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Webcomic / Ensign Sue Must Die

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"Ensign Mary Amethyst Star Enoby Aiko Archer Picard Janeway Sue is the youngest officer in Starfleet. A skilled linguist... an unmatched warrior... a cunning strategist... a scientific genius... a gentle healer... a passionate lover... She is a woman of exceptional beauty; bubbly, pure of heart and perfect in every way...

...and she's driving the crew of a certain enterprising starship INSANE!"

So begins the tale of Ensign Sue Must Die. A Webcomic drawn by Kevin Bolk of Interrobang Studios and written by Clare Moseley of Clare Moseley.ca. The story takes place in the Star Trek universe after the events of the 2009 revamp film which follows the Starship Enterprise's new medical officer Ensign Sue. The comic completely parodies the concept of a Mary Sue character. Can currently be found on Moseley's site: the original, Wrath of Sue, and Ensign³.

The original comic was made in a short newspaper comic format, and was fairly light-hearted and uncomplicated, being entirely self-contained. After that comic's great success, the format was doubled to two rows of panels (aside from a few full pages), and the story got much broader and deeper, and was turned into a Two-Part Trilogy. While the original had no particular message about Mary Sue characters, the sequels go into extensive depth on the topic, deconstructing the original Mary Sue character, providing her with a backstory, and also providing some surprising insights into the Star Trek universe, including captain Kirk himself and the nature of both fanon and canon Sues.

The first sequel was Ensign Two: The Wrath of Sue— begun on December 21, 2012 and finished on August 16, 2013. The closing installment and grand finale, Ensign³: Crisis of Infinite Sues, began on January 31, 2014 and finished on January 2, 2015. Both sequels can be found here.

This webcomic provides examples of:

  • Adaptational Villainy: The original Lt. Mary Sue was, much like Enisgn Sue, a Parody Sue who cared for her crewmates, though she died an in-universe tragic death. As Sue Prime, she instead sends pieces of herself throughout the multiverse in order to love and be loved by the worlds the Sues invade, uncaring that she changes the worlds in the process.
  • Art Shift:
    • During the fourth comic, when Sue narrates.
    • Mostly averted in the world-hopping in Ensign 2.
  • Author on Board: Played with. Although Ensign Sue has all the usual qualities of a Mary Sue, she has somehow popped up in a universe where all the other characters don't follow the usual rules of a Mary Sue fic. It's implied that their minds will be warped if they spend enough time around her. In the Harry Potter universe, the other characters are indeed acting like the typical cast of a Mary Sue story.invoked
  • Awesomeness Is Volatile: Khan is disintegrated by the sheer magnificence of Khan Prime's pecs.
  • Back from the Dead: Ensign Sue, who was killed off in the end of the first chapter. Sue Prime then brought her back as the Sue of the Harry Potter universe. She reveals her old medical uniform after reuniting with Captain Kirk.
  • Badass Crew: The group that joins forces to form La Résistance after Sue Prime successfully created her Sueniverse is composed of all the heroes of all stories that have not been brainwashed yet.
  • The Bad Guy Wins: At the end of The Wrath of Sue, the Doctor has been killed (though regenerated), Spock is Brainwashed and Crazy, Captain Kirk has been broken by the revelation of his Sue status, and Ensign Sue has been broken by the rejection of her fellow crewmates. Sue Prime gloats at the success of her Evil Plan, and the page announces To Be Continued.
  • Batman Gambit: Knowing that the Doctor, Kirk and Spock would try to get rid of her pieces spread all over the Multiverse, Sue Prime created the Pokéballs to be able to contain the multiple Sues. She inserted them in the Pokémon Universe so they would be mass-produced, with the cover they were actually for Pokémon. When enough Pokéballs containing Sues were in the Star Trek universe, she sent Anna Mae, Empress Sue and Sue-verine to free them. With enough Sue power concentrated in the Star Trek universe, they could begin the convergence of all universes, enabling Sue Prime to enter the mundane world without being Brought Down to Normal. Oh, and she ensured all this would happen by making Khan pass as Sherlock to trick them into enacting her plan.
  • Big Bad: Sue Prime is responsible for all the trouble in this fiction and she drives the Evil Plan of the "Sue Anomaly".
  • Big "NO!": Kirk's reaction to Brainwashed and Crazy Spock's claim that Kirk is himself a Sue. Bonus points for the scene being a Star Wars reference. He gets a second in the opening of Ensign Cubed, when he gets razzed by Empress Sue as he's doing his Captain's Log for getting in touch with his inner Sue.
  • Bittersweet Ending: Sue Prime is defeated and the multiverse starts to go back to normal as all the Sues begin to disappear. Sadly, this also includes Ensign Sue, who had undergone actual Character Development and atoned for her past actions. She is perfectly happy to Go Out with a Smile all by herself, since she helped save the crew of the Enterprise. Kirk looks over to where she was, and she's gone. And with the multiverse slowly erasing any presence the Sues had, Ensign Sue will slowly be Ret-Gone, until even the memory of her is no more. The only other happy thing is that she seems to have been reincarnated as a non-Sue, unknowing of her past life.
  • Black Hole Sue: All Sues are theoretically capable of bending everyone and everything in the universe to their perfection.invoked
  • Blatant Lies: When the Doctor asks Sherlock if he's a fan of the "long-running TV shows" he mentioned, Sherlock looks wide-eyed and claims that "a female associate" is a fan. The Doctor replies, "Of course she is."
  • Brainy Baby: Apparently, even as a newborn infant, Ensign Sue was able to escape the destruction of the Kelvin with her psychic powers.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy:
    • Sue Prime "re-educates" Spock and corrupts him to their cause.
    • When Sue Prime created her "perfect" universe, Chekov, Sulu, Uhura and Scotty were also brainwashed. Others taken over include Sonic the Hedgehog, Korra, Naruto, Danger Mouse, Harry Potter, the Black Knight, and even The Beatles.
    • Wolverine is revealed to have been brainwashed all along, reverting back to normal once Sue Prime is defeated.
  • Brick Joke:
    • Remember in the film when Scotty mentions that he lost Admiral Archer's beagle in a transporter accident? He tries to do the same to Ensign Sue. It fails, but Sue finds the beagle. Bonus brick joke for those who've read the novelization The beagle shows up at the end of the book.
    • Early on, Empress Sue is shown to have a fondness for girls, such as Uhura. Much later, Uhura takes advantage of that to clobber Mirror Sue which allows them to escape.
  • Brought Down to Normal: When Ensign Sue is brought back to the Star Trek universe, her Reality Warper status vanishes, leaving her merely an incredibly annoying girl. Ironically, this allows her to do something none of the other Sues are capable of doing: developing meaningfully as a person.
  • Butt-Monkey: Ever since the Eleventh Doctor was shot by the Sue-tified Spock, the Doctor's constant regenerations have become a Running Gag.
  • Bystander Syndrome: One of the reasons Sue is so hard to eliminate is that nobody wants to have anything to do with her. The worst offense is Starfleet's official response: HA HA... HA... HA.
  • Call-Back:
    • The universe where Ensign Sue is found in the sequel, "Wrath of Sue" is the same one we saw her end up in the original: Harry Potter.
    • In the original, Ensign Sue states that she was raised by worms (inside a wormhole!), and that they died as a part of her tragic backstory. In The Wrath of Sue, The captain is enraged by her calling him James instead of by his title, especially because of the crisis she brought upon them, and orders her locked in the brig. Her response is "This is worse than when the worms died!"
  • Cannot Tell a Lie: God Sue said to Ensign that she would never lie to herself. Three strips later, it's revealed that she's physically incapable of saying anything she doesn't truly believe. This is especially shocking when she proves incapable of saying she loves Spock.
  • Canon Sue: Natch, since the series is an Equal-Opportunity Offender when it comes to the various types of Sues. Sometimes, it's the fanfic writers since they're the easiest targets, but even canon characters aren't safe from being skewered in some way:invoked
    • Wesley from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
    • Wolverine from the X-Men. He reverts back to normal after the Sues are defeated.
    • In the Sonic world, you can see what suspiciously looks to be Sonia above Sonichu.
    • Possibly Kirk himself. Though Denny Crane later reassures him that being exceptional in and of itself is not the mark of a Sue.
    • Subverted with Bella Swan of The Twilight Saga. As seen in Ensign Two: The Wrath of Sue 20, the Pokéball bounces off her.
    • Played with in Equestria. We see Twilight Sparkle included with a bunch of bad original characters, but we never see if she gets captured or not. May have just been poking fun at the controversy that erupted when it was originally revealed she'd become an alicorn princess.
  • Category Traitor: Khan calls Ensign Sue a traitor, despite the fact that she only just discovered what was going on and had never been in contact with the other Sues in the first place.
  • Cat Girl: Anna Mae Sue has cat ears and a tail as part of her stereotypical "weaboo" look.
  • Cerebus Syndrome: The webcomic is still quite silly all the way through but while the first story was just about Mary Sue being put in a world that knows how ridiculous she is, the second story has her going through a Heel Realization and includes moments such as Wolverine stabbing the Doctor in the back, on panel. The third story has continued the trend toward drama, though still with plenty of gags thrown in.
  • Character Development: Ensign Sue, after being Brought Down to Normal, develops traits such as empathy and responsibility that distinguish her as a legitimate character instead of a Sue.
  • Chibi: The whole comic is drawn superdeformed. Which, of course, makes everything much funnier.
  • Clasp Your Hands If You Deceive: Sue Prime's pose at the end of The Wrath of Sue when she declares the success of her Evil Plan. It is appropriately sinister.
  • Cliffhanger:
    • The end of Chapter 1, where we see that Ensign Sue has died, but she meets Sue Prime, who sends her to the Harry Potter Universe.
    • Then Chapter 2. Empress Sue has the Infinity Gauntlet, Wolverine Sue stabbed the Doctor (who then regenerated into Eleven), Ambassador Spock is frozen in carbonite, Spock has been brainwashed, Kirk is in a Heroic BSoD after being told that he is a Canon Sue, Ensign Sue has broken down in her cell after discovering she no longer has Sue powers, and Sue Prime's plan appears to have succeeded.invoked
  • Cloud Cuckoolander: The Sues are clearly living in their own little world. The things they do make no sense to anyone else.
  • The Coats Are Off: Khan Prime defeats Khan this way. The sheer magnificence of his pectorals does him in.
  • Complexity Addiction: Sue Prime gets diagnosed with this ailment when she explains her plan to the cast:
    The Doctor: That... seems needlessly complex.
  • Cosmetically-Advanced Prequel: The Doctor of course knows all about The Aesthetics of Technology; Next Gen has moved beyond the "Lens flare" in "Original Series".
  • Crapsaccharine World: Sue Prime's "new universe", Sueranus, is full of pink and gems and rainbows where everyone is forced to be happy and adore her.
  • Crazy Enough to Work: McCoy lampshades Kirk's tendency to invent these type of "kamancy" schemes in a desperate situation.
  • Custom Uniform of Sexy: Ensign Sue, her mirror self Empress Sue and Lt. Mary Sue for some reason have leather boots and fishnet stockings with their uniforms. Not wearing one of these is a sign that "Mary Smith" is no longer a sue.
  • Cute Bruiser: While covered in Klingon blood, Ensign Sue cheerily says "They had no honor!"
  • The Cutie: Ensign Sue is a cheerful and naïve young girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes. The crew finds her more annoying than darling after her Heel Realization and following Character Development.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Naturally, a number of the characters have them, but especially the Sues.invoked
    • As per Canon in the Continuity Reboot, Captain Kirk lost his father from the destruction of the U.S.S. Kelvin and spent his youth angry at the world. Spock mentions his tragic past as proof of Kirk's apparent Suehood.
    • Ensign Sue was also a victim of the Kelvin's destruction. She was then raised by worms in a wormhole, and then the worms died.
  • Darkest Hour: The end of The Wrath of Sue. Ensign Cubed eventually reaches the point where Sue Prime has been freed and created her new sue-niverse, naming it Sueranus, and all that's left is a resistance group.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Spock, unsurprisingly.
    Spock: Your consummate professionalism is nothing short of inspiring, Captain.
    Kirk: I hate you, Spock.
  • Deconstructive Parody: The premise is basically, "What would happen if someone as self-centered, oblivious, and powerful as a Mary Sue showed up on the Enterprise?" and then makes jokes at the expense of both.
  • Deliberately Monochrome: The First Doctor was exclusively in black and white after all. "You're looking a little pale."
  • Depraved Bisexual: Empress Sue loves her Mirror!verse Kirk just like her counterpart but she also makes out with Uhura to prove she is evil.
  • Devil in Plain Sight: Chekov's new girlfriend looks very suspiciously similar to Mary Sue, which goes completely over everyone else's heads, but it turns out she's not one of them at all. Kirk does question her later on, but she proves to be innocent of the charge.
  • Doppelgänger Crossover:
    • BBC Sherlock and Reboot Khan are both played by Benedict Cumberbach and both are on screen together. It's exploited, regarding the fact that Khan disguises himself as Sherlock in one part of the story.
    • Denny Crane. The Doctor looks for an "older and wiser James Kirk" but instead has to settle for older and wiser characters played by William Shatner.
  • Downer Ending: The Wrath of Sue ends with the heroes outwitted, imprisoned and/or forced to regenerate while Sue Prime's Evil Plan comes together without a hitch, thus setting up the events of Ensign Cubed.
  • Dramatic Unmask: Wolverine-sue rips off his mask when he reveals himself as a Sue.
  • Dressed in Layers:
    • When searching various universes for Sues in the sequel, Kirk lands in the Harry Potter universe. Upon seeing Kirk, the Sue of this universe rips off her school uniform to show a Starfleet uniform is underneath, revealing that she is Ensign Sue. Kirk wonders how many layers she wears.
    • Denny Crane's appearance starts with him tearing off a Starfleet uniform, revealing a business suit underneath. He was at a costume party.
  • Enemy Mine: Khan Prime makes a brief appearance, vapourising nu!Khan and saving Kirk's life, in order to secure his own timeline. It is glorious.
  • "Eureka!" Moment: Possibly one of the funniest renditions ever. Young!Spock finally realizes who the threat to the universe that his Prime self warned him of is.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Even Wolverine!Sue thinks that Sue Prime's plan is kind of dumb.
  • Evil Brunette Twin: Empress Sue stands out from her Sue sisters for being the only black haired Sue among the blondesnote . After all, she's evil.
  • Evil Twin:
    • Empress Sue is Ensign's mirror self.
    • Sherlock also has one in Khan by way of both being roles of Benedict Cumberbatch.
  • Expospeak Gag: Mary Sue reveals her dark secret to McCoy: she has pedal transient paresthesia! Which only means her foot's asleep. It also counts as a Continuity Nod to Star Trek IV, where McCoy uses fancy terms for cramps to get through a hospital with a crewmember feigning illness.
  • Face Palm: Repeatedly whenever Ensign Sue annoys someone, more often than not that someone being Kirk.
  • Fandom Rivalry:invoked The rivalry between the Star Trek and Star Wars fandoms is lampshaded when the Star Trek characters end up in the Star Wars universe:
    Scotty: There's just somethin' not right with this universe.
  • Fascinating Eyebrow: Spock, naturally, once or twice because several things that are strange or unusual happen around Ensign Sue.
  • The Final Temptation: Ensign Sue starts to question herself and feel bad after she lost her Sue powers. British Sue then shows up to tell her that their Mother will fix that and that she, Ensign Sue, has always been Mother's favorite. It looks like Ensign was about to turn back from her character development, now that she has been informed that she's special again, but seeing Kirk's Heroic BSoD and Sue!Spock makes her realize that this stopped being about her a long time ago. Instead of helping her "sisters", she tries to sabotage their plan.
  • First-Name Basis: Parodied. Ensign Sue addresses all the crew members by their first names and is often told to use their last names or official titles. This becomes a rant-inducing slight 2/3rds of the way through The Wrath of Sue. What makes Kirk realize she's truly repentant is she addresses him as 'Captain'.
  • Flawed Prototype: Ensign Sue doesn't have the Psychic Link all other Sues share with their mother, Sue Prime, because she was first. She's also the only one to lose her Sue powers, although it's implied the others did as well.
  • Foreshadowing:
    Kirk: We don't know if they have similar appearances, but they should all exhibit reality-warping powers... Fantastically and unbelievably capable, playing by their own rules with little to no consequence, and doing things that just shouldn't be possible.
    Dr. McCoy: You describing yourself there, Jim?
    • Also, in the finale of Ensign Sue Must Die, we see a collection of Sues. Among them, is Wolverine. He is later introduced into the story as an ally. And then he betrays the cast by revealing himself to be a male Sue.
  • From Bad to Worse: Scotty's reaction to when he beams down Ensign Sue during an ion storm... only to have Empress Sue beam back with Ensign Sue.
  • Funetik Aksent: Chekov and Scotty speak with accents differing from the rest.
  • Gender Bender: The Doctor's final regeneration takes the form of the alternate 13th Doctor played by Joanna Lumley, from the BBC comic relief parody, Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death. Captain Kirk asks her out, which gets a little awkward after the universe resets and she reverts back to 10.
  • Genki Girl: Ensign Sue and all other Sues are very cheerful and full of energy.
  • Genre Deconstruction: If Mary Sue fics can be called a genre. It starts by showing how characters might really react to someone who acts like Mary Sue, then goes on to show what actually makes someone a Mary Sue, and what might happen if such a character suddenly lost their Sue privileges. All while maintaining a healthy amount of humor, of course.
  • Girl on Girl Is Hot:
    • Mirror Sue demonstrates how evil she is... by making out with Uhura. When Spock relays the events to Kirk, Kirk remarks that he likes this Sue better.
    • When Uhura takes advantage of this to defeat Mirror Sue, Chekov calls it "...the best thing I've ever seen."
  • God of Evil: Sue Prime is the god of Mary Sues, which means she is the god of shallowness, pettiness, selfishness and poorly written characters.
  • God-Mode Sue: Naturally, Sues can do anything, even things that the Word of God for a given fictional universe says is absolutely impossible, like defying All Deaths Final. The leader of the Sues, Sue Prime, is very literally a Sue goddess. When the Sues take over, Spock says that there are no more rules, and the universe is free of convention.invoked
  • Good Colors, Evil Colors: Mirror/Empress Sue having black hair and a gray outfit, and regular Ensign Sue having blonde hair and a blue uniform.
  • Go Out with a Smile: Ensign Sue starts to disappear after Prime Sue's defeat. She smiles since everybody she loves is safe now.
  • Graceful Loser: The Sues take defeat better than we thought, as Prime Sue recognizes her selfishness and immaturity.
  • Gratuitous Japanese: Anna Mae Sue(-chan) the Sue of the Pokémon world in The Wrath of Sue speaks exclusively in sentences with random and horribly broken Japanese sprinkled in. She later contacts the bridge and her mangling of the language angers Sulu.
    Sulu: Argh! Her pidgin Japanese is killing me!
  • Guy on Guy Is Hot: Despite her attraction to both Kirk and Spock, Ensign Sue still had fantasies about Kirk/Spock, and was willing to teach them the "ways of hawt yaoi". After all, despite their man love, they'll still pine for her.
    Ensign: The only thing better than making out with a hot guy is watching two hot guys make out!
  • Half-Human Hybrid: Ensign Sue is inconsistent about this. It seems either she can spontaneously change species, or she's simultaneously half-human, half-vulcan, half-klingon, half-deity, half-time lord, and half-basically everything else.
  • Hand Wave: The in-universe explanation for why the Doctor's regeneration has become a Running Gag in "Ensign³" (especially how it goes out-of-ordernote ). The presence of several Sues in the same dimension is causing the laws of the universe to bend or out right break, which also applies to the rules, lore, and logic the Doctor normally is bound by.
    9th Doctor: We Time Lords are very adept at avoiding that whole "death" thing. I'm able to change forms when it comes knocking... Though the laws of regeneration seem to have been thrown completely out the window. That's nothing new, I suppose...
  • Heinz Hybrid: Ensign Sue reaches eight halves, as she seems to gain a new one every time she meets a new race.
  • Heroic BSoD: Kirk breaks after finding out he just might be another Sue.
  • Hiding the Handicap: Played with. Ensign Sue claims to have hidden her dreaded "pedal transient paresthesia" her whole life (given that that's a fancy term for her foot being asleep, it probably didn't take much effort).
  • His Name Is...: Just as Wesley is about to reveal his findings that will allow them to neutralize the Sues, he gets captured in a Pokéball for being a Sue.
  • Improbable Aiming Skills: Ensign Sue has top marks for phaser use, according to herself, and is supposedly the best shot on the ship. She loses this ability when she loses her Sue powers, and she finds it somewhat funny and somewhat scary that she could miss.
  • I Am Very British: British Sue is a mix of every British stereotype note  in a single Sue character. She also shouts random British references when excited.
    Roight! Big Ben! Mary Poppins! Cuppa tea! Spam! Spam! Spam! God save The Queen! Pip! Pip! Cheerio!
  • "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Kirk has one with Sue!Spock. He breaks free with Ensign Sue's help.
    Ensign Sue: The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the Sue!
    Spock: Ensign, that is... logical.
  • In Mysterious Ways: Sue Prime's defense when the characters begin to critique her plan is that she works in mysterious ways and they need to "stop trolling me".
  • Overly Long Gag: When Khan breaks the Doctor's neck, he says, "Aargh! Seriously not funny anymore!"
  • Overly Long Name: Mary Amethyst Star Enoby Aiko Archer Picard Janeway Sue.
  • Painting the Medium: Sue's thought bubbles change color the moment she realizes how far Sues have warped reality.
  • Parallel Universe: Spock and Ensign travel to the Mirror Universe in order to return Empress Sue to it. The current Star Trek universe is an alternative universe of the original, created with the reboot; God Sue, unable to enter it herself, sent a little piece of herself: Ensign Sue.
  • Parody Sue: Ensign Sue acts in typical over-the-top, self-absorbed and ridiculous Sue fashion with the crew's annoyance at her antics underscoring it.
  • Pieces of God: Travelling into the mundane dimension is enough to make Sue Prime Brought Down to Normal. To bypass this, she sent pieces of herself across the veil. These pieces manifested as the Sues. Most of the Sues are connected to her thoughts. The only exception is Ensign Sue, due to being the first piece made and thus a Flawed Prototype.
  • Plot Armor: This is an explicit Sue power. Ensign Sue inexplicably survives many supposedly fatal events because she is a Sue. Until she meets a more powerful force: the Red Shirt Principle.
  • Plot Hole: Sue's power is capable of creating these in order to make her "perfection" possible. For example, Ensign Sue is the youngest Starfleet officer ever. And yet, just like Kirk, she was somehow a victim of the Kelvin's destruction, even though that should make her too old.
  • Precious Puppies: Le' Cutest of Beagle.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: All of the Sues have a childlike disregard for the extremely dangerous consequences that should result from their whimsical actions (which somehow usually don't happen thanks to their nature), but Anna Mae in particular takes this to sociopathic levels when she steals the TARDIS, attacks the X-men, and kidnaps Ambassador Spock, freezing him in carbonite.
  • Psychic Link: All Sues, save Ensign Sue, share a connection, linking them to Sue Prime's thoughts. This changes with God Sue's final clash with Spock Prime.
    Ensign Sue: Mother. If you can hear me.. It doesn't have to be this way. It doesn't have to be really over. I just think it's about time that...
    God Sue: ...we grew up?
  • Punny Name:
  • Raised by Wolves: Apparently, Ensign Sue was found and raised by worms living in a wormhole.
    "And then the worms died..."
  • Readings Are Off the Scale: Anna Mae Sue directly references the trope when she states that Ambassador Spock's power level has reached "over 9000 desu!!!" She even has a scouter (however, it doesn't blow up).
  • Reality Warper: This is what makes Ensign Sue go beyond a mere annoyance and present a true threat. Not only does the universe gradually shift itself according to her whims to make her perfection possible, but given enough time, she will warp the minds of everyone around her.
  • Red Shirt:
    • The only possible way to kill Ensign Sue, as the increase in mortality rate is the only concept stronger than her ability to bend reality.
    • Specifically defied later on during the sequel. Only named senior officers go around catching all the Sues because of the likelyhood of this happening along the way.
  • Reference Overdosed: The ending strip of chapter 1 has loads of references, including Harry Potter, Star Wars, X-Men, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, My Little Pony, Naruto, Bleach, Supergirl, Sailor Moon, Sonic the Hedgehog and Ghostbusters, all about to be overcome by Sues.
  • Relationship Sue: In-Universe!
    • Ensign Sue clearly sees herself in this light, including asking Uhura to "step aside" from her relationship with Spock and constantly insisting that she and Kirk share a deep love.
    • Sue Prime is "destroying the fabric of the universe just to romance a wrinkled time-displaced vulcan".
  • Retgone: At the end of the comic, all of the Sues fade from existence and everything goes back to normal. All of the characters gradually forget the events of the comic entirely, and Captain Kirk tries to think on Ensign Sue while he still can.
  • The Reveal: That Sue Prime is Lt. Mary Sue from "A Trekkie's Tale" - the Mary Sue Trope Namer.
  • The Scrappy: Ensign Sue is this In-Universe. Nobody likes her, unless she's been present long enough for her Black Hole Sue Reality Warping powers to take effect. Once she loses her Sue powers, she gets accepted by the non-Sue characters, and one of the villains.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Old Spock leaves as soon as Sue arrives.
  • Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: Sue is sure her mirror self is evil, simply because of her clothes.
  • Sequel Hook: At the end of Chapter 1, Sue Prime brings Ensign Sue Back from the Dead and spreads Sues throughout the Multiverse.
  • Shadow Archetype: Ensign Sue (after Character Development) becomes the polar opposite of God Sue in Ensign³. Ensign is implied to literally be God Sue's empathy and love, so God Sue and the other Sues are incapable of loving anything and only care about their own selfish desire of being loved. Even their own designs are mirror-like: Ensign's eyes and mark are pink and her hair is purple, her hair is down and she wears the blue uniform; God Sue's eyes and mark are purple and hair pink, her hair is up in a beehive and she wears the yellow uniform.
  • Shout-Out:
    • Sue explains that over the last several years, she's built up an immunity to being vaporized by a phaser.
    • When Brainwashed and Crazy Spock claims that Kirk is a Sue, the comic is filled with references to The Empire Strikes Back, particularly the Luke, I Am Your Father moment.
    • In the second arc, Anna Mae Sue has a Dai-Gurren Brigade tattoo on her shoulder.
    • In comic 7, Uhura's seen reading an Ebony magazine with the original actress, Nichelle Nichols, on the cover.
    • Ensign Two features an appearance by Sherlock Holmes—specifically, the 21st century version of the character from Sherlock, played by Benedict Cumberbatch. He helps them figure out how to stop the Sues and leaves, but not before sinisterly predicting that he and Kirk will meet again. This alludes to Cumberbatch playing John Harrison/Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness. However, it was later revealed that "Sherlock" was actually Khan impersonating him by using their likeliness after kidnapping the real Sherlock Holmes, and that the plan to stop the Sues was really a ploy to bring them in one dimension.
      Sherlock/Khan: Oh, and Kirk... Be seeing you...
    • One more featuring Captain Kirk and... Denny Crane.
    • The Ensign that Kirk meets at the end is named Mary Smith after "A Trekkie's Tale" author Paula Smith.
    • Sherlock, before leaving the Enterprise, says to Kirk that "[he] will seeing [him] soon". This is an allusion to Benedict Cumberbach playing both Sherlock and Khan. Turns out that "Sherlock" was actually Khan, and he guided them into Sue Prime's plan all along.
    • Subverted with Sulu, who is implied to be gay but is played by John Cho in the rebooted series. (Either that or Hilarious in Hindsight, since Cho's instance of Sulu was later revealed to be gay.)
  • Skyward Scream: Kirk's reaction to a brainwashed Spock's allegation KIRK is a Sue, is to shout a panicked denial to the skies.
  • The Sociopath: Anna Mae Sue has become this, revealing that she froze Spock Prime in carbonite in the stolen TARDIS, describing it as "kawaii!" She also doesn't even try to listen to or empathize with others, something not even Ensign Sue was guilty of. This is more evident when the Sues start to open the gate for their Mother: British Sue is giggling, Empress is cackling but Anne May is evil laughing with a crazy expression on her face.
  • Space "X": Ensign Sue's Spunicorn is "like a unicorn, but it's in space"!
  • Spanner in the Works: Ensign Sue herself, though with New Powers as the Plot Demands, she foils the crew's attempts to get rid of her—though with each new power, they Didn't See That Coming.
  • Sparkling Stream of Tears: When Sue admits her "horrible" medical condition, beautiful tears appear because how else would a perfect Sue cry?
  • Stocking Filler: Ensign Sue's uniform inexplicably has fishnet stockings. Spock even notes it when she shows up.
  • Suckiness Is Painful: Sulu finds Anna Mae Sue's Gratuitous Japanese bad enough to claim it's "hurting my soul".
  • Sweet and Sour Grapes: Subverted with Empress Sue as she vanishes at the end of the third arc.
    Empress Sue: I was tired of being the bad guy, anyway. Later, losers...
  • Sympathetic Sue:
    • Naturally, many of the Sues have Dark And Troubled Pasts and some of them have a "cursed" life. Ensign Sue's response upon being told that she is the Unwitting Pawn of a power threatening the multiverse is regret and shame which reflect her character development away from Sueness. invoked
    • A more literal version in how Ensign Sue is the only one of the Sues people can really sympathize with at all.
  • Take That!: A frequent dealer of these.
    • Wesley Crusher gets the treatment that many TNG fans, and possibly Wil Wheaton himself, have longed to give him.
    • Inevitably, Sonichu is amongst the many Sues in Sonic the Hedgehog's world. Above him is a character that looks akin to Sonia, who was Sonic's sister in the short-lived Sonic Underground. The sheer number of Sues in Sonic's universe, with some presumably being Original Characters, scares the crew into running away.
    • In Equestria, it's rather cynically implied that Twilight Sparkle is now a Sue, and that the Brony fandom is also especially rife with Mary Sue Original Characters... invoked
      • ...but in complaining about that McCoy implies the Homestuck universe was even worse in this regard. Either way, he didn't like being in either place.
    • They also try and fail capturing [[{{The Twilight Saga Bella Swan]]. She's way too dull to even be a real Sue.invoked
    • Wolverine is also revealed to be a Sue.
    • When Khan from the original series shows up, Cumberbatch!Khan refers to him as "Khan Prime," to which the other replies, "I prefer The Real Khan." Let's just say a lot of Trekkies, even those that like the 2009 reboot, agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly.
  • They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Sue calling the crew by their first names was enough of a Berserk Button to get called out on it by Kirk in The Wrath of Sue. She stops starting with her Heel Realization in Cubed. Kirk takes it after her apology and plea as a sign of trust.
    Kirk: You had me at Captain.
  • Thinks Like a Romance Novel: Romance is a big part of Ensign Sue's motivations, thinking that not only is everyone she chooses in love with her, but they'll have a relationship that conforms entirely to her expectations. Given her Reality Warper powers in the first installment, this is a likely consequence of her hanging around too long...
  • This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: The actual Aquaman is delighted when asked to help out with something real. It didn't take long at all to find the superheroine Sue; she was riding a narwhale and showing off.
  • Title Drop: Happens during Chapter 1, when Spock realizes that Sue could threaten the entire universe.
  • Token Heroic Orc: Ensign Sue is the only empathetic Sue due to losing her Sue powers. It has allowed her to see the reality of the situation and realize that the Sue's plan is not only evil but will not give them what they want anyway.
  • Tomato in the Mirror: Spock claims that Kirk is one of the Sues. Kirk's reaction is a Big "NO!" done as a Skyward Scream.
  • Too Kinky to Torture: Empress Sue of the Terran Empire actually enjoys the Agony Booth.
  • Too Many Halves: Ensign Sue keeps telling whoever she is interested in that she's half of his/her ethnicity.
  • Trilogy Creep: Played with on the promo 'poster' for part three.
    Everything is a Trilogy now...
  • Troll: Sue Prime accuses this of anyone who points out how needlessly complex and stupid her master plan is.
  • Troubled Fetal Position: Kirk's reaction to learning he's a Sue is curling up because his mind was broken.
  • Two-Part Trilogy: Part one is mostly self-contained, part two ends on a cliffhanger.
  • Unicorn: Ensign Sue's horned horse "flies at warp speed and farts stardust".
  • Unwanted Harem: Mirror Kirk really doesn't like two Sues hanging on him. He threatens to maroon Mirror Spock on the ice planet again if he doesn't get rid of at least one immediately.
  • Unreliable Narrator: Shown in Strip 4, which Sue narrates. Given how she sees things, she's likely doing it all the time.
  • Uriah Gambit: The others try to get Sue killed by throwing her into deadly situations but she survives because of New Powers as the Plot Demands coupled with Rule of Funny.
  • Utopia: Sue Prime's ultimate goal is to merge all of reality into a single universe crafted in the image of Mary Sue; mind controled happiness for everyone and all that exists worshipping her.invoked
  • Utopia Justifies the Means: The leader of the Sues, Sue Prime, plans to create a utopia of great power and wisdom. Given how annoying and self-centered the Sues are, as well as how much trouble they have been causing, this is a bad thing.invoked
    The dimensions are bleeding together. As they converge, they can be remade; and Mother will remake them into OUR image. [...] A wave of love and rainbow sparkles will cover the universe and the Sue will have total control over this dimension- ALL dimensions! Everyone will be SO happy!
  • Villainous Breakdown: Sue Prime has a major one when Spock Prime points out her own inability to love anything is proof her plan to make the multiverse love her is flawed. She snaps, screaming "SHUT UP!" over and over while attempting to vaporize him.
  • Villainous BSoD: Ensign Sue curls up in a ball and cries after her Heel Realization.
  • Villain Sue: Invoked with Mirror!Sue, though her definition of evil is rather weak... Until the sequel, that is...
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: The 11th Doctor only appears in four strips (the last one of The Wrath of Sue and the first three of Ensign Cubed) before he gets shot by Sue!Spock. Later, 12 only gets one and 9 only gets 6/7th of one before giving way to 6.
  • Wham Episode:
    • The 30th strip of The Wrath of Sue: Spock, the Doctor, and Wolverine board the TARDIS to confront Anna Mae Sue, only for Empress Sue to appear and knock Spock out with the Infinity Gauntlet, while Wolverine shows his true colors by stabbing the Doctor. When Spock gets back to the Enterprise, he's turned into a Sue. HOO, boy...
    • The 42nd strip of Crisis of Infinite Sues. Spock Prime asks God Sue if she truly loves him. Sue giggles at such a silly question and begins to say it. But she can't. She's physically incapable of lying to herself. This shows that if she's lying about loving Spock, the one she claims to be the one she's doing all this for, then she doesn't love anyone. Then Spock implies that Ensign holds Sue's love and empathy, as her first created piece. God Sue, unwilling to accept the truth, fires a Hand Blast at Spock Prime, vaporizing him!
  • What Have I Done:
    • Ensign Sue when she realizes that she'll be responsible for the Sues conquering the Enterprise.
    Ensign Sue: Captain... I'm so sorry...
    • God Sue immediately regrets vaporizing Spock Prime in a fit of rage.
  • What Is Evil?: Ensign 3 begins a debate on what really counts as a Sue (which counts as evil as far as this comic is concerned). As a twist, though it's a conversation that Denny Crane points out to Kirk that there was nothing wrong with being exceptional and that he is defined by his choices and what he does. At the same time, Sgt. T.J. Hooker talks to Ensign Sue. He tells her she's not useless and that she does not have to be exceptional for her to help the people she cares about and that she should be liked for who she is.
  • Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him?:
    • It doesn't work, Ensign Sue is immune to phasers.
    • Sue!Spock also averts this by immediately shooting the Eleventh Doctor on sight, and the Twelfth soon after.
  • Wingding Eyes: Sue's eyes turn into stars and other shapes.
  • Winged Unicorn: All the Sues they find in Equestria are alicorns; since Twilight Sparkle was seen among them it's implied she's one too.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: All the Sues are as immature, megalomaniacal, and lacking in empathy as they are reality-warping anomalies. Ensign Sue losing her Sue powers coincides with her development as a character; gaining humility, empathy, and a desire to help her friends because she wants to help her friends and not because she wants them to fawn over her for it.
  • Wolverine Publicity: Literally, Wolverine joins Spock's team in search for the Sues. It's lampshaded by Captain America himself.
    "I don't know how things work in your universe, but if there's a team around here, Wolverine has to be on it."
  • Would Hit a Girl: Khan isn't above hitting a Sue that annoys him sufficiently. Not that she seems to mind. He also doesn't have any qualms about knocking out Ensign Sue with a punch to the gut.
  • Yaoi Fangirl: Ensign Sue demonstrates that she finds the idea of Kirk × Spock quite alluring. Of course, even in this scenario, she thinks that deep down they'd still pine for her.
  • You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Twice in Ensign 3. Denny Crane explains to Kirk that being exceptional doesn't make him a Sue, it just makes him a bit interesting. Next Sgt. T.J. Hooker then tells Ensign Sue that not being her old definition of special doesn't make her unlovable, especially when she's determined to try and save her friends, also telling her that no one is perfect.
  • You Are What You Hate:
    • The Logic Bomb a brainwashed Spock drops on Kirk is this. The opening to Chapter 3 has Empress Sue razz Kirk during his Captain's Log, telling him "You're really getting in touch with your inner Sue!" and making him drop a Big "NO!" in response.
    • Ensign Sue has begun to dislike Sue behavior now that she has lost her powers and is becoming a developed character. Khan points this out to her, and actually finds it admirable, not liking the Sues himself.
  • You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious:
    • When Ensign Sue realizes that the Enterprise crew will be assimilated and it's all her fault, she calls Kirk "Captain" rather than "James".
    • After Spock Prime spelled out on how Mary Sue Prime really didn't love him, she lost it and shot a massive laser at him with the intent to destroy him. Everyone, even her, thought he was destroyed and reacted in shock. It's revealed that the laser did not hurt him, but turned him into Super Spock. After she tearfully concedes to his logic about how she couldn't love him or the others and is thus a monster, he addresses her as Sue, but corrects himself by calling her Mary. It's implied that this is because he has reevaluated her and even says he may have misjudged her. Despite claiming and proving she did not truly love him, she also couldn't will herself to destory him despite wanting to and in fact, gave him the power needed to match her. At her core, Mary Sue Prime loves these characters, albeit not in a traditional, healthy or perhaps even understandable way. It's this along with Ensign's words that lead to her downfall.
  • Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Kirk does a Captain's Log, lamenting all that has happened, only to be interrupted by Empress Sue, who compliments him on "getting in touch with [his] inner Sue." Cue another Big "NO!".

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