User blog comment:Jake R/Total Drama: Revenge of the Island- Rankings./@comment-1848769-20120129190445/@comment-1874924-20120129223555

I've only seen part of the first episode, but Zoey doesn't sound like a Mary Sue from the way she's being described here. If she's normal and everyone else isn't, that's not a Mary Sue, it's an "Only Sane Man". If she's designed for the audience to particularly relate to her, that's not a Mary Sue, it's an "Audience Surrogate". Also, if she's a supporting character, then she can't be a Mary Sue because a Mary Sue is, by definition, a main character, and usually the protagonist. Note, however, that a Mary Sue is NOT merely a protagonist whom you don't happen to like. A lot of people don't understand this, which is why the "Mary Sue" charge tends to get thrown around indiscriminately.

In fact, there's a lot of controversy over whether ANY canon character can ever be a Mary Sue in a canon story, or whether only fanfic characters/portrayals can qualify. A Mary Sue is most commonly, but not necessarily, an idealized version of the author.

An important aspect of Sueness is how the other characters view her. Most of the cast will like the classic Mary Sue, whether they logically should or not, and characters who don't like her will tend to be portrayed unsympathetically.

The most important Mary Sue trait, though, is that the character is pretty much perfect--or, to be more precise, perfect in every way that matters to the story, and for reasons other than simple escapism. Flaws will either be informed (i.e. mentioned but never manifested) or things that actually turn out to be beneficial in some way.