Mary Sue, part 2: what about Luke Skywalker?

What is a Mary Sue? A Mary Sue is a character who's invincible, infallible and loved by every other character in every way. Without further explanation as to why. They don't go through any development, overcome weaknesses or grow after defeats – the Mary Sue is perfect.

Just like Rey in «Star Wars».

The discussions regarding Mary Sues in the comment section of the aforementioned article are great. And the conversation between users georgf and rithar became the inspiration for this article. My compliments to you, dear community.

The response:

Luke Skywalker really does seem dangerously close to what we defined as a Mary Sue character. Especially in «Star Wars: Episode IV». In it, Luke is just a simple boy on a Tatooine moisture farm, who goes on to destroy the Death Star and become the hero of the rebellion. Within days. Sounds like a Mary Sue.

But appearances can be deceiving. At least in my eyes. Let’s explore this.

Luke Skywalker vs. Rey vs. Mary Sue

As a reminder: These are the typical characteristics of a Mary Sue character:

1. They have superior, unexplained special abilities.
2. They're almost infallible, morally sublime and near invincible.
3. They're unconditionally liked or even loved by all other characters.

Point 1: in «Star Wars: Episode IV», Luke only has one defined superior ability; he is an exceptional pilot. As attested by Biggs Darklighter, Luke's best friend, who vouches for Luke in front of Commander Garven Dreis before the Battle of Yavin.

This is quickly explained by Luke's connection to the Force: he's the son of Anakin Skywalker, the great Jedi Warrior who died during the Clone Wars, as Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi first tells Luke – alluding to Anakin's piloting abilities which obviously have been passed on to Luke.

And Rey?

She's a junk collector, that much is certain. But neither the origins of her skills as a pilot, her experience as a spaceship mechanic or her ability to manipulate the thoughts of others are ever explained. These are skills that she has simply because a given situation demands them.

Point 2: Luke makes mistakes. To start, he lets R2-D2 trick him into removing a retaining bolt. The small Astromech Droid then manages to escape. Trying to make up for his mistake, Luke is overpowered by Tusken Raiders. He is promptly saved by Obi-Wan. He helps out Luke again a little later when the latter gets into a quarrel in the Mos-Eisley cantina. Luke wouldn't have escaped from the garbage compactor without the help of his Droids either. And the destruction of the Death Star wouldn't have been possible for young Skywalker if he hadn't had Han Solo backing him up.

Luke is neither infallible nor invincible.

Rey, on the other hand, doesn't make mistakes. The poverty-stricken scrap collector even refuses to sell BB-8 to Unkar Plutt, although he offers her a fortune for the little Droid. Rey voluntarily declines the offer. For a droid she's never met before. Why? This isn't explained. But it shows us how morally infallible she is. The whiny Luke seems much less heroic in comparison, just wanting to pick up some energy converters at Toschi Station with his friends.

Rey also never needs help and always frees herself from dangerous situations alone. Even Kylo Ren, Han Solo's son, can't hold a candle to Rey.

Point 3: Luke isn't liked by every character. At least not right away. R2-D2 barely cares about Luke at first and tricks him to get to Obi-Wan. Leia isn't exactly hot for the «short» Skywalker either. And Han Solo has nothing but scorn and mockery reserved for his companion.

Rey on the other hand is liked by BB-8, Finn – even Han Solo. Just like that. Maz Kanata, who Han actually calls grumpy, is immediately sympathetic towards Rey. And after Han Solo's death, Leia even leaves her long-time friend Chewbacca behind – for a hug with Rey. Please note: at this point in time, Leia and Rey have never met each other.

But this doesn't mean I don't like Rey as a character. I like her a lot. Maybe it's because Daisy Ridley is an incredibly likeable actress. Perhaps also because she radiates a bit of vulnerability after all. But – and I want to be fair – no matter how you spin it, dear reader Marky Mark: Rey is a Mary Sue.

Luke is neither a Mary Sue nor a Chosen One (sorry rithar). The latter would be someone who is endowed with special talents or gifts and who is destined by a prophecy or the like to fulfil a certain heroic task. Someone like Anakin Skywalker, for example.

But Luke isn't a Chosen One, he's an Everyman. And his story describes the usual stages of what Irish writer James Joyce (1882 - 1941) once called the «Hero's Journey».

I'll explain.

The Hero's Journey

Although the term Hero's Journey can be traced back to James Joyce, the term was only really popularised through research by American mythologist Joseph Campbell (1904-1987). In his book «The Hero with a Thousand Faces», published in 1949, he describes the usual stages of the Hero's Journey as they have been handed down through mythologies and legends for hundreds of years. They still serve as a blueprint for many Hollywood authors:

The starting point lies with the familiar, boring or inadequate world of the hero. The hero is soon called to adventure. They initially refuse this call. A mentor persuades them to make the journey anyway: the adventure begins. Pretty soon there's no turning back. The hero is tested for the first time and meets allies as well as enemies. Now they travel farther than they ever have – to the most dangerous point. On the way there, they lose their mentor; the hero is on their own from now on. A decisive test takes place: confrontation. The hero rises above themselves, the enemy is defeated. Through the adventure, the hero has matured into a new personality.

Sound familiar?

In the Star Wars documentary «Empire of Dreams» – currently on Disney+ as the best Star Wars documentary ever – George Lucas openly admits that he was influenced by Campbell's work when writing «Star Wars».

But what makes Luke an Everyman?

There's nothing unusual about Luke's character at first. Purposely. He's a boy on a vast desert planet with big unfulfilled dreams. He doesn't appear superior or exalted. Luke seems just like you and me. We can easily identify and sympathise with him. An Everyman. Who his father was and what he might have left him – all this comes much later.

By the way, the Everyman is part of the narrative bag of tricks that I also referred to in my article about Neo from «The Matrix».

Rey's character development begins similarly. But in every dangerous situation, she gets new abilities that have never been explained before. As a scrap metal collector, she's an ace pilot, repairs spaceships in no time and defeats Kylo Ren in her very first lightsabre duel. Someone who has been personally trained by Luke Skywalker since childhood. That doesn't make her an Everyman, it makes her a Mary Sue.

In other words, if Luke were a videogame character, he would start at level zero. Again and again he gets into fights which he loses because his power level is still too low. Be it with the Tusken Raiders in «Episode IV», in the fight against Vader in «Episode V» or in the Emperor's Throne Room in «Episode VI». Only through the experience gained does he reach the level required to win.

Rey, on the other hand, doesn't level up. She already has the skills she needs to win. From the start.

She cheats.