Marvin the Martian
From Looney City Citizens
Marvin the Martian
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|---|---|
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| Marvin faces off against Duck Dodgers (alias Daffy Duck). | |
| First appearance | Haredevil Hare |
| Created by | Chuck Jones |
| Background Information | |
| Aliases | Martian Commander X-2 |
| Relatives | Marcia Martian |
| Pets | K-9 |
| Friends | Queen Tyr'ahnee (employer and secret crush)Marcia the Martian (niece) Marvin Jr. (son) |
| Rivals | Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Blossom Utonium |
| Catch phrases | "This makes me so angry!" |
Marvin the Martian (or Marvin Martian) is a character appearing in the Looney Tunes cartoons.
Animation director Chuck Jones noted that while Bugs' major enemy, Yosemite Sam was loud and violent, he was obviously no threat. So, he decided to create the opposite type of character; one who was quiet and soft-spoken, but whose actions were incredibly destructive and legitimately dangerous.
Marvin the Martian made his debut in 1948's "Haredevil Hare." In his first appearance Mel Blanc gave him a stuffy, denasal voice, but later the Martian adopted a more regal-sounding, snooty, almost British phrasing.
Marvin hails from the planet Mars, but is often found elsewhere. He is often accompanied by his dog, "K-9," and sometimes by other creatures (one gag, first used in "Hare-way to the Stars", being freeze-dried Martians that become full-size on addition of drops of water).
Marvin wears a parody of a Roman soldier's uniform (a reference to Mars being the Roman god of war) with old-fashioned basketball shoes. His head is a black sphere with only eyes for features.
On numerous occasions Marvin has tried to destroy the Earth (it obstructs his view of Venus) with his "Uranium PU-36 Explosive Space Modulator.", which resembles a mere stick of dynamite (The original reference to "Uranium PU-36" changed to "Illudium PU-36" in subsequent cartoons. Some people mistake the sound of "PU" for a "Q" and say "Q-36." However, the weapon's name is derived from the letters "PU" which coincidentally is the atomic symbol for Plutonium—named for the planet Pluto). Marvin is consistently foiled by Bugs Bunny. He has battled for space territory with Daffy Duck, a.k.a. Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century.
Marvin was originally voiced by the late, great Mel Blanc, and in recent years has been voiced by Joe Alaskey, Bob Bergen and Eric Goldberg. Other cartoon actors like Dan Castellaneta sometimes imitate his voice in parodies of him.
Marvin was never named in the original shorts (he was called Commander X-2 in The Hasty Hare in 1952), but decades later when the character attracted merchandizing interest he obviously needed a name, so the current one was selected.
Marvin was also cast as the ineffective referee in Space Jam, and then later had a major villainous role in Looney Tunes: Back in Action where he was hired by the Acme chairman, Mr. Chairman (Steve Martin), to finish DJ (Brendan Fraser) and the gang at Area 52, so Marvin frees himself by using his Acme Disingrated Gun. At Acme Corporation, Mr. Chairman ordered Marvin to put the Blue Monkey diamond in the Acme satellite. Bugs and Daffy take a spaceship to prevent Marvin from putting the Blue Monkey in the satellite. First, Marvin battles Bugs and Daffy at the spaceship. At the Acme satellite, Marvin uses his Acme Bubble Gun to incapacitate Bugs. At the battle, Bugs uses his lightsaber to pop Marvin's bubbles. During the battle, Marvin gets Bugs stuck by his bubble and defeats Daffy Duck, but Bugs frees himself. In the end, Marvin gets stuck in his own bubble.
In July of 2008, Warner Bros. has announced plans to produce a live-action/CGI film starring Marvin, about him trying to destroy the earth, but getting stuck in a gift box.
Green Arrow has been known to call the Martian Manhunter, his frequent Justice League teammate, "Marvin".
The writer George Burden humorously notes that Marvin is certifiably insane:
"Now, Marvin the Martian is an interesting study. He has a one-track megalomaniacal desire to conquer the world and will calmly disintegrate anyone who gets in his way, without remorse. He is clearly delusional if he believes that, even with advanced technology, he can do this single-handedly (or, at most, with the help of his dog).
"Marvin most likely suffers from a psychotic disorder, delusional disorder of the grandiose type, diagnostic code 297.1. His dog on the other hand shares his master's delusion in that he slavishly follows him despite Marvin's illness and clearly should be labelled a shared psychotic disorder (folie à deux), 297.3."
Marvin the Martian also had an early concept of color. He helmet and green circle that surround him used to be goldish and he used to wear a green shirt and green pants. /marvin.html A Marvin fan site]
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