The annoyingly perfect hero / heroine

[A Time for Wolves]

Jaenelle Angelline.

Holy crap, YES. I forgot about that one. I couldn't even finish Daughter of the Blood because of her and that godawful Daemon or Damon or Demon or whatever his name was.

[Joanna vander Poele]

Holy crap, YES. I forgot about that one. I couldn't even finish Daughter of the Blood because of her and that godawful Daemon or Damon or Demon or whatever his name was.

Daemon Sadi and Jaenelle make me curdle inside. Damn but I hate those bitches.

[Sayyadina]

Robert Langdon pisses me off. Jumping out of a helicopter and surviving, then hopping up and putting the smackdown on a guy trained from birth to be an assassin? Then in Da Vinci Code where he survives a million attacks from Opus Dei, Silas, the police, Teabing, and the pissed off ghost of Da Vinci. Really, just die already. Then he winds up in the laps of two gorgeous women while discovering major mysteries. Blah. I was cheering when he nearly suffocated to death with a rotting corpse on top of him

But then that book just irritated me in general, I think it could have been condensed nicely with no great loss.

I also agree regarding Ayla and Lessa, both of which are often held up as the archetypal 'Canon Mary Sue' - however, that didn't stop me loving both series' immensely.

I haven't read Eragon, thank the Gods for small mercies, but I'd also like to add Harry Potter to the list, if he hasn't been already mentioned. He breaks all the rules - and is rewarded? (Yes, I know, it's a children's book, but 'everything Harry does is right' still grates on my nerves.)

[Korr]

I'll second Honor Harrington, and nominate Michael O'Neal from John Ringo's Posleen series. I'll admit to having enjoyed both the Harrington and Posleen series for most of the way, but (in the case of HH) after 6 books of Ms. Perfect making everything right despite the best efforts of those damned dirty liberals and aristocrats, it gets kind-of tiring. The severe drop in quality after book 6 has really turned me off the series.

Even from the start, though, Harrington's only 'flaws' are being plain and lacking social graces. Both of these are eliminated over the course of the series.

Oddly enough, those are the exact same flaws 'troubling' O'Neal. About the only difference with Harrington is gender, and instead of a magic pet O'Neal gets stunningly beautiful underage children and a super-competent parent. None of whom are allowed to die.

Now that I think of it, the Stainless Steel Rat gets pretty annoyingly perfect in the later books as well.

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

Even from the start, though, Harrington's only 'flaws' are being plain and lacking social graces. Both of these are eliminated over the course of the series.

And the wife of the guy she's hot for has no problem with Honor and her husband bumping uglies.

Granted, the wife is physically incapable of sex, IIRC (gotta love disability), but that just makes it worse.

[Ser Barry]

Elphaba (A huge disappointment in Wicked the novel, while brilliant in the musical)

Polgara, Daenerys and that Clan of the Cave Bear bitch. Yes, yes and oh my God yes.

[MinDonner]

I don't really agree that Lessa is annoyingly perfect - she's a prize bitch, slightly unstable and frigid, for all her other qualities. That other queen rider that lost her dragon is much more bland and moral - Brekke? - and Menolly is a bit too perfect too. Come on, musical genius and NINE fire lizards?

[Analu]

Rand from WoT is pretty annoyingly perfect (if you can get past the going insane part). He's the strongest taveren in forever, one of the strongest in saidin, cures the taint from saidin, becomes a blademaster in what seems like a year, and has three hotties in heat over him. Ugh.

I guess his one fault is doesn't understand women, but wishes that he did like his buddies Perrin and Mat. And in turn, Perrin doesn't think he understands women, but wishes he did like his boys Rand and Mat do. And Mat.... well, you get the picture.

Kellhus is a gimme. So is the girl from Clan of the Cave Bear.

Didn't she also ride on the back of a saber toothed tiger at one point?

Have no real reason to quote this post, but since it mentioned a sabertoothed tiger, I just gotta. When's someone going to come out with a great book/movie with a STT? They're all kinds of cool.

[Korr]

And the wife of the guy she's hot for has no problem with Honor and her husband bumping uglies.

Granted, the wife is physically incapable of sex, IIRC (gotta love disability), but that just makes it worse.

Of course. All perfectly normal and in no way screwed-up.

And let's not forget all the OTHER times that he's had a girl who looks 20 but is really anywhere between 50-2000 years old, bumping uglies with some even older/older-looking man. Weber has been exhibiting greater and greater Dirty-Old-Writer syndrome over the years, and when he popped White Haven in there as a relationship interest, I pretty much bailed out.

[Krafus]

Rhapsody. If one ever wondered what a Mary Sue in fantasyland would be like, she's it. She's perfect (or soon becomes so) at everything she undertakes, has boundless compassion and gentleness (nobody can be that selfless), and is divinely beautiful (said beauty being described over a number of pages).

Something I especially hate about her is that throughout the first series (I won't touch the second with a ten-foot pole) she remains "innocently" unaware of her beauty. You'd think that by the tenth accident she provokes or the hundredth time a member of the male species stares and/or drools at her she'd finally understand but noooo, she just can't see it. Bleh.

Oh, and I don't understand why Rand al'Thor was nominated. Yes, he's an extremely powerful channeler, becomes very good with a sword and quite influent during the series, but he also becomes progressively more mad and paranoid, as well as being hated and feared by a large part of the world's population. That's hardly what I would call perfect, though of course YMMV.

[Starkess]

Rhapsody. If one ever wondered what a Mary Sue in fantasyland would be like, she's it. She's perfect (or soon becomes so) at everything she undertakes, has boundless compassion and gentleness (nobody can be that selfless), and is divinely beautiful (said beauty being described over a number of pages).

Something I especially hate about her is that throughout the first series (I won't touch the second with a ten-foot pole) she remains "innocently" unaware of her beauty. You'd think that by the tenth accident she provokes or the hundredth time a member of the male species stares and/or drools at her she'd finally understand but noooo, she just can't see it. Bleh.

Oh, and I don't understand why Rand al'Thor was nominated. Yes, he's an extremely powerful channeler, becomes very good with a sword and quite influent during the series, but he also becomes progressively more mad and paranoid, as well as being hated and feared by a large part of the world's population. That's hardly what I would call perfect, though of course YMMV.

I agree about Rand. Plus, he doesn't just become a swordmaster automatically. It's made quite clear that he puts a LOT of effort into it.

[L'Sana]

I'll second Honor Harrington, and nominate Michael O'Neal from John Ringo's Posleen series. I'll admit to having enjoyed both the Harrington and Posleen series for most of the way, but (in the case of HH) after 6 books of Ms. Perfect making everything right despite the best efforts of those damned dirty liberals and aristocrats, it gets kind-of tiring. The severe drop in quality after book 6 has really turned me off the series.

Even from the start, though, Harrington's only 'flaws' are being plain and lacking social graces. Both of these are eliminated over the course of the series.

Oddly enough, those are the exact same flaws 'troubling' O'Neal. About the only difference with Harrington is gender, and instead of a magic pet O'Neal gets stunningly beautiful underage children and a super-competent parent. None of whom are allowed to die.

Now that I think of it, the Stainless Steel Rat gets pretty annoyingly perfect in the later books as well.

I have a theory that in any long series based around one character, that character will almost inevitably become too annoyingly perfect. At the beginning of the series, the character has flaws that make them interesting. As they go through the series, the authors have them grow and develop as characters, gradually eliminating those flaws. Reading about these is also interesting. Problem is that eventually, the author has more or less eliminated all flaws, there is nowhere else to go, and we get book after book of everyone worshiping at the feet of our perfect hero/heroine.

Anyway, I think that's one of the things that did in Honor Harrington. The series had other flaws, but I thought it remained reasonably entertaining as long as Honor was still working through her faults.

There are other Mary Sues, of course, who can't get by on that excuse. Rhapsody was pretty much perfect from day one (although I've heard from others that she actually becomes more wonderful over the course of the first series), as was Richard "I've never seen magic before, but I know everything about while you stupid wizards who've been studying it your whole lives don't" Rahl.

In all of fiction, my least favorite perfect hero has to be Horatio Caine. However, if we are restricting ourselves to books, then I'll go with Dumbledore. Be wrong about something, damn you!

Oh, and I don't understand why Rand al'Thor was nominated. Yes, he's an extremely powerful channeler, becomes very good with a sword and quite influent during the series, but he also becomes progressively more mad and paranoid, as well as being hated and feared by a large part of the world's population. That's hardly what I would call perfect, though of course YMMV.

I agree on this one. There are plenty of reasons to hate virtually every character in WoT, but because they are too perfect is not among them. Whatever else Jordan has done with his characters, he has given them flaws.

I suspect the WoT characters are getting nominated here not because they are too perfect, but closely related, they are too powerful.

[Lord Baelish]

I have a theory that in any long series based around one character, that character will almost inevitably become too annoyingly perfect. At the beginning of the series, the character has flaws that make them interesting. As they go through the series, the authors have them grow and develop as characters, gradually eliminating those flaws. Reading about these is also interesting. Problem is that eventually, the author has more or less eliminated all flaws, there is nowhere else to go, and we get book after book of everyone worshiping at the feet of our perfect hero/heroine.

That's not the case with Fitz in Robin Hobb's books, but I agree with your theory in general. Fitz iz still hated/mistrusted by most of the population at the end and his flaws are evident throughout.

As for the perfect hero/heroine, I'd have to go for Daenerys, Jon Snow, Aragorn, every good Eddings character in Elenium and Althalus, and Jewel from the Sun Sword series.

[Bronn Stone]

Another factor in Rand al'Thor's ascension to superswordsman is that he is merging minds with Lews Therin who actually was a master swordsman. How much of Rand's skill with a blade is just a manifestation of Lews Therin Telamon's increasing control over him?

There are plenty of things wrong with WoT, but I don't think this is one of them.

On topic - Superman.

[Forderz]

Horatio Cain is the most annoying man on the planet.

But in books, gotta say any one of the numerous protagonists from the countless one-book series set in FR or Drangonlance

[Ebenstone]

To be fair to Rand al'Thor here, maybe he's just a natural. It's possible. Take his lineage (I haven't read all the books, but I know he has pretty impressive parentage) and the fact that he's a powerful channeler, it's possible that he is that talented.

And the way he's described physically, it's not COMPLETELY unexpected...6'5", 235 "axe-handle wide"...cripes, he's Brady Quinn!

I love the Briar King but the "priest who knows everything about languages" and the "expert fencer with lots of 'experience'" are two of the more interesting Gary Stu's I've read about.

I'd also agree with Robert Langdon. You can't even call him a poor man's Indiana Jones!

Everything I've read about Eragon suggests this, same with Richard Rahl.

[Galactus]

Since someone mentioned Superman....

Sage. Chris Claremont has a tendency to write Mary Sues, but Sage is the worst yet (and that includes "I eat Stars for Breakfast and Everybody Loves Me" Jean Grey) her powers are completely undefined (she has a "computer brain" whatever that means) but apparently means she can take Xavier in a mental duel and the Juggernaught in a physical one. Everyone is CONSTANTLY harping on how good and smart and beautiful she is, and she is also the brains of the team.

Horrible, horrible character.

[Tormund Ukrainesbane]

<seconds superman>

<prepares to be killed>

Luke Skywalker. Even if he didn't go the Jedi route that boy was destined to die a virgin.

[Ebenstone]

<seconds superman>

<prepares to be killed>

Luke Skywalker. Even if he didn't go the Jedi route that boy was destined to die a virgin.

I'm not gonna kill you. I was almost with you on this, but didn't have the cajones to say it. He's the very definition of a Gary Stu and he's a little to perfect sometimes.

[Mazrick]

I'm not gonna kill you. I was almost with you on this, but didn't have the cajones to say it. He's the very definition of a Gary Stu and he's a little to perfect sometimes.

And he's even named after his creator...George Lucas

Though I still by far prefer him to his pussy of a father, the 'Chosen One'. Chosen to do what? Murder little kids and emote over his cardboard twue wuv.