Mary Sues and “A Trekkie’s Tale”

It’s no secret that Star Trek The Original Series is the origin of many fanfiction tropes. The show itself essentially invented slash fiction, and I swear that nearly all the couples in shows nowadays have the whole blonde/brunette and emotional/logical thing going on (case and point, Heartstopper). But what I didn’t know was that Star Trek invented the Mary Sue trope. Well, kind of.

What is a Mary Sue?

If you’re asking yourself that question, there may be hope for you yet. To answer the question, a Mary Sue is a female character who has no flaws, no weaknesses and is beloved by all those around her. She’s like Princess Peach in the Mario movie, if you’ve somehow sat through that agonizing hour and thirty-two minutes. Anyway, that’s a story for another time.

Another important thing to note is that a Mary Sue is generally an idealized self-insert of the author. This is why they are so often shipped with the main character (or characters) of the piece of media. And why they are endlessly beautiful.

So, how does Star Trek factor into this trope? There are no Mary Sue characters in the show itself, but when the show fails us, we must turn to fanfiction. Specifically, “A Trekkie’s Tale,” published in edition 2 of the Menagerie fanzine by Paula Smith in 1973. This fanfiction is a parody of the Mary Sue archetype, as stated by Smith, and  in it, she was the first to coin the term Mary Sue. 

In a 2010 interview, Paula said the following: “ I began doing LoCs—letters of comment—and reviews of zines in other zines... So, when we wanted a shorthand to refer to them, Sharon and I began to call them "Lieutenant Mary Sue'' stories…the term caught on because she's very identifiable.”

The fanfiction itself is just over 300 words, but I have to admit, I laughed out loud when I read it. The story begins with fifteen-and-a-half year old Lieutenant Mary Sue stepping on board the Enterprise, saying possibly my favourite line of anything ever, “Gee, golly, gosh, gloriosky.” God, put this girl in one of those overpriced quote books.

She’s hit on by Kirk, but turns him down because she is too pure and righteous (also she’s fifteen!) and Kirk respects her decision (but apparently not her age). She runs the ship for a while and receives a compliment from Mr. Spock himself. 

She then beams down to a planet, saves the entire crew using a hairpin (like the girlboss she is), and runs the ship when the 4 senior staff fall ill. I nearly choked on my tea when I read that she received a Nobel Peace Prize for her work. I can just imagine Smith smiling gleefully to herself as she wrote what must be one of the first parody fanfictions.

Oh, and Mary Sue is half-Vulcan too. She really is not like other girls. Does this do anything for the plot? Nope. Does it fulfill the quirky characteristic requirement of the trope? Absolutely.

Sadly, Mary Sue dies in her bed, surrounded by the cast of characters, and notably, a weeping Spock. She’s just so beautiful, intelligent, capable, youthful and nice. And yes, that is an adapted quote from the fic.

I really liked this fic. It was short, sweet, funny and a parody that doesn’t feel overly mean spirited. Smith herself, in the aforementioned interview, said that she doesn’t entirely hate the trope. I think with tropes that largely contain female characters, the problem is often put on the shoulders of the female character, not the author or writing.

“The problem is, the presence of the Mary Sue warped all the other characters in the story away from their known characterization. On the other hand, when you think about it, what's so wrong about affecting the other characters? A really great original character in a story might just do that, but she doesn't have to be a Mary Sue.”

I agree with this point. After all, characters should have consequence to the story. But if they change the canon almost to the point of farce (like making Mr Spock cry), it steps over the line of fanon and canon. Fanfiction is up to personal taste. Personally, I like small adaptations of canon, but to be honest I can understand liking fics that completely change the original work. Just because it’s not my cup of tea doesn’t mean it doesn’t have any merit.

Smith’s fanfiction has merit, even if it was written to be completely unreadable. You could say it was one of the first crackfics (or, for those not in the know, fanfiction that is entirely or almost entirely a joke.)

Interestingly, Smith herself doesn’t think that Mary Sue’s are necessarily bad writing. She wrote this in a letter in 1980:

“As far as I can tell, there are currently two meanings of the term Mary Sue: any story with a female lead who carries out the wish-fulfillment of the author; and any badly-written story with a female lead who etc. By the former definition there's nothing wrong with producing a Mary Sue story, but by the second, to produce a M-S story is to produce bad writing. It's the confusion of the two definitions that causes bad feelings; it was the extension of the former from the latter that created the opportunity for this confusion.”

Mary Sues have been labelled in recent years as a Frankenstein of the two. I think, personally, that wish-fulfillment does signal bad writing. It’s the same idea as a manic pixie dream girl, a character who solves a problem for the main characters, then is discarded or killed off when her purpose is fulfilled. If an author can’t think of a feasible or creative way to solve a problem, then they will stick one of these ladies in and call it a day. If a Mary Sue is handled in a self aware way, like in Smith’s work, then I think it could be a lot more enjoyable. Maybe by turning the trope on its head, or adapting it slightly, you could produce a much less tiresome and more interesting character.

I suggest that modern Trek reintroduces Lieutenant Mary Sue. It’s never strayed away from god-like characters (e.g: Q, The Prophets, God from Star Trek V), so a Mary Sue would fit right in. Q is basically an evil, gayer and less capable Mary Sue. Which is basically a manic pixie dream girl. I’m coining it now–Q is a manic pixie dream girl, or boy, or God or whatever. He’s always felt a little out of place to me. I might write more on him one day.

Strange New Worlds needs to call me.

I’ll certainly be checking out some of Smith’s fanfiction from here on in, if I can find it in the mess that is the modern internet. I would highly recommend reading “A Trekkie’s Tale,” and Smith’s interview. Both were highly enjoyable. Maybe we can all learn a lesson from “A Trekkie’s Tale”--name a trope and it may just get you in the Trekkie Hall of Fame.

As Mary Sue herself would say, “I am not that kind of girl!” I am certainly not a Mary Sue, but one day, I hope to be. After all, she is perfect. Then again, she does die painfully. So. Pros and cons.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you’re a little more educated about the most perfect girl in the world now. Additionally, I’d like to thank Fanlore for all my quotes. They have a wealth of knowledge about pretty much everything. Check them out if you want to read more.