I gave a list in my earlier post of what might be considered Mary Sue behavior in a Lois and Clark fic. The general guideline is this: If Lois and Clark are present in the fic only to show how wonderful your OC is, then you're probably in Mary Sue territory.
Here are some other warning signs:
In a S1 or S2 fic: your character discovers CK=S before Lois; your character succeeds in getting Lois and Clark together despite themselves; your character figures out how to beat Lex, whether or not your character is the one who puts the plan into action.
In S3: your character get Lois and Clark back together again despite themselves; your character figures out the clone thing before Clark, or prevents the clone from switching; your character is from NK, and stops Clark from needing to go off with Zara.
In S4: your character helps Lois and Clark "make it to the church on time"; your character figures out a way for them to have children; your character handles Tempus better than Herb (okay, anyone could do that
).
In any season: your character is a better reporter than LnC, or puts the clues together more quickly; your character rescues the main characters from their own stupidity or ineptitude; your character is related to any of the main characters; your character is "retconned" into playing a significant part of a main character's past; your character has a truly convoluted history, to make the character fit into the Superman mythos; one or more of the main characters are attracted to her, whether or not it remains unrequited.
I left out "Lois/Clark falls for your character," because, after all, this
is Lois and Clark, and fics like that can't really fit into the genre. Unless, of course, as Zoom points out, the SO dies tragically and your character is there to comfort the bereaved one... click
here and scroll down a bit for the most hilarious Mary Sue avatar I've seen in a loooong time.
Look at Irene's superb Superfutures series for a great example: all her characters are well-rounded and real and very, very human. (Okay, half-Kryptonian.)
As Chris says, the male equivalent exists too; these are often dark, broody types, or smart-mouthed characters who are so good at what they do that they earn the grudging respect of their elders, despite their appalling behavior. Or perhaps they have a tragic past, which explains their unhappiness... oh, wait, that works for regular Mary Sues, too.
I will conclude this over-long post by quoting my own Mary Sue parody, deliberately written to include as many Mary Sue elements as possible:
Clark stared with astonishment at the beautiful young woman before him. True, she was gorgeous enough to stun anybody, but that was not the reason for his current state of stupefication. Some four inches shorter than his own height of six feet, she was actually standing eye-to-eye with him -- because her dainty, pink-varnished toes were hovering four inches off the ground.
She could fly! She had super-powers like his!
"How...?" he stammered. "I don't -- who are you?"
She smiled softly, her perfect white teeth flashing in the starlight. "I am your twin sister," she said, her musical voice piercing through his veins with an uneasy thrill.
"My twin sister?" Clark repeated. He found that he could not take his eyes off her -- her lovely blond curls that cascaded over her slim shoulders, her cerulean blue eyes that sparkled like the most pristine of seas, the ruby lips curved in a smile that cast an enchantment over any male that ever saw her. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Even though Lois told him that he was okay-looking -- well, maybe a little more than okay-looking -- how could he possibly be the twin of the vision of perfection that stood before him? His stomach squirmed uncomfortably as he realized that his adoration for her was not even remotely brotherly.
"Yes," she affirmed. Her long, silky eyelashes fluttered momentarily, and Clark watched, entranced, as a single tear, the shape and sheen of a perfect diamond, slowly slid down the alabaster skin of her cheek. "It grieves me, Kal-El, that we have never met before."
"Why?" he asked, anguished. "Why was I never permitted to see you? And how did you arrive here on Earth?"
She lowered her eyelids for a moment, wondering what to say. She knew it would be too difficult to explain that she was really his twin sister from an alternate universe, where Lara had died in her teens and Jor-El had come to earth and married Bruce Wayne's twin sister, who had given birth to a girl rather than a boy. She understood that this strange truth was the cause of Clark's feelings of unbridled passion towards her; after all, they were not really brother and sister at all. Yet she, knowing that she was Clark's counterpart from another universe, realized how wrong it would be to requite his love. No, it would be better if he remained ignorant of the warped reality of their existence and continue to believe they were sister and brother.
"The story would be too long to tell," she demurred, her voice lowering to an octave that sent shivers down Clark's spine. "But I have come to help you in your battle for truth, justice, and better fashion sense. "
She paused for a moment, wondering if she ought to mention her amazing spiritual powers, powers that only a female Kryptonian could possess. But with her typical modesty, she decided to remain silent. Why make Clark feel insecure? She would only demonstrate her awesome abilities, so far beyond Clark's own, if circumstances demanded a deus ex machina on her part. The opportunity would most likely arise some time in the very near future, anyway.
"I will be honored to have you on my side," Clark said, humbly and huskily. "But tell me, please -- what is your name?"
"I?" Her smile once again flashed in the starlight. "I am Haz-El."
Hazel, who has read some truly appalling Mary Sue Tolkien fics, and some truly hysterical parodies of such fics as well
