resolve some problems

Like I said, Age of Apocalypse had like the most realistic take on Kitty Pryde but in the sense of taking her to where she’d logically go and that’s being a bloodthirsty assassin considering her training in-canon. For some reason likely because it’s too provocative, it got undone and was rendered apocryphal. Even though that’s the one situation where she’d effectively cease being a Mary Sue.

In the sense of taking her to where she’d realistically become. She does have a vicious temper that literally gets her into fights and killing people. She’d have no issue assassinating people out of hire and would make for a good mercenary. But it’s something not too many people do even if it does make sense. She’s not necessarily evil.

But I guess having her be an antiheroine leopard mercenary, even if it’s realistic (and also takes some of Claremont’s ideas for her), seems too provocative. Though a new X-Men storyline might make it permanent.

Not necessarily evil but…

I suspect when it comes to reinventing Kitty Pryde as a leopard assassin, that’s taking her to a logical conclusion considering her training as well as reusing some old ideas (including one where Chris Claremont attempted to turn her into a panther god vessel or something) and putting them into good use. Age of Apocalypse had the right idea for her in making her into an assassin, which’s the most realistic direction she took when you think about.

For another matter, turning Caitlin Snow into a werewolf enables the Flash to become her Red Riding Hood. Both of these are logically ugly conclusions considering those things even if they actually make the most sense in their respective contexts. Should it ever happen, some won’t like it even that does resolve certain issues like writers being unable to do anything interesting with Cait or Kitty being a Mary Sue.

She’s out to kill you

That’s been done before though one wonders why Kitty Pryde herself never became an assassin in the main canon like what she did in the Age of Apocalypse storyline. I suspect turning her into a bloodthirsty assassin’s really the only way to keep her from being a Mary Sue, given she’s that impulsive enough to not only beat up people in anger but also kill Emma Frost in one storyline as well as constantly picking on fights with her. She’s got the makings of one but it’s something that’s barely if ever attempted outside of the Age of Apocalypse storyline.

Since AOA’s considered apocryphal, it seemed the chance to deMary Sue her seems to dwindle even if that’s the most logical route. If because the logical conclusion’s also the ugliest even if it’s the most realistic considering her tendencies and training. Even if she doesn’t become an assassin, she could still make for a bloodthirsty anti-heroine if they’re willing to go for that route. Turning her into a bloodthirsty leopard assassin might be a little too much but also in line with Chris Claremont’s attempt at turning her into the vessel of a panther god.

Even if that too gets its head turned around when she does become a bloodthirsty leopardess at all.

Logically ugly conclusions

I suspect when it comes to taking characters to their logical conclusions, the results aren’t always cool or appealing. It’s like why the idea of Kitty Pryde as an assassin tends to be apocryphal even if that’s really in line with her powers, training and deadly temper helped by that she’s allied with Wolverine. That route, though the most realistic in terms of her portrayal, isn’t the one most like. Even if it makes sense.

Same with why turning Nate Grey into a divine character bothers people. He’s a very overpowered psychic who does whatever he wants but by the time Warren Ellis got to him, he turned into a shaman or something and went on helping people and developing a divine complex. One that’s taken more literally upon his subsequent reappearance as a middle-aged visionary.

Somebody leads him to destroy what he considers fake and angering certain folks this way. He’s got divine powers and when told to do something, it’s ugly. Though it’s a really neat way of dealing with overpowered characters is to depict them as truly divine and vindictively aloof (ala Dr Manhattan), it’s something others don’t really like.

Even if it’s the most realistic character development Nate ever got when it comes to dealing with this powers at all.

Goth Pixie Dream Girl

I think it’s a subject matter somebody else talked about but one that might have amusing bearings on not only those who do come close to it but also in live action. Maybe not always exactly the case but it does fit well when it comes to characters like Abby Sciutto as well as Willow Rosenberg and Felicity Smoak at some point. Even if it’s not always exactly the case as Kitty Pryde and Donna Troy just happened to like wearing black a lot (though Black Canary dresses more similarly to that of actual Goths*).

But it seems to be the case where dressing in black clothing can be a shorthand for outsider (especially when it comes to beatniks, Goths, BDSM and even hackers). Even if it’s not always the case, it does fit well as to be unconscious. (There’s got to be a reason why not too many X-Men consider Emma Frost to be girl next door material but because she’s way too much of a Valley Girl in a way to be accessible to them.)

It may not always be the case but enough to make a nearly unconscious connection for some.

*A big mystery why almost nobody bothered to Goth her up as she could pull it off real well.

That other option

Like I said, there’s another way that a character can stop being a Mary Sue is to take them to where they’d logically go. Even if it’s not always exactly or consistently the case, it’s makes sense as to keep them from being Mary Sue. I actually think Kitty Pryde would be way less Mary Sue if they made her into an anti-heroine assassin. That’s even attempted before in Age of Apocalypse but because that storyline’s considered apocryphal, even if it’s the most realistic in the sense of taking her training and attitude into account.

(It’s like how some of the attempts to improve an existing character ends up being ‘outside’ of the main canon at times.)

Even if it’s not an entirely new take, the idea of Kitty Pryde as a leopard assassin/murderess seems to be the most logical option in line with Chris Claremont’s attempts at turning her into an avatar of a panther god and her Age of Apocalypse portrayal. Now that the female Wolverine’s role’s taken over by X23, if there’s ever a way to slot her in the assassin role I guess turning her into a leopard assassin’s the best way to go.

Or at least the closest to it.

Not really lacking in personality but…

I still think that reader/fan insert characters are at a bigger risk of becoming Mary Sues or lacking personalities than those who don’t or are author surrogates (at least most of the time) in that it’s easier to live vicariously through them whilst in most fictions there’s a degree of semi-autobiography if some of the characters and events are based on what the author went through. Especially if the appeal’s not lost on fans turned professional.

It makes it harder to make the character actually interesting, let alone take it to where it’ll logically go as that’s needed to keep it from going Mary Sue (something like Kitty Pryde being an assassin in Age of Apocalypse considering her ability and training). I still suspect that’s generally apocryphal even if it makes the most sense considering her trajectory. Or do something entirely different to them.

Leopard murderess Kitty Pryde and hyena Felicity Smoak among those. But I suspect that’s way too left field even if it does improve them in some manner (in the sense of lessening the Mary Sue/fan surrogate aspect). Most don’t consider this even if it either lessens the need for a Mary Sue fan surrogate or allows an actual personality to emerge. It’s not that Kitty and the like lack personalities.

(Kitty Pryde has a very hot temper.)

But it has to be much more substantiated than that, in addition to being either changed a lot or be allowed to go where they’d naturally go like Kitty Pryde being an assassin as to lessen the Mary Sue/fan surrogate feeling.

The best and worst of two worlds

I think I remember somewhere about the video ‘Goth Rebel Dream Girl’ is that Goth women seem very popular to nerdy men. Both in the sense of being outsiders and if I’m not mistaken, many Goths (as well as metalheads) tend to be really nerdy. Maybe not exactly or always the case for some. But I guess it’s parsimonious to assume that the Manic Pixie Dream Girl (with the GRDG usually being a reskin or costume of sorts) is the only Mary Sue straight men condone.

In that she’s obviously not like most women and does a lot of things but for as long as she panders to men a lot. Again not always exactly the case but it does explain some. Especially Arrow’s take on Felicity Smoak (given she initially didn’t start out as such in the comics) and Harley Quinn being both to whatever degree with Donna Troy and Kitty Pryde* coming close to it (not necessarily Goth but almost).

CSI’s Abby Sciutto and Buffy’s Willow also count. Not to mention it’s a weirdly contrived sort of femininity they like the most, something I can’t put a ring around.

*Until recently.

Not necessarily devoid of personality

Like I said before, some characters aren’t necessarily devoid of character but that it’s not well-developed beyond being blatant wish fulfillment or in some cases, never bothering to consider interesting possibilities based on traits and trajectories. Kitty Pryde could easily be X-Men’s deadliest assassin and also the only way she’ll objectively not be a Mary Sue.

Heck, even associating characters with well-known people helps especially in giving a better idea of what they are and what they could be. Tigra is Mina Mazzini and Barry Allen’s Dante Alighieri. That’s not a bad one really though that’s also implying one needs to go out of the box to find ways of either making existing characters interesting or creating entirely different characters, themes and stories.

Though the only problem’s that of a Sophie’s Choice wherein you either have the same themes all over again or something entirely new and unexpected. A middle ground’s possible but not when some necessitate either this or that.

Almost unbelievable

I still think characters like Kitty Pryde and Tim Drake suffer from a serious sense of cognitive dissonance in how contrived they are. The former’s supposed to be a normal woman yet barely does things most women relate to at times. It’s not that she lacks flaws (she’s got a hot temper) but that they went too far with her. I actually think she’d a doable anti-heroine had they excised the hacking and dragon thing for good.

(Some already did in a way with things like X-Men Evolution, Wolverine and the X-Men and the X-Men movies.)

She actually got properly portrayed as an assassin in the Age of Apocalypse storyline but apparently not much as it’s apocryphal. Missed opportunity since that’s taking where she’d logically go considering her power and training. (Probably because making her into an assassin, though much more realistic, doesn’t seem to sit well with others never mind her training and temper.)

As for Tim Drake, he hardly comes off as a normal lad at times. Not to mention some of the things Tim goes through seem more realistic had he been a girl. More people lose their heads over a woman losing her virginity than if a man did the same. (There’s a reason why slut-shaming’s a big deal.)

But that’s also implying that Tim’s just not that good of a character as some make him out to be. Like he’s really pandering and not to mention hypocritical in that writers paint him as a virgin never mind that he had sex with three women (Ariana, Stephanie, Lynx) whilst there are characters in JJBA who never date or flirt with women and it’s not much made into a big deal (as far as I recall, I could be nitpicking).

At least there’s more evidence for Jotaro Kujo being virginal/celibate (he’s revealed to have a daughter much later on) longer and better than Tim does. Maybe not necessarily clean (Jotaro may’ve wanked) but given he doesn’t date women for a long time, at least Jotaro seems more believable when it comes to his lack of sexual activity with other people.

It’s not so much that comics aren’t real but that there needs more believability and credibility to such portrayals, otherwise it falls flat.