Marvin the Martian

Marvin the Martian (or Marvin Martian) is a fictional character appearing in the Looney Tunes cartoons. more...

Animation director Chuck Jones noted that while Bugs' major enemy, Yosemite Sam was loud and violent, he was obviously no threat. more...

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. He 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 "Hareway 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." (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 never named in the original shorts, but decades later when the character attracted merchandizing interest he obviously needed a name, so the current one was selected.

Currently, he appears on two recent animated shows on Cartoon Network - as a toddler in Baby Looney Tunes, and as Martian Commander X-2 in the Duck Dodgers television series. In the latter, he works for Queen Tyrani, whom he has a crush on. Over a decade prior to that, he guest-starred in a Tiny Toon Adventures segment titled "Duck Dodgers Jr.", where he was accompanied by an apprentice named Marcia the Martian. He was also in a Taz-Mania episode and did a cameo in The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries ("What's the Frequency, Kitty?").

Marvin was also cast as the 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 to finish DJ and the gang at Area 52, so Marvin frees himself by using his Acme disingrated gun. At Acme Corporation, 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 incompacitate 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.

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 ý deux), 297.3."

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