Curious about what’s a Mary Sue and why it’s so craved? This guide explores the Mary Sue tropes, along with Gary Stu and Anti-Sue tropes.
It uncovers its 1973 Star Trek origins down to the reason why we yearn for power fantasies.
Plus, we’ve curated 10 irresistible ReelShort dramas that nail these tropes.
Read on.
- Part 1: Introduction – The Love-Hate Relationship with Perfect Characters
- Part 2: The Origins – Where Did the Mary Sue Come From?
- Part 3: The Psychology – Why We Actually Need Mary Sues and Anti-Sues
- Part 4: 10 Addictive Short Dramas to Satisfy Your Cravings
- Part 5: Conclusion – Ready to Binge?
Part 1: Introduction – The Love-Hate Relationship with Perfect Characters
What’s a Mary Sue?
Have you ever rolled your eyes at a character who is just too perfect, yet you still couldn’t stop watching? These characters are usually unbearably beautiful, super skilled, and loved by almost everyone. They triumph effortlessly.
They’re referred to as “Mary Sue.” They’re the perfect characters.
They usually do have their own perfect world built to make them look good. This world is called “Mary Suetopia.”
While there are many people who love the character, there are also those, such as literary critics, editors and experienced writers, who hate and criticize it.
They hate it because it lacks conflict and tension. The character is never truly challenged. Such behavior makes the story easily predictable and boring. They feel such characters are totally unrealistic.
In addition they think such characters disrupt ensemble balance. They reduce other characters to cheerleaders or obstacles.
Regardless of all these, most audiences love the Mary Sue character. This is because they have deep satisfaction in watching someone who is competent and wins. They love to see a character deliver power fantasies and rise above life’s messiness.
Moreover, dramas that have a Mary Sue are usually satisfying to watch. The trope often provides high-stakes romance, exciting triumphant moments, and clear heroes.
Part 2: The Origins – Where Did the Mary Sue Come From?
As much as people search for “whats a Mary Sue?,” they also want to know about its origin.
Mary Sue is a name that traces back to a particular moment in fanfiction history that captured a writing pitfall. It’s one of the most well-known labels in criticizing storytelling.
The birth of the name was in 1973 following Paula Smith’s parody. Paula Smith is a fan and editor of Star Trek fanzines.
She published a short sarcastic story, which was titled “A Trekkie’s Tale,” in Menagerie #2. This was co-edited with Sharon Ferraro.
The short story features Lieutenant Mary Sue. The lieutenant is a 15-and-a-half-year-old prodigy who joins the Starship Enterprise. She was the youngest lieutenant on board.
Shortly after she joins the enterprise, she wins the heart of Captain Kirk, Spock, and all the crew. She outperforms her colleagues with exceptional intelligence. On top of it all, she saved the ship and the federation several times.
However, at the end, she dies a heroic death.
This story by Paula was because she got annoyed with fans writing and wanting a perfect girl character in Star Trek stories. She created the “Mary Sue” character in an over-the-top joke story on purpose.
Surprisingly, fans liked the story and thought it was amazing. So, the name “Mary Sue” stuck and spread through Star Trek fan groups and beyond.
Anytime you hear it as slang, just know that it means an idealized, unrealistically perfect female character.
A male character with similar characteristics is called a “Gary Stu” (or Marty Stu). They’re wonderfully skilled, intellectually superior, and physically dominant. They also attract women effortlessly and command respect from everyone.
Just as the perfect female characters have Mary Suetopia, the males also have the Gary Stutopia. And for them, there’s nothing like lasting consequences.
While the Mary Sues draw criticism, the Gary Stus are celebrated and normalized. They dominate action and CEO-romance genres.
Part 3: The Psychology – Why We Actually Need Mary Sues and Anti-Sues
Critics often label Mary Sues as lazy writing. They see them as characters where the writer dodges the challenges that come with making their characters realistic.
This is where Mary Sue syndrome comes in. In writing, this syndrome refers to relying on an idealized, flawless protagonist, and the story centers around their effortless wins.
In a world that feels consuming, exhausting, and chaotic, sometimes, we need Mary Sues to spice things up. It’s not every time people want slow, realistic, and depressing movies.
They also want fast-paced, high-stakes power fantasies. They want stories where justice doesn’t have to be a 5-hour drive. They crave stories where competence is rewarded and the hero(ine) actually emerges victorious.
You know what delivers exactly that? The Mary Sues!
They deliver that emotional reset the audience loves. They provide a safe space for escapism, liberating victory, and validation.
But audiences didn’t stay satisfied with “perfect” forever.
Over time, storytelling evolved beyond the perfect Mary Sues. Another deliberate subversion was born—the Anti-Sues.
People stopped asking “whats Mary Sue.” They shifted their focus to “Anti-Sues.”
An Anti-Sue is aggressively flawed, deeply damaged, socially disastrous, and often grotesque. Even with all these, the story centers around them and the plot highlights their journey.
Mostly, they’re driven by revenge. They start their journey as a character who’s broken and furious, then move to channeling trauma into fierce and unapologetic comebacks.
They show quick rises from being the underdog to an unstoppable force.
Stories and movies with Anti-Sues have dramatic reveals and deliver satisfying dramas in quick, irresistible bursts. They give you all the emotional highs and lows, but you’ll love every second of it.
Audiences crave stories with Anti-Sue tropes. This craving for such high-speed, satisfying stories gave rise to “short dramas”—the hottest trend in entertainment.
If you want to see these tropes twisted, perfected, or completely flipped on their heads, here are 10 bite-sized shows you need to see right now.
Part 4: 10 Addictive Short Dramas to Satisfy Your Cravings
Category 1: The “Anti-Mary Sue” (Revenge & Fierce Female Leads)
The Anti-Mary Sue or Anti-Sue are characters who aren’t waiting to be saved. They’re flawed, angry, and out for revenge.
Dramas under this category include the following:
Drama 1: Queen Mom Rules
Queen Mom Rules is a typical Anti-Sue trope. Here, the female character, Athena, is heavily flawed.
She left her family when she was quite young. She married a poor man, which her mom and siblings were against. They looked down on her for that choice.
A few years later, things changed. Athena’s husband died, and she worked extremely hard to change her life. Her hard work paid off and she became the CEO of a multi-million dollar company.
She went from a poor girl to a renowned badass boss. She changed her story and her family had no idea of her elevated status. So, they continued to belittle her.
When she shows them how victorious she has emerged, they won’t be ready.
Drama 2: My Sister Is the Warlord Queen
In My Sister is the Warlord Queen, Catherine has to prove her worth at her sister’s engagement party.
Catherine is a warlord queen. She just returned from one of her successful undercover missions as a janitor.
On her return, she rushed to attend her sister’s engagement party. She was still dressed as a janitor. She had no time to change her outfit as she feared being late to the party.
When she arrived at the venue, she didn’t receive a warm welcome. Everyone at the party thought she was a janitor so they all belittled her.
Catherine was willing to let them mock her while they thought she was a janitor. However, when they shifted their mockery to Grace and turned it into bullying, Catherine snapped.
Drama 3: Queen of the Court
Lily Pearson gave up her career as a tennis star in Queen of the Court. She did it because of her love for Adam Parker.
Adam’s and Lily’s love started off on a good note. So, when she hit a peak in her career and noticed he was struggling with his, she quit to coach him.
She coached him to be one of the world’s best tennis players for ten years. Adam became famous but he changed for the worse. He fell out of love with Lily, treated her poorly, and even cheated on her publicly.
Lily decided to stop coaching Adam and returned to the tennis world as his competitor.
Category 2: The Ultimate “Guilty Pleasure” (Sweet Romance & Billionaires)
When you just want the classic fairy tale with a fast-paced twist, embrace the pure Mary Suetopia fantasy!
Dramas you should see under this category include the following:
Drama 4: Sweet Wild Bride of Mine
How can a father gang up against his own daughter to end her life? Well, that’s what you see in Sweet Wide Bride of Mine.
Eliza got hit severely on the head by her stepbrother, Matt. Her crime was refusing to give up her company to him.
Her family, who witnessed the attempted murder, quietly buried her without even confirming if she was alive or dead.
She later woke up a few minutes after they left her for dead. Then comes her hero, Justin. He saw her looking untidy, cleaned, and married her.
Due to the severe hit on Eliza’s head, she sustained severe amnesia. Marrying Justin saved her.
He took care of her, protected, and fell in love with her. And she fell in love with him too.
Drama 5: Kissed By Claw and Fang
If you’re still confused about “whats a Mary Sue?” then this drama might answer that. Kissed By Claw and Fang is a ReelShort drama featuring Ivy Stone as the lead character.
Ivy is a high school girl and a fallen heiress of the Stone family. At first, her family had everything—money, power, and respect.
Suddenly, they lost it all; her dad vanished and her mom slipped into a coma. This turned Ivy’s life for the worse.
She became homeless and completely broke. Until Zane, a vampire, and Sebastian, a wolf, came along. They became her knights in shining armor.
To Zane and Sebastian, everyone can be wrong but never Ivy. She strongly attracts them as their mate and they would destroy anyone that harms her.
Drama 6: Mic Drop Diva
Talk of a female character that has everything, then you’re referring to Ivy Lancaster. In Mic Drop Diva, She’s the heiress of a wealthy family. She has an angelic voice, a bestie, and a handsome boyfriend.
She’s literally living in her Mary Suetopia, but she’s getting sidelined and seen just as the nerd with glasses. No one knows of her charming voice since she lets her friend, Vanessa, claim it.
Also, Ivy allows her boyfriend, Tyler, and Vanessa to take advantage of her. She thinks they love her. Until she caught them making out and raining insults on her.
This is when she switched up and had a dramatic glow-up. She went from being a nerd with glasses to being Ivy Lancaster, the irresistible wealthy heiress with an angelic voice and two men fighting for her attention.
Drama 7: Married The Mafioso I Saved
In Married The Mafioso I Saved, Hannah married a street thug she saved with a kiss.
For her, it’s a marriage of convenience but for the mafioso, Alexander, it’s more than that. Hannah kissing him to save his life swept him off his feet. Now he only sees her as the wild girl he wants.
As for Hannah, Alex is quickly winning her over. She’s falling in love with him. Will she have a happy-ever-after with him?
What Hannah doesn’t know is the fact that Alex is the ruthless “Ax Kane” that she fears. Will this change how she feels about him?
I’m rooting for their HEA story!
Category 3: The “Gary Stu” Powerhouses (Overpowered Alphas)
Explore the male side of the trope—the Gary Stu. They’re the dominant and alpha males.
Must-watch dramas under this category include:
Drama 8: The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband
Sebastian Klein is on a mission to take back all his family took from him in The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband. The short drama revolves around him.
He’s an alpha male. He’s also every girl’s dream man with a bad reputation that he intentionally acquired.
He’s treated like an outcast in his family because he’s an illegitimate child, while his brother gets all the lovely treatment.
His father has eyes on him to prevent him from making any move that will sabotage the family. They want Sebastian to be useless and have no say in Klein’s business.
However, Sebastian has a plan to take over his family’s company. To carry out this plan, he has to dent his reputation, hide his status, and secretly work his way to the top.
Drama 9: Fated to the Alpha
In the ReelShort drama Fated to the Alpha, Ezra is the feared yet loved alpha of the Black Creek pack.
He’s a good ruler and he protects his pack. In addition, he’s respected by those in and out of his pack. He’s known to have won many battles and defeated many packs.
In the drama, he finds out that his fated mate is at risk. She’s the lunar healer and so many packs want her for her powers. They’re willing to hurt her in order to have her by their sides.
Ezra has to protect his mate. This means that he has battles to fight. These battles aren’t just only against other wolf packs but also against witches, rogues, and maybe vampires.
Drama 10: Move Aside! I’m the Final Boss
Kingsley Baldwin just returned from the battlefield and his first stop is to see his girlfriend in Move Aside I’m the Final Boss drama. Upon meeting her, she looks down on him, showers him with insults and breaks up with him.
Her reason—there’s a mysterious wealthy man showering her with money and she’s sure he’ll marry her. For that man, she’s dumping Kingsley, who has stuck with her for years.
Kingsley accepted her breakup but left her with a few words. He told her that she’ll regret her actions.
Why?
Because he’s the mysterious man who has secretly showered her with money. Being in the battlefield for five years has changed his wealth status.
Just when he came home to celebrate with his girlfriend, she stunned him.
How shocked will she be when she realizes the man she just lost?
Part 5: Conclusion – Ready to Binge?
You can’t deny that there’s this satisfaction that comes with watching the Mary Sue with her perfections, the Gary Stu being dominant, and the Anti-Sue channeling flaws into dangerous comebacks.
These characters all serve one goal, which is maximum entertainment. They hit you with an emotional rollercoaster, and it feels so satisfying.
In today’s world, they let us enjoy competence, catharsis in different ways, justice without guilt, and wish fulfillment.
They take us into distinct worlds like the Mary Suetopia and Gary Stutopia. We all need a breath of fresh air and they deliver it. This is why we crave their tropes and stories.
From Paula Smith’s 1973 satirical story to today’s short-form dramas (in platforms such as ReelShort), the love-hate relationship with perfect and perfectly flawed characters echoes: We need these stories.
They fuel our emotions while entertaining us and delivering fast-paced satisfaction that slow-burn TV shows hold back.
Don’t wait for slow-burn TV shows anymore. Download the ReelShort app or click the links above to start watching episode 1 of these viral short dramas for free right now!
