So we all hate Skye that established. Mostly because she is a Mary Sue and theres nothing the writers cant stop her from doing.
But what irritating me is that Mac is becoming the male version. Were short on lead cast so they just have him do everything. He was just a mechanic and now hes: Director private security, soldier, enforcer, spy and even a bloody ghost rider!
No, we don't all hate Skye, and she is not a Mary Sue. That's utter bull$hit. How is she a "Mary Sue"? It doesn't make a lick of sense. Do you know what a Mary Sue is supposed to be? I could write a whole long post dismantling that stupid complaint and showing how she's very obviously not a Mary Sue and never has been, but I won't bother, especially since no one is bothering to give arguments how she is supposedly a "Mary Sue".
Truth is that "Mary Sue" has become a completely meaningless moniker that people use to attack female characters that they dislike, often because they happen to be protagonists or have a prominent role. Can't have her taking the attention away from Coulson, because he needs to have even more screentime compared to others than he already has, and we need every antagonist to be even more obsessed with him for no discernible reason and every good guy to constantly praise what a great guy and leader he is.
^^^^ (screams at top of lungs) THIIIIIIS!!
It's like people don't understand the genesis of that term or what the real meaning is. They just throw it after every chick who literally does exactly what the male hero does in every show and film, but people not used to seeing women do it, so....MARY SUE!
But, you know, Neo, Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, James McAvoy in Wanted, Etc etc etc
The oddest thing is, she's not even close to having the "Mary Sue" characteristics that many protagonists have. If she were a Mary Sue, she'd have shown herself to be not just a great hacker - which is why they recruited her - but she would also immediately become a fighter on the level or better than May and Ward, she'd be a top spy after 3 episodes, and she'd understand everything about science and could out-technobabble Fitz and Simmons. * She'd never gotten herself into a helpless position and gotten shot by Quinn - the narrative would ensure that she's successful. When she learns Ward is Hydra, she's take him down all on her own, and she'd beat every bad guy ever. And every single man in the show would be totally in love with her - Fitz, Tripp, Hunter, Mack...
*(Incidentally, Tripp was kind of like that - he came on and we immediately learned that he's not just supposed to be an excellent field operative, but knows about science as much as Fitz, plus his grandad was a Howling Commando - but he doesn't like to brag - and he's got a lot of cool gadgets. And he's a super nice guy and trustworthy and practically no character flaws. But no one calls him a Mary Sue/Gary Stu.)
The narrative does not bend itself to make her successful even when it's highly unlikely, like it is supposed to do for Mary Sues. In fact, there are plenty of times early on when, although she's smart and resourceful and brave, she's also clearly still too naive and inexperienced - from the fact that she falls for the "truth serum" ruse in the Pilot (though it seems that a considerable portion of fandom still thinks that was a real thing, which I find hilarious, even after the show spelled it out that it was a ruse just two episodes later) to how she gets in over her head by going to Quinn's mansion on her own. She later trains and becomes a good field operative, but it's not like she's suddenly a super spy or a better field agent than experienced agents like May or Bobbi. She becomes the most powerful member of the team only when she gets superpowers. And wow, a superpowered person has superpowers! What a shock! 😒 I guess that makes every Marvel and DC superhero a Mary Sue.
And not only that the narrative doesn't bend itself to ensure that she's always successful - they even have her completely fail in the season 3 finale, which is really rare with protagonists, with the way that everyone these days wants characters to always be "badass" and the way that people think that "Strong Female Character" means being stone cold and unemotional. Instead, they have her be genuinely traumatized and a wreck to the point that, instead of the stereotypical "now she's going to kick his ass and triumph", she actually begs the villain to take her back and brainwash her again, then only attack him - more out of personal pain than anything - when it proves impossible, and then she fails and loses that fight. Later she tries to make a big sacrifice, which at that point seems in large part like an act of desperation, but her boyfriend takes that away from her and dies instead. I liked that they did not go the standard route, and that she doesn't win and doesn't triumph over her metaphorical and literal demons. That's as far from a Mary Sue as it gets.
As I said below, all of these are just Hero tropes.
What makes someone a Mary Sue is very much the business of being a writer surrogate in the story (especially in fan-fiction). Without that angle, the character's just a hero, and as with all heroes, your like them or you don't.
"Mary Sue" is now just a way to diminish a hero one doesn't like, by trying to blame it on the writers being lazy.
Of course, it turns out the writers aren't the only ones being lazy...
If your theater is a space safe from ideas and opinions, you're doing theater wrong.
You forgot to mention that every time she uses her powers, she shatters her own bones. Exactly like Steve Rogers! Oh, wait...
shareGary Stu
shareThe term Mary Sue (and all related terms) needs to die, already.
It grew from a common trope of fanfiction--the desire to see oneself interact with established characters--and is now an infection in any discourse about popular entertainment.
See, what people are calling a Mary Sue is just an amalgamation of established tropes. Heroes in melodramas were exhibiting all these tropes long before the concept of a Mary Sue came along.
If your theater is a space safe from ideas and opinions, you're doing theater wrong.