That was a frustrating thing about Telltale’s Batman game. In the first episode he was shot and he still managed to beat Catwoman in a fight. How was I supposed to buy into that? I was way more invested in their dynamic when they fought as very different people but equals later in the game, although that was probably only allowed because they were fighting together instead of against each other, so Batman was assured a win.
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Yeah, that makes sense, but I think it also shows a side of teen naivety. The idea of, “If only I was beautiful/good at sports, then everyone would love me!” might make sense when you’re thirteen, but as you grow up you realize it’s a bit more complicated than that. Hence why self-insert stories are more popular with younger audiences.
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I don’t know, it’s not so much the unrealistic skills/qualities that make a character a Mary Sue to me, so much as lack of flaws. Cinderella I’d consider a Mary Sue, but Harry Potter I think is a bit too shy/awkward to be a Mary Sue and Batman is kind of a selfish jerk who ends up driving all the people he loves away, so he’s not a Mary Sue either.
I’d definitely consider someone like James Bond a Mary Sue, since he never seems to get anything wrong. He’s extremely confident, never loses his cool, has a collection of awesome gadgets and always gets the girl. It’s like he’s an old-fashioned stereotype of what the ultimate man should be without any character flaws to hold him back.
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Cinderella does seem flawless but I would not consider her a Mary Sue. She did deserve her happy ending after all the abuse she went through and if I recall correctly (in the Disney version) she was looked down for being a maid both by the step family and that royal servant and was very weak willed around her step mother always obeying them without question. Shouldn’t that be considered a flaw for someone who is supposed to be perfect and “happy happy happy” all the time? The live action one is a Mary Sue in my eyes (she didn’t even try to escape after being locked in the attic and the plot freed her Jesus Christ)
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I actually don’t consider any of those characters a Mary Sue. What I meant to say is that the second definition of a Mary Sue is very loose and vague, and it can often become a meaningless use of the term.
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Yeah, but I personally wouldn’t say that your second definition of a Mary Sue would actually describe a Mary Sue. Being over-powered or having too many skills alone don’t make a character a Mary Sue, the character also requires a complete lack of flaws to be guilty of Mary Sueism 
Well, the only thing I hate when reading a fanfic is when the one of the character is a or considered a Mary/Gary Sue. I don’t really love Self-Inserts but I’m okay as long they have flaws within them.
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To me, for a character to be completely boring is when authors make those “otaku” type characters where the main character is pretty much a place holder for the reader to insert themselves in the character’s place. Like, it literally bothers me when the main character or a side character just lets things happen just so the plot can move along smoothly, a lot like these “otaku” character types pull.
Another thing, I also feel like its situational depending on the world that the character inhabits, recently we’ve been getting a lot of these protags that are disconnected from their emotions and all that (Saitama, Mob; etc.) but I’m okay with that because they actually make the stories interesting because everyone else around them has these normal to over-the-top personalities and its fun seeing their personalities clash, and if its not the protag being disconnected its them being very sure of themselves but even thats interesting when they face off against another who’s very confident (lookin at you JoJo).
I just really cant stand “otaku” characters though, their placeholder personality annoys me to no end.
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It’s a easy mistake to make but I feel like too many characters are one dimensional, for example, when something super depressing happens to the sarcastic rogue and the rogue isn’t sad or angry, they are just as sarcastic as always since that is the ‘personality’ they have been given.
Another thing is when you are playing a game and of course you are the super powerful protagonist so everyone either loves or hates you, but it’s really annoying when your companions all seem to like each other, because realistically that would not happen. I mean, sure they could work together because we all do things we dislike but everyone actually getting along? No.
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Oh yeah, this is definitely a flaw I see quite often. It’s great for a character to have a unique personality, but when the writer is so set on the character displaying that personality in every situation, it makes them stop seeming like a human.
Another major problem that I think makes characters really boring (which I kind of mentioned earlier) is when a writer will describe a character’s personality instead of actually having the character display any of those personality traits. It’s something I see quite often. The writer will say, “Princess Mary Von Sue was a sweet, gentle-hearted young woman who was loved by her people for her kindness and compassion.” Unfortunately, you have to take the author’s word for that because, for some reason, Mary Von Sue never actually does anything sweet, kind or compassionate throughout the entire story.
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Have you watched Re: Creators?
One of the early theories was that the mc was a creation like that. 
So many Isekai stories 
I’d rather have them be like that and have someone comment on it. Or a backstory relating to it, something to tie it to everything.
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Along those lines, one-dimensional characters could be used for great effect.
Using the sarcastic rogue example; maybe the rogue is eternally sarcastic and carefree , even when bad stuff goes down, as a defense mechanism to keep things from getting to him/her. They’re eternally quippy and cheerful because if they actually stopped for a moment to feel sad, they would crumble.
Adding a spin like that is a really good way to make seemingly one-dimensional characters far more human than they initially appear, I think.
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