Is Bella from Twilight a Mary Sue?

[nontacitare]

While prepping for Marcon, I found myself embroiled in a debate with another panelist who stated that the Twilight books are the most successful Mary Sue fan fiction ever published. I responded (diplomatically) that the most successful Mary Sue fan fiction ever published is Superman, and that the trope of Mary Sue hunting might be rooted in a

Comments

Bard puts in his two cents

[teacup_werewolf]

In honesty, I feel that both of you are right. Bella and Superman are both horribly executed wish-fulling characters used to make the author feel better about themselves and fill a fantasy. One is an American icon the other is a Mormon woman's wet dream.

I totally believe that Superman is a Gary Stu, I also think Bella is one to. Not because she is a female lead, but honestly because she is the most pathetic female character I have ever read. She has almost no flaws or none that actually build the character, she constantly needs the validation of Edward for self worth, whines despite her privileged up bringing I mean reallySuperman is less of a character and more of an icon. He's been retro-coned over and over and over again to the point he has no real stable "character" just a concept that has been through the ringer for what..seventy years or so? He's honestly Sun Wukong or some Greek Hero archtype or Beowulf. Superman is the American Hero Archtype. If he was Superwoman (and we Wonder Woman mind you and she is far from a Mary Sue

[drackan27]

For the purposes of my argument, I need to define what I find a Mary/Gary Sue character to be. A Mary/Gary Sue character is an overidealized, overskilled, and/or overly powerful character inserted into a pre-existing genre for the purpose of wish fulfillment

[wishesofastar]

Superman...is a truly perfect person without flaws in every incarnation I've ever seen with the exception of "Smallville."

I don't know about that. He has a history of being kind of a dick in the comics.