The term "Mary Sue" needs to die.

[The Romulan Republic]

By that standard, Rey is definitely not one, because she would have been dead without the involvement of Han, and Finn, and others.

[Admiral X]

Ya know all these Rey whiners miss,

Ah yes, noticing a deficiency in a character is "whining" now.

That Mind Trick scene was the FIRST TIME EVER we saw it not work on the first try, unless it was someone not susceptible at all like Watto. Frankly it was never before presented as that difficult a thing to do.

Which was immediately undone right afterwards, by having her be ludicrously successful at it.

So I'm sick of this "Rey is a Mary Sue" nonsense.

Except it isn't nonsense. Plenty of people are spelling out exactly why they feel this character is a Mary Sue and it's right there in the writing. And it's not like this means she's a bad character. Hell, Batman is one of the biggest Mary Sues of them all and I still like him.

[Karha of Honor]

Ya know all these Rey whiners miss,

Ah yes, noticing a deficiency in a character is "whining" now.

That Mind Trick scene was the FIRST TIME EVER we saw it not work on the first try, unless it was someone not susceptible at all like Watto. Frankly it was never before presented as that difficult a thing to do.

Which was immediately undone right afterwards, by having her be ludicrously successful at it.

So I'm sick of this "Rey is a Mary Sue" nonsense.

Except it isn't nonsense. Plenty of people are spelling out exactly why they feel this character is a Mary Sue and it's right there in the writing. And it's not like this means she's a bad character. Hell, Batman is one of the biggest Mary Sues of them all and I still like him.

Batman was not a Deus Ex Machina Sue. He was trained by an assassin's guild.

[Admiral X]

Yeah, but a lot of what he's able to do in terms of planning and physical ability, along with all his neat little gadgets which are just perfect for what the story needs tends to put him in Mary Sue territory.

[Karha of Honor]

Yeah, but a lot of what he's able to do in terms of planning and physical ability, along with all his neat little gadgets which are just perfect for what the story needs tends to put him in Mary Sue territory.

In that case most action movie heroes are that.

[MithrandirOlorin]

Which is our point.

[GandALF]

There is also the "universally beloved" aspect, Batman might win every fight, but his paranoid loner tendencies bring him into conflict with the GCPD/Justice league/his sidekicks which stops him from being perfect. Whereas with Rey, Finn seems desperate to gain her approval, Han thinks of her has the daughter he never had (poor Jaina) and even Kylo Ren seems to have an uncomfortable crush on her.

I still think genre needs to be considered for the Sue label. I'm mean if we look Rey's predecessors:

1. John Carter/Flash Gordon: They are absolutely Mary Sues. They're invincible and every woman they meet seems to fall in love with them. but they get a pass because they were the first and they're 80/100 years old so their dated goofiness is entertaining in its own way.

2. Foundation: No heroes. Problems are solved by the manipulation of the forces of history. Singular heroes battling singular villains are insignificant on the galactic scale. The opposite of JC/FG.

3. Dune: Paul Atreides is a lot like John Carter. He travels to a desert planet, marries a native girl and conquers the planet. However, while his followers might think he is infallible like John Carter. He isn't. And by the time he realises his mistakes he is already on the way to becoming a tyrant.

Which leads to Star Wars: The hero grows to be powerful like Flash Gordon, but must overcome his own dark side so he does not end up like Paul Atriedes.

So Rey kind of ends up seeming regressive and back to the Flash Gordon model while ignoring the developments that even SW alone has brought to the genre. Although to be fair I think its more down to JJ Abrams really wanting a lightsabre fight combined with his tendency to stitch together actions scenes and call it a story. Maybe VIII and IX will improve things.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Okay, I am going to really have to stand up for Rey's use of the Jedi mind trick. She learned it from Kylo Ren, who was unwise enough to try to penetrate her mind through the force when he's been shown to be an emotionally unstable wreck with more holes in his mental armor than swiss cheese. She wouldn't have learned that trick if he hadn't exposed her to it. Who does she use it on, then? A storm trooper, people who are conditioned to unthinking obedience from birth. You could not pick a more easier target, except maybe Kylo "ATTACKING THIS CONSOLE WILL SOLVE ALL MY PROBLEMS" Ren.

Everything that Rey does, ever skill she has, is set up earlier in the movie by proper foreshadowing. Her piloting skill and ability with machines? She survived by scalvaging useful parts and played simulators for fun, and knowing what works with what determined whether she got to eat or starved. Her use of the force? Everything she does with it is something she learned form Kylo Ren, who was unwise enough to try a mind probe on her while he was in a psychologically vulnerable state. The only thing I might give you as new powers as the plot demands/ass pull is the light saber fight.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

GandALF, I'm with you on considering genre. I'd follow up to say that CONTEXT is an important factor in who's a Mary Sue. You measure Suedom by the characters around them, and the kind of story they are in.

Is Green Lantern overpowered in a superhero show? No. Would he be overpowered in a straight up action movie?
If we're in a rom com or sitcom or period drama, then actual "power level" is largely irrelevant, or may be played up for some fish-out-of-water/doesn't-fit-in-laughs. There the strengths that allow a character to progress towards their goals are purely social.

[Karha of Honor]

Which is our point.

They start out as cops or legendary gunslingers usually. Not people who never used a gun and they are Deus Ex Machina matser gunwielders out of nowhere.