comment: >
  
  Elves in LOTR are OP. So he is not a Mary (Gary) Sue - because his powers are not unrealistic in the world that is established.  
  Elves are just built different. But even with all of his powers, he still couldn't take down that orc who blew up the wall. He still almost died in the battle at the black gate, he still couldn't take out a Balrog.
context: “Nerfed to Gimli’s level”?!?!?? 
  Gimili killed 42 orcs… by himself. More than Legolas. >
  
  And without a pussy weapon like a bow. My man got his killstreak up close and personal with his axe. >
  
  I don't think you can consider a character a Mary Sue who has as little agency in the story as Legolas does. In the movies, he really doesn't drive any of the action. He is just a henchman for Aragorn, though with a bit of little bit of character development. There are never really any stakes for Legolas. He's just an NPC. 
  A Mary Sue has to have their own problems and obstacles to easily overcome, and Legolas doesn't. He's just an accompanying character who serves to be a bit of a guide for the main characters.
  (This is Movie only. In the book there is quite a bit more going on with Legolas) >
  
  1) you're right, legolas has very little agency
  2) Also agree that there is more going on with book legolas >
  
  !delta >
  
  This delta has been rejected. You can't award yourself a delta.
  ^Delta System Explained ^| ^Deltaboards >
  
  This is hilarious >
  
  It's been a while since I watched the movies, but IIRC, there's no fights where Legolas actually matters. Except maybe after Boromir >!dies?!< Did he help Aragorn with the rescue at the end? Spoiler tagged just in case, lol.
  Anyway, movie Legolas exists mostly for cool action sequences, you're right about that. But he doesn't defuse tension. Killing 40-some orcs at Helm's Deep doesn't turn the battle or save his allies (outside the fun action set pieces). His bow doesn't kill the Balrog in Moria. He doesn't shoot the Witch King in the face, or Saruman, or the Mouth of Sauron, or anyone else of consequence.
  So even if you think his action scenes are over the top, it doesn't really make him a Mary Sue. He's just an excellent warrior (on a team of other excellent warriors) whose fighting style looks cool on screen.
  Edit: So I went back and watched the Boromir scene. The fellowship hadn't split up yet, and Legolas didn't help. Merry and Pippin were still >!captured.!< Boromir still >!died.!< He did do a cool shot to kill an orc that was choking Aragorn, I guess, but that's just part of the general action sequence, not really consequential to the plot.
  Keeping up with the spoiler tags, just to stay on the safe side! >
  
  Legolas also singlehandedly took out a war elephant in the Battle of Minas Tirith. It's been a while since I've seen RotK, so I don't remember how much of an impact that had on the battle.
  "That only counts as one!" >
  
  Don't all of the elves have supervision? And he's not particularly more meaningful than anyone else. They're like the best sword boy, axe boy, and bow boy around escorting the one thing that needs to go right or everyone dies to the mountain. Why would one character in the band of ultra awesome best of the best warriors being an ultra awesome best of the best warrior be a problem? By that logic they're basically all Mary Sues. >
  
  Yes, that’s why in Moria, he looked very concerned before anyone else because he could see the Balrog already. >
  
  Isn't he literally hundreds of years old? He would have spent a lot of that time training wouldn't he? >
  
  Hundreds, yes.  Thousands, also yes.  He was at the battle where Isuldir killed Sauron. >
  
  That's not in the book nor the movie.
  Elrond was there, though. >
  
  Legolas is awesome.  He's had centuries of training, combined with his elf biology.  He still bled, and he couldn't save the world on his own.  Plus, he still learns lessons on his adventures.
  He's not an 18-year-old human scavenger in the middle of nowhere, who happens to be fluent in four different languages.  Nor does he become a self-taught magic warrior within a week. >
  
  "He's not an 18-year-old human scavenger in the middle of nowhere, who happens to be fluent in four different languages. Nor does he become a self-taught magic warrior within a week."
  Thats fair >
  
  Wait, what does this have to do with your original post? Is that a characterization of a "power gaming D&D character"? >
  
  No it’s a jab at the newest Star Wars trilogy >
  
  Oh, right. Rey is such a Mary Sue in TFA that it's hardly fair to make that the bar, though. >
  
  In movie canon, Legolas is 2,931 years old during the events of Lord of the Rings. He is the prince of the Mirkwood, so for 2,931 years, he had access to the best tutors the elven realm can offer. Him being a good fighter is not surprising at all and he should be better than anyone except Gandalf. In the books, we don't know the exact age. He could be younger but some quotes imply he was alive during the First Age and that would put him over 6,000 years old.
  ​
  Being able to fight with a bow and sword isn't that uncommon. Aragon is also using a bow like an expert at the beginning of the movie and just forgets about it in the later parts and only uses his sword. But he didn't really seem inferior to Legolas in terms of either despite having 2800 fewer years of training. And if Legolas is power gaming why are the scores with Gimili so close? It's not like Legolas actually outshines Gimili in terms of kills.
  ​
  Legolas' realm was also entrusted with watching over Gollum. The only reason Legolas was in Rivendale at the time was to bring news that they failed and let Gollum escape. His starting arc is literally coming from a failure and seeking to redeem himself. Something that doesn't seem very Gary Sue. Amongst the elves, he also isn't particularly special. There are elves that outshine him immensely.
  ​
  Elves enjoy a lot of advantages over Men, but that doesn't make them inherently Mary Sues.