Marvin the Martian
Marvin the Martian is a Martian and a recurring antagonist in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical shorts. His voice was originated by Mel Blanc.
Marvin's Duck Dodgers counterpart is Commander X-2: leader of the Martian army who is deeply in love with Queen Tyr'ahnee.
Marvin's protégé in Tiny Toon Adventures is his daughter, Marcia the Martian.
Character description
| “ | At last! After two thousand years of research, the Illudium Q-36 explosive space modulator. At last! ― Marvin, Hare-Way to the Stars |
” |
Marvin hails from planet Mars but can be found elsewhere outside of it. On numerous occasions, he is often characterized as highly logical and calculating, unlike other Looney Tunes antagonists who are shown to be flawed in an emotional level and are easily foiled with. He is usually calm when it comes to his expressions, save for the times for when he exhibits anger in one way or another. Marvin is sometimes accompanied by his dog K-9, and other creatures such as the Instant Martians or Gossamer. Marvin speaks in a soft, nasally voice, and often speaks in technobabble. Some of his known trademark quotes include "Where's the kaboom? There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom!", "Isn't that lovely?", and "This makes me very angry, very angry indeed."
Marvin's most recurring goal is to destroy Earth with a planet-destroying device, such as the Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator (or Space Modulator for short). Marvin's reason as to why he wants the planet destroyed is because "it obstructs [his] view of Venus,"[1] but also because he views Earth as a lesser planet than his native home, even going so far as to evaluate humans as "the most interesting insect" on the planet.[2] He is said to have been trying to obliterate Earth for more than two millennia, suggesting that his species, and Martians in general, have extremely long lifespans.
He is a humanoid alien with no distinct facial features, save for his huge eyes. He is usually dressed in a red unitard with green Roman-like armor — consisting of his helmet and skirt — and large white sneakers resembling the Chuck Taylor All-Stars brand. His helmet has a curved crest with a push-broom-like upper section, resembling that of an ancient Greek hoplite, or the galea of a Roman centurion. In a few of the original cartoons, he instead wears golden armor with a green suit.
Appearances
TV series
- The Bugs Bunny Show
- Merrie Melodies Starring Bugs Bunny & Friends
- Tiny Toon Adventures
- Taz-Mania
- 1.42a "The Man From M.A.R.S."
- The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries
- 5.50b "What's the Frequency, Kitty?"
- Pinky and the Brain
- 4.64 "Star Warners"
- Bugs 'N' Daffy
- Duck Dodgers
- Baby Looney Tunes
- 1.19b "War of the Weirds"
- The Looney Tunes Show
- 1.02 "Members Only": "I'm a Martian"
- 1.06 "Reunion", cameo in "Cock of the Walk"
- 1.13 "To Bowl or Not to Bowl"
- 1.17 "Sunday Night Slice"
- 1.25 "The Muh-Muh-Muh Murder" (no lines)
- 1.26 "Point, Lazer Point" (cameo in "Table for One)
- 2.01 "Bobcat's on Three" (no lines,): "Laser Beam"
- 2.02 "You've Got Hate Mail" (no lines)
- 2.10 "A Christmas Carol": "Christmas Rules! (segment)"
- 2.23 "Gribbler's Quest" (no lines)
- 2.25 "Best Friends Redux" (mentioned)
- 2.26 "Super Rabbit"
- New Looney Tunes
- 2.30b "When Marvin Comes Martian In"
- 2.34b "Bugs Bunny Saves The Universe"
- 2.46a "Men In Quack"
- 3.05b "The Starship Mentalprise"
- 3.18b "Victory Clasp" (cameo)
- 3.38a "Close Encounters Of The Duck Kind" (cameo)
- 3.49a "Out Of Towner Alien Encounter"
- 3.50b "The Wrong Stuff" (cameo)
- 3.52 "The Legend Of Burrito Monday"
- Looney Tunes Cartoons
- Animaniacs
- 1.02C "Suffragette City" (no lines)
- 2.07A "Yakko Amakko" (poster)
- 3.10C "The Stickening" (poster)
- Bugs Bunny Builders
- 1.20 "Blast Off"
- 1.21 "K-9: Space Puppy"
- 2.05 "Outer Space"
- Tiny Toons Looniversity
- 1.04 "Tooney Ball Lights" (no lines)
- 2.03 "Tooned in Space"
Movies
Shorts
Comics
Video games
- Taz in Escape from Mars
- Bugs Bunny in Double Trouble
- Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions
- Looney Tunes Collector: Alert!
- Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time
- Sheep, Dog, 'n' Wolf
- Road Runner's Death Valley Rally
- Looney Tunes: Back in Action
- Looney Tunes: Space Race
- Looney Tunes: Marvin Strikes Back!
- Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal
- Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem
- MultiVersus
Commercials
Theme parks
Podcasts
Biography
Where's the Kaboom? There was supposed to be an Earth-Shattering Kaboom!
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We're All a Little Looney
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Come On and Slam! And Welcome to the Jam!
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The Baby Looney Tunes Way
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Duck Dodgers in the 24th and One Half Century
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Back in Action
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Marvin's Cancelled Movie
In leaked test footage for the cancelled Marvin the Martian film (represented as a short called Yule Be Sorry), Marvin could be seen getting unwrapped by a kid on Christmas Day before escaping and attempting to vaporize the kid.
Marvin Gets Modern
In The Looney Tunes Show, Marvin is a foreign exchange student from Mars and is friends with Daffy Duck, whom he went to school with. However, he's still bent on taking over the Earth.
Going Down the Rabbit Hole
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Back to Basics
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Educating at Looniversity
In the episode "Tooned in Space", Marvin is the former space exploration teacher who quit after being defeated by a swarm of aliens. With the help of Buster Bunny, he defeats the aliens and returns to space exploration.
Marvin in the Funny Pages
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Marvin Sells Out
In a segment for the Mad episode "Super 80's/Captain America's Got Talent", the anchorman on Mad News reports that NASA has discovered that there is water on Mars because Marvin left his sink running. Marvin is voiced by Kevin Schinick in this segment.
Marvin appears in the Animaniacs reboot episode "Suffragette City", during a political march to Washington D.C. led by Dot Warner. He can also be seen on a poster at the end of another episode, "Yakko Amakko."
Development
Gallery
- Main article: Marvin the Martian/Gallery
Toys and merchandise
Behind the scenes
- Marvin was originally unnamed within the classic shorts, but was labelled as the Commander of Flying Saucer X-2 in the 1952 short The Hasty Hare. In the late 1970s, following the popularity of Star Wars in the decade, the character was briefly given the name "Antwerp" in promotional material. The name "Marvin" was first assigned to him in The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie in 1979, as "Marvin Martian."
- The name "X-2" would later be used for Marvin's Duck Dodgers counterpart.
- Despite being one of the most popular Looney Tunes characters, Marvin only appeared in five shorts in the Golden Age of animation.
In popular culture
- In the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Roy wakes up one morning to find his daughter watching Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century on TV. The scene where Dodgers delivers a message to Marvin is shown on the TV as she watches it.
- In the 1984 film Gremlins, a Bugs Bunny doll has a tag with Marvin's face.
- Marvin makes a cameo in the 1988 Disney film Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
- In the 1995 film Clueless, Travis tells Tai that he wants Marvin on his skateboard before Tai reveals her notebook full of Marvin drawings.
- In The Simpsons episode "The Springfield Files," Marvin is one of the aliens being interrogated by the FBI. He states that he's "very angry" to be here.
- In 2003, Marvin's likeness was used as part of the NASA Mars Exploration Rover, both as a miniature of the Spirit rover and a launch patch.[3]
- In the Pet Alien episode "Scare Affair," Dinko tells Swanko that they have to care about Tommy because he is their human and they don't want to repeat what happened to their Martian. The scene cuts to Marvin's skeleton rotting on Mars.
- In the 2013 film Gravity, a Marvin figurine is floating around the spaceship.
- In a deleted scene of the Futurama episode "That Darn Katz!," Marvin is seen as a student at Mars University.
- In the Big Bang Theory episode "The Dependance Transcendence," Sheldon gets buzzed from taking an energy drink and starts quoting from The Martian book and movie which leads him to quoting Marvin the Martian, saying in his voice, "I claim this planet in the name of Mars."
- In the Fresh off the Boat episode "Louisween," Brian is dressed up as Marvin for Halloween. This is later referenced in a photo of the group in "Hal-Lou-Ween."
- He has a cameo as someone's OASIS virtual reality avatar in the 2017 film Ready Player One.
- In the American Dad! episode "(You Gotta) Strike for Your Right," Roger says that sleeping with an alien is fine because people do it all the time. One person he mentions sleeping with an alien is "Marvin the Martian's wife."
- In The Flash episode "Armageddon, Part 2," Chester says that he became a pacificist at ten years old after being inspired to create his own ray gun from watching Marvin the Martian use his in Saturday morning cartoons. A malfunction in Chester's ray gun destroyed his friend's house and almost killed his friend and his family.
- In the Young Sheldon episode "A Pink Cadillac and a Glorious Tribal Dance," Marvin appears on a poster advertising Texarkana-Con.
Drawn Together
- Main article: Drawn Together
- "Charlotte's Web of Lies:" Marvin can be seen in Ling Ling's support group next to Yosemite Sam.
- "Toot Goes Bollywood:" While Foxxy makes love to Scooby-Doo, Marvin can be seen waiting in line to have a stiletto placed in his butt.
Everybody Loves Raymond
- "The Children's Book:" Ray has a Warner Bros. Store Marvin tape dispenser on his desk.
- "The Angry Family:" The same Marvin tape dispenser was being used in Eileen's classroom.
References
- ↑ Looney Tunes: Hare-Way to the Stars (1958)
- ↑ "I do so enjoy observing the flora and fauna of that tiny planet. I think man is the most interesting insect on Earth, don't you?" - Marvin the Martian (Merrie Melodies: Mad as a Mars Hare, 1962).
- ↑ "Marvin The Martian and Daffy Duck as Duck Dodgers Prepare for Upcoming NASA Missions to Mars". SpaceNews (June 2, 2003). Retrieved November 24, 2024.
