# Characters who are just too perfect. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546 "2012-05-01T19:00:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/41 "2012-05-03T12:25:42Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The term [Mary Sue](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue) would probably be used, but it is a everchanging and vague term. See the linked article. (Warning: TV Tropes!) Yeah, Mary Sue is usually stronger than that. They have to be the main focus. Side characters really can’t be Mary Sues unless they essentially take over. And, no, Mary Sue does not necessarily mean an author insert–the main thing is that they are perfect in a story-breaking way. And The Pollyanna refers to people who are always happy. They are far from perfect. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/42 "2012-05-03T12:55:42Z")
We should create a new term. Call them a Beth or a Wesley Crusher. See if it catches on. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/43 "2012-05-03T12:59:32Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Him, too. But Chretien’s Lancelot in _Knight of the Cart_ is still the worse offender. Ugh. > > P.S. everyone in Malory with their own sub-book (so far). I’m looking at you, Tristram. Which is funny, because in real life Thomas Malory was quite the criminal. I believe the theory is that he wrote Le Morte d’Arthur while he was in jail. [Thomas Malory - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Malory#Thomas_Malory_of_Newbold_Revel) Of course, there is some debate about which Thomas Malory is actually the author, but it’s my understanding he’s the most likely candidate. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/44 "2012-05-03T13:05:05Z")
Hannibal Lecter - epicure, music buff, art expert, doctor AND a serial killer to top it all off. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/45 "2012-05-03T13:19:14Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Hannibal Lecter - epicure, music buff, art expert, doctor AND a serial killer to top it all off. And with an extra finger on a hand and funny-colored eyes (they have blood-red flecks in them??) - he’s special, we get it. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/46 "2012-05-03T15:24:02Z")
Lord Peter Wimsey. It’s been a long time since I read any of the books, in large part because he could do absolutely anything he set his mind to–brilliant detective, charming, wealthy (and managed his money well), professional-quality athlete (not that he would have taken MONEY for participating in sports, heavens, no)…didn’t he develop the world’s most effective ad campaign in one of the books, almost as a throwaway at the end? Anyway, him. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/47 "2012-05-03T18:15:29Z")
Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket. No one could possibly be that sweet or patient. > [@Lust4Life](#): > > I always found Hawkeye in MASH nausea inducing. > > He was a brilliant surgeon, a rebel, cared about little children, cared about the Koreans, cared about the soldiers fighting the war, treated the enlisted people as equals, was fancied by all of the nurses;including army barmy Hotlips. > > He was also brave, amusing… > > I’m sorry, I can’t go on without a bucket. > > Also George Clooneys character in some U.S. hospital soap where he played a paedeotrician and was forever agonising over the “children”, was pretty vomit inducing, though IRL he’s a really decent bloke. After re-watching MASH I realized how annoying Hawkeye’s constant snide remarks were, I don’t think I could stand to be around him for more than five minutes. A pretty major character flaw if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/48 "2012-05-03T18:31:13Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > I thought Esther Summerson in Bleak House was the most sickeningly sweet of the whole lot. I forgot about Joe Gargery in Great Expectations, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/49 "2012-05-03T20:16:08Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > It’s a Mary Sue if it’s seen as an author insertion character, mostly, whereas Pollyana is more generic, I think. One is a subset of the other, almost. > > The Vampire Lestat always struck me as this. Anne Rice has said that Lestat is her husband, she is Louis, and Claudia is a niece of hers that died. So, definitely some author insertion going on. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/50 "2012-05-03T21:17:30Z")
Honor Harrington began as a gawky but competent space navy officer, but as the series went on, she became the most awesome human ever, able to toss around Marine sergeants in unarmed combat, able to shoot a professional duelist half a dozen times before he got a shot off, and the same thing with swords after a few months of training. Plus being the greatest tactical genius of her age, and so damned noble that her worst enemies strove for her approval. Plus being gorgeously beautiful. But even that wasn’t enough; it came out that she was literally superhuman, the result of a eugenics program. And even THAT wasn’t enough, as she now has all kinds of cybernetic body parts, an eye with telescopic, microscopic, and infrared vision, and an arm that is super strong and has a built-in gun. Oh yeah, and she can read minds. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/51 "2012-05-03T21:35:24Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Lord Peter Wimsey. It’s been a long time since I read any of the books, in large part because he could do absolutely anything he set his mind to–brilliant detective, charming, wealthy (and managed his money well), professional-quality athlete (not that he would have taken MONEY for participating in sports, heavens, no)…didn’t he develop the world’s most effective ad campaign in one of the books, almost as a throwaway at the end? > > Anyway, him. Yeah, but I love Peter Wimsey. Somehow that one doesn’t bother me. Now Honor Harrington on the other hand does tend to get on the nerves. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/52 "2012-05-03T22:01:54Z")
This is a totally different tack than everyone else is taking, but I could never enjoy the Star Wars extended universe novels featuring **Grand Admiral Thrawn** because he was too perfect a tactician, preposterously so (despite having plenty of flaws in other ways). ---
**Author:** ![Docta\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Docta\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Docta_G)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/53 "2012-05-03T22:06:36Z")
Yahweh ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/54 "2012-05-03T22:34:42Z")
> [@Docta\_G](#): > > Yahweh Nah. Absolute bastard. He invented death just because someone ate some fruit. Wiped out nearly all the human race (and nearly all of all land animal species too) just because people ticked him off. Tricked someone into almost killing his own son, just for a joke, had His own Son actually killed! I could go on… I’m surprised no-one has mentioned Superman, though. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/55 "2012-05-03T23:14:08Z")
Ayla, of _Clan of the Cave Bear_ fame. She invented artificial respiration, sewing needles, fire, domestication of horses, cave lions, and wolves, and probably penicillin. A LOVELY thread on this topic: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=640196&highlight=Jean+Auel](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=640196&highlight=Jean+Auel) ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/56 "2012-05-04T07:00:47Z")
Jack Reacher ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/57 "2012-05-04T12:27:32Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Lord Peter Wimsey. It’s been a long time since I read any of the books, in large part because he could do absolutely anything he set his mind to–brilliant detective, charming, wealthy (and managed his money well), professional-quality athlete (not that he would have taken MONEY for participating in sports, heavens, no)…didn’t he develop the world’s most effective ad campaign in one of the books, almost as a throwaway at the end? > > Anyway, him. You left out brilliant wine connoisseur, code breaker, and - off course - lover! Personally I love the books but he is annoyingly perfect. His only fault is his “turns” - caused by shell-shock from the Great War - that hits him at the end of cases. The ad campaign was in \*Murder Must Advertise \*but it was a pretty major point in the book, not exactly a throwaway! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/58 "2012-05-04T12:56:29Z")
Yeah, I LOVE that book but he does invent the ad campaign of the century before bringing about the end of the case by his magical cricket playing powers. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546/59 "2012-05-04T13:02:20Z")
Amelie. So cute and charming. You can’t imagine her ever stinking up the bathroom. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-are-just-too-perfect/620546.md?page=2)