In modern fiction its hard to create fresh new characters that are unique and can take the eye of the reader. But there is a problem with doing this, too much into that character can walk him or her into the land of the Mary Sue and Gary Stu. For me its very hard Sueproofing, as my stories are set around super hero like elements. Creating a super hero genre story is a real pain in the you know what, as make the heroes too powerful you make them unsympathetic. Make them too weak and no one wants to read about your heroes. I Have done my best to walk the middle ground with my characters, having characters that have superpowers yes but making sure no one character is not more powerful then the other. Character balance has been my way of Sueproofing, having measures to make sure that the Mary Sue/ Gary Stu effect is all but eliminated. But still its tough, what do you folks do to Sueproof your fics?
Yeah, some of my characters are bound to have the same problems, as they also have superpower-like abilities. What I did was that I gave them each a significant limitation to that ability. For example: The leader has the ability to copy any ability she sees. The draw? Those abilities are always weaker than the original by a non-negligible amount. Despite this, she's smart and uses the abilities well, so she's generally considered the strongest. Another MC's ability makes him very fast and gives him the ability to control lightning, except that he's incredibly fragile while he's using his ability. The next MC doesn't have an ability, so she's fundamentally weaker than the others, except that she's a much smarter fighter and can usually keep up with the others. The final MC's ability supercharges her physical abilities past everyone else's. The main draw? The more she uses this ability, the more she loses control over her mind, turning more feral as she gets stronger so she drops her guard a lot/never really thinks. So, while being technically the strongest, she's actually the weakest. So, I guess what I'm saying is that I "Superman" my characters. Yeah, they're probably the strongest in my story, their "kryptonite" not only keeps them challenged, the leader can be easily overpowered by several MCs and antagonists, they also have a lot of opportunities to lose. Like Superman, they'd probably never lose if that one thing that can be used against them didn't exist. They also have multiple personality traits that serve to humanize them. Throughout the story, the leader got beaten down to the point where she gives up easily, as she doesn't want to fight anymore. This leads to a couple other named characters, as long as many unnamed characters getting hurt. The fast one just doesn't care about people that aren't close to him, so he ends up letting a lot of unnamed people get hurt/die simply because he doesn't care about them. The one without an ability cares too much about people that she is supposed to watch over (subjects/citizens/those people), which leads to her neglecting and betraying the other MCs. The last one got very distrustful throughout the story, and actually ends it hating the rest of the MCs to a degree (but she doesn't want to). They have good characteristics as well, just so that the story isn't "Emo: The Musical". For example: The leader enjoys playing music, and does so whenever she gets the chance. The fast one likes to rile the one without an ability up until she explodes at him. The MCs, minus the obvious one, find this to be a great waste of time. The one without an ability has an almost child-like fascination with the world around her, despite her generally more serious demeanor. The last one really enjoys the quiet times, often preferring to not speak and just relax. I believe that what saves a character from "Sueness" is their character traits, not how strong they are. Just make them feel like regular people, and the reader won't care whether or not they're too strong or not.
Some iconic and most loved literary characters are "too powerful". Reading more books is a better way to learn how to write them than reading more internet how-to-write advice. An "unsympathetic" character is only one that is drawn badly. The sympathy we feel for a character comes from the fact that they've come alive for the reader and they seem like a real person. That's how they become distinct as well since each person is at least a bit different from another. Even if they are twins .
Power level alone isn't the concern. It's not what makes a character unsympathetic or a Sue. If it were, nobody would read or watch Superman media. You have a Sue when they breeze through conflicts without any significant struggle, internal or external. They're always right (within the narrative), they avoid the logical consequences of their actions, everybody likes them. That sort of thing. It kills dramatic tension. Despite his extremely powerful nature, decent Superman stories retain dramatic tension. Why? For one, he's chained by a moral code. That's a perfect setup for all sorts of moral dilemmas. Two, his origin story is a classic immigrant story. The struggle to fit in in a place where you're obviously an outsider is always going to be relatable to some people. Three, he faces opponents with an actual shot at beating him. They might be cunning masterminds (Lex Luthor) or powerful physical threats (Doomsday), but the key point is that victory is actually in doubt. Four, he faces relationship/familial struggles. Even in the earliest Superman stories where he breezed through external opponents, he faced actual struggle when trying to start a relationship with Lois Lane. On the other end of the powers spectrum you've got Batman. Even without actual superpowers, he's got considerable talents. Bruce Wayne has a genius level IQ, is one of the best hand to hand combatants in the world, is commonly called the world's greatest detective, is good with gadgetry, and is generally the second wealthiest man in the DC universe. All that together has the potential to make a Sue, and in the hands of bad writers it does. What stops him from being a Sue in the hands of good writers? First, the physical limitations of being a normal human. Even a no-name street thug could kill him with a well placed shot; most of Batman's top tier villains present a very real physical threat. Second, he's got character flaws. Batman often pushes away his closest allies to "keep them safe"; this usually just alienates them and makes it easier for whatever villain to pick them off. He keeps secrets, which causes rifts with allies when those secrets come out. He's distrustful, again causing rifts with allies. Third, Batman has personal issues. He's still very traumatized by his parents' deaths. The whole "dress as a bat, war on crime" thing is a prolonged form of suicide by criminal. Fourth, Batman struggles to balance duty with his own personal happiness, which often comes up in his relationships with various women. Personally, I take a three pronged approach to Sue prevention: Limitations: These can be internal (Superman's sense of morality or Batman's no-kill code) or external (like the physical limits of the human body). The main character of my current fantasy/superhero novel has most of the same physical limitations as a normal human, and has a Wonder Woman-like "only when there's no alternative" view of killing his opponents. Flaws: Traits that are bad, or at least cause trouble in a given situation. Maybe a sarcastic character says the wrong thing at the wrong time and makes things worse for everybody. My current main character refuses to recognize the threat posed by the main antagonist until the midpoint because he's fixated on another threat. Vigorous Struggle: This would include both internal and external conflict. Conflicts that take a lot of effort to resolve. My current main character is forced to deal with an alliance of crime families and an extremist neighborhood watch/revolutionary group, while also trying to step out of his parents' shadow and dealing with guilt from the inciting incident.
