Impossibly cool outfit? Purple? Ethereal traits? Contradictory backstory? Stealing the hero's job? Sparkly? Perfect. She's good to go.

While Mary Sue is too nebulous to be judged by any hard and fast standard, certain traits have become surprisingly popular in defining what "makes" a Sue. In an effort to make their characters more attractive without having to do the leg work of natural character development, the authors just add some of these superficial traits to their character. Below are the ones that the collective unconscious (so to speak) find especially attractive and end up incorporating into their characters with regularity.