Marty Stu - Television Tropes & Idioms

alt title(s): Gary Stu; Marty Sam

Mary Sue, and the plot bias indicative of it, is hardly limited to those lacking a Y chromosome. For probably just as long (if not even longer) as there has been Mary Sue, so too has there been Marty Stu. All the same rules apply, but a couple variations do tend to show up, expressing different ideas of what constitutes male and female "perfection". Also referred to as "Gary Stu," (for those who prefer rhyming to alliteration) "Mary Joe," or "Marty Sam."

Once upon a time, Mary Sue didn't really do very much, because a woman who was taking an active role in dramatic events was unwomanly and, by definition, not perfect. So Mary Sue radiated a soft glow of purity and beauty into the narrative around her and had people fall in love with her a lot. And this side of her lineage still shows, even as changes in society have allowed women to get out there swinging katanas and flying and so forth.

Marty Stu, however, is usually restricted to being a creature of action since men who do not take an active role in dramatic events are unmanly and, by definition, not perfect (Non Action Guy tends to be looked upon with disdain). So Marty Stu is the personification of action, action and more action. Or, if he is of an intellectual bent, he thinks his way through problems, inventing whole new branches of science and technology in the process. In contrast to Mary Sue who has been freed to play an active and/or passive role, Marty Stu is almost never seen taking on his sister's old school Purity Sue role: passive motivator of others through his purity, beauty and helplessness.

Marty Stu is devastatingly handsome (or if not, possessed of a strange, saturnine magnetism) and desired by all significant women, yes, but romance is not likely to be the main dish. He's an unstoppable fighter, a rogue agent, a fearless freedom fighter, a master of disguise. However, as times have changed, just as Mary's acquired a bratty temper, Marty's had the occasional opportunity to show his softer side.

Once upon a time, Mary Sues were noticed and hated to a much greater degree than Marty Stus. It was almost as if male characters were forgiven for being implausibly plastic because they upheld stereotypically male virtues such as toughness, courage, and heterosexual promiscuity. But men have finally begun to demand more realistic protagonists, and Marty Stu has become just as reviled as his sister.

Please don't list examples of Marty Stu in this article. Instead, list them in one of the following:

Purity Sue (rare, but it can still happen)
God Mode Sue (this is probably your best bet)
Jerk Sue (Especially prone to Moral Dissonance)
Relationship Sue (If Mary's Love Interest is more than a Flat Character or Possession Sue, they're likely to be a matched pair)
Fixer Sue
Sympathetic Sue
Villain Sue
Anti Sue
Parody Sue
- The Ace (Naturally)

Before adding an example, please make sure that you aren't repeating something that is already listed on a different subtype. Also, in order to prevent Entry Pimping and Complaining About Characters You Don't Like, please only list them in one page as per the overriding Sue type. There is a lot of overlap, but there is usually something that is more obvious than the rest. If it all seems too equal, then prioritize it by this inequality:

Parody > Fixer > Anti > Villain > Sympathetic > Relationship > Jerk > God Mode > Purity.

See also The Ace, which is usually made as a nod to the less realistic male characters of old and plays it as a supporting character for comedic purposes.

Common Marty Stu Traits

As far as their traits go, Marty Stu incorporates most of the Common Mary Sue Traits while having quite a few general trends to differentiate him. While the textbook Mary Sue is generally made as a pseudo-realistic ideal of feminine perfection, Marty Stu tends towards taking the Rule Of Cool TO THE EXTREME!! Due in part to the Double Standard, Marty tends to be less of an emotional cornerstone and more just an embodiment of pure physical and mental awesome (ala God Mode Sue). He's the type that tends to be stronger than the The Incredible Hulk, faster than Sonic The Hedgehog, and have more MP than God.

Marty also generally doesn't have the sort of purity common in Mary (although it's not unheard of). Instead, he tends more towards the Darker And Edgier path, with a tragic and very personal backstory being the order of the day. Whereas Mary would use this to emphasize just how special she truly is, Marty uses it for the sake of brooding. No doubt much of the recent popularity of this character trait owes credit to Batman and Wolverine (debatably also good examples of Marty Stu themselves, but that's neither here nor there), but there's no indication that it only started with those characters.

Obviously, neither of these traits are exclusive to Marty. There exist plenty of God Mode and Wangsty Mary Sues, but in sheer percentage, it's more common on Marty. Since All Girls Want Bad Boys, after all, increasing the Bad Ass potential of a character has the secondary effect of making him more attractive to women without having to sacrifice any capability. Sometimes, this attitude goes just a little too far and creates Jerkass Stu.

Just like the Always Male category on this Wiki, there's painfully little that Marty does that Mary doesn't, generally being limited to sexuality-related things. Nonetheless, here's the painfully small list of exclusive Marty Stu traits:

Perma Stubble. Nothing like the scratchy beginnings of a beard to emphasize that no, testosterone isn't in any sort of short supply for him. Actual beards are surprisingly rare.
- Aesthetically placed scars can keep Marty from being too pretty, while emphasizing his dangerous lifestyle.
- Sometimes, especially in Westerns, Marty is part Indian (never full-blooded) and doesn't have Perma Stubble.
Make him big and muscular. Even in professions where he does little physical work and shouldn't have time to train to be an Olympic weightlifter. While there's nothing preventing Mary from doing this as well, you won't see it happen very often (although there are some examples) because being muscular takes away from feminine charm in the eyes of most writers (if she needs to be strong, she'll often just practice Waif Fu).
- Similarly, give him an exaggeratedly large penis. No, not a Gag Penis. The author will expect people to actually accept that his member can double as a baseball bat. The more blatantly inaccurate ones tend to be written by women, though.
Conversely, make him lean and streamlined, as is common with more romantic heroes; the female audience prefers the dancer's build with swimmer's torso. Overly conspicuous muscles are avoided for pretty much the same reason as they are with the Distaff Counterpart: because they detract from physical grace.