Marty Stu in Literature
In A Princess of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs creates the quintessential Marty Stu character with John Carter. A Marty Stu is a male character who's perfect (TV Trope Pp. 2-3). No matter what he attempts, he succeeds with little struggle. He’s also dashingly handsome and has few, if any, faults. This character’s perfect in every way. While reading the book, I looked for John Carter’s weaknesses. Sadly, he has none. I am left disappointed, wishing Burroughs had given the protagonist some sort of err in his disposition. After unexpectedly transported to Mars, John readily learns the Martian language within a week. In that time, he becomes a chieftain – not once, but twice. By the end of the novel, he's Prince of Helium. John achieves these honors through battles. Amazingly, he has perfect aim and manages to kill several beings by punching them in the jaw. He is injured; however, John quickly heals from his wounds and suffers no ill-effects from them. Moreover, Joh