How To Write Marvel Fanfiction

The Cardinal Writing Sin

Or so we're told, at least.

So I know I already did a chapter on making an OC and all that jazz, but I was thinking about this and getting grumpy over it, so I decided to dedicate a whole ass chapter to it.

The Mary Sue.

If you've never heard the term 'Mary Sue', you probably don't know what a book is.

So this whole spiel and term get thrown around a lot. It's the one thing you should never ever do, it's awful, it's evil, it'll make your story and OC the scum of the Earth. Or something like that, I don't know, I don't have a script here.

Basically, it's a no-no.

According to Google, a Mary Sue is "a type of female character who is depicted as unrealistically lacking in flaws or weaknesses." Basically, the overpowered and flawless girl who everyone wants. 

But let's really talk about this, for a hot second. 

I didn't mention Mary Sues in my Characters chapter because simply put, I don't see it that much. Especially within fanfiction, the OC being a Mary Sue is rarely the problem. The problem is that you haven't built a complex character, not that you've made a Mary Sue. Treating every bad OC like a Mary Sue is flat out sexism. 

Don't believe me?

Let me paint a picture. I'm gonna create this totally original and unique OC. 

So you've got this girl. Her parents were killed at a young age, and she inherited their brilliant wealth and giant company. She was raised by a family friend and spent her entire childhood angsty and hungry for revenge. When she turns 18, she goes to a remote country and learns every form of fighting ever, and becomes the ultimate badass. She comes back home and is loved as her day personality as a rich and powerful CEO darling, and by night she's the most powerful and feared hero to ever exist. Despite being one of the few humans on the team, she joins a superhero team with literal gods and is always seen by her comrades as the smartest and most dangerous. Her best friend is the most powerful alien in the known universe, but even she fears and respects this character. She can beat anyone, can hack any computer, and everyone is scared shitless of her. She gets all the guys she wants, villains and heroes and civilians alike, but she doesn't commit to them because she's Dark and Misunderstood and can't do a serious relationship. So she just has tons of one night stands and saves the world every other weekend. 

Wow, that's the literal definition of a Mary Sue, isn't it?

Actually, that's Batman. 

I literally just described Batman, just flopped genders. One of the best selling, most well-known superheroes of all time, with multiple film adaptations, tv shows, video games, etc. But when I made Batman a woman, changing literally nothing about his character or backstory, suddenly I've got a Mary Sue. 

Y'all see the glaring point here?

The mere concept of a Mary Sue is misogynistic and gross. Making a character who's flawless and adored by everyone is objectively bad, but how many examples can you think of that are men? Luke Skywalker, Batman, Superman, Harry Potter, I could go on. They're instantly amazing and badass at everything they do, they're alluring to women, and they always win with a cool trick and funny one-liner.

And you know why they fucking exist, you ding dongs?

(✿◠‿◠) Male power fantasies. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Comic book media, in general, rose to popularity for that sole reason. Guys got off to the idea of getting to be badass and save the girl. In-depth character analysis didn't matter, what matter was that dudes sitting in the pyjamas surrounded by empty cans of Pringles and Mountain Dew at 3 am in their mom's basement would feel cool and awesome when they read those comic books. It was the nerd version of 'x reader' stuff. 

So when that genre of character and story began bleeding into female media, designed to make girls feel badass, suddenly everyone was backpedalling. Now that character is bad and deserves to be analyzed and criticized for being an unabashed power fantasy. Because girls are supposed to read frilly rom-coms where a girl is fawning over the big strong man and gets swept off her feet and saved by prince charming. Women are supposed to idealise being the love interest, not the main character. 

Do you smell that? It's the hypocrisy, and it's burning with black smoke. 

Sure, the term 'Gary Stu' exists, but a male character has to be an extreme offender of this mindset to even be considered as a Gary Stu. Meanwhile, if a female character even breathes, she's probably being a Mary Sue. 

Hell, the MCU isn't innocent of male Mary Sues. Captain America is the biggest fucking Mary Sue there is. Fucking fight me. 

He always has to be right in the narrative (the only movie to even remotely call him out was Endgame, and if you weren't absolutely living for Tony's speech that fucking destroyed Steve, you're just not living), he's the man's man, every character idolizes him -or at least has to have a complex about him-, he can fight a Titan, he's capable of lifting Mjolnir, he's the leader despite little capabilities when actually shown leading, he gets his happily ever after in the end, and he has kissed three of the most objectively hot women in the MCU. And as a lesbian, I'm legally allowed to make that call. Imagine the hate ol' Steeb would get if he were a Stephanie. 

Oh wait, we don't have to imagine. Just look at how the pissy manbabies reacted to Captain Marvel. 

Don't get me wrong, Steve is a complex character when you strain to look at it within the narrative. But the simple truth is that Captain America is the ultimate male power fantasy. He's a regular guy who Always Does The Right Thing, everyone follows him, he's a legend, and he got to both fool around with some hot girls and still get the woman of his dreams in the end. It's gross and boring and very hetero. 

Basically, the point here is, stop being afraid of the fucking Mary Sue. 

In fact, I see a lot of young writers who are so afraid of writing a Mary Sue, that they somehow create the anti-Mary Sue with a character who everyone hates and is riddled with flaws. I'd rather read about a Mary Sue than an anti-Mary Sue. At least Mary Sues have funny quips sometimes.

Calm down. Write the OC you want to write. As I said in the Powers chapter, you can make her OP. Hell, you can even make her a blatant power fantasy. It's your character, it's your story. Someone is going to accuse her of being a Mary Sue no matter how perfectly balanced and complex she is. You need to calm down.