The character first appeared as an antagonist in the 1948 Bugs Bunny cartoon Haredevil Hare.[1] He went on to appear in four more cartoons produced between 1952 and 1963.[2]
Conception and creation
Marvin's design was based on the Hoplite style of armor usually worn by the Roman god Mars. "That was the uniform that Mars wore — that helmet and skirt. We thought putting it on this ant-like creature might be funny. But since he had no mouth, we had to convey that he was speaking totally through his movements. It demanded a kind of expressive body mechanics."[3]
Marvin was never named in the original shorts – he was referred to as the Commander of Flying Saucer X-2 in The Hasty Hare in 1952, and sometimes referred to as "Antwerp" in promotional material or other projects like the live stage show version of Bugs Bunny in Space. However, in 1979, once the character attracted merchandising interest, the name "Marvin" was selected for The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie.[4]
Marvin appeared in five theatrical cartoons from 1948 to 1963:
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 (1958), being candy-sized "Instant Martians" that become full-size on addition of drops of water).
Marvin wears a Roman soldier's uniform, with basketball shoes resembling the Chuck Taylor All-Stars brand. The helmet and skirt that he wears are green and his suit is red (in a few of the original shorts, his suit was green and the helmet and skirt golden). His head is a black sphere with only eyes for features. The curved crest of his helmet appears, with the push-broom-like upper section, to comically resemble the helm of an ancient Greek hoplite, or the galea of a Roman centurion. The appearance of the combination of Marvin's head and helmet led to Bugs Bunny referring to him as a "bowling ball wearing a spittoon" in one short. Marvin speaks with a soft, nasally voice, and often speaks technobabble. He is also known for his trademark quotes "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." (which is usually followed by him huffing and puffing). His voice sounds similar to the one used for Claude Cat.
On numerous occasions, Marvin has tried to destroy the Earth with his "Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator" (sometimes pronounced "Illudium Pu-36" or "Uranium Pu-36").[39] The original reference to "Uranium Pu-36" was changed to "Illudium PU-36" in subsequent cartoons. The "Pu" is a reference to plutonium. Marvin always laboriously over-pronounces the name of the device, which resembles a stick of dynamite, in order to avoid any possibility of confusing it with some other similar form of explosive technology.[40] Marvin attempts to destroy the Earth because, he reasons, "it obstructs my view of Venus"; he has been trying to destroy the Earth for more than two millennia, suggesting that members of his species, and possibly Martian creatures in general, have extremely long lifespans. Marvin is consistently foiled by Bugs Bunny. He has battled for space territory, Planet X, with Daffy Duck, a.k.a. Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century.
In Baby Looney Tunes, Baby Marvin shares a lot of similarities with his adult counterpart. His helmet, however, sports a propeller rather than a push-broom. Also, his shoes are smaller in proportion. He appears in the episode entitled War of the Weirds as a visitor to Granny's house. Throughout most of the episode, he is nonverbal as he is too shy to talk to the babies; he fidgets and mumbles when Baby Bugs and Baby Taz try to talk to him. He tries to make friends, but he is shunned and ridiculed by the babies (except for Baby Taz) for being "weird". The babies still shun and play tricks on him, until he cries. Baby Taz courageously befriends him and speaks on his behalf. He fixes Baby Bugs' broken toy rocket and is able to talk when Baby Bugs offered to play his toy. The babies feel guilty for being unfriendly and they eventually befriend him. He is mainly featured in the song Oh Where Has My Martian Gone? (based on the children's song "Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?"), and made appearances in a few other music videos.
In Duck Dodgers, he is a Martian commander in service of the Martian Queen Tyr'ahnee. This show reused his original name from The Hasty Hare (although the opening credits list him as Marvin playing Commander X-2, in the same way as Daffy is playing Duck Dodgers).
Marvin the Martian appears in The Looney Tunes Show episode "Reunion" and appeared in the "Merrie Melodies" short "I'm a Martian", voiced by Eric Bauza. Here, he is described as a former classmate of Daffy's who has been plotting to destroy Earth since graduation. The episode also has a flashback, in which it is revealed that the yellow headdress on the top of his helmet is actually his hair, showing that in high school (before he started wearing the helmet) he kept it down.
Over a decade prior to any of these, he guest-starred in a Tiny Toon Adventures segment titled "Duck Dodgers Jr.", where he was accompanied by an apprentice named Marcia the Martian.
Marvin also made appearances on Animaniacs, notably in the Mindy and Buttons short subject, "Cat on a Hot Steel Beam" (which also featured the cute kitten Pussyfoot) and in "Star Warners", along with his dog K-9, and most recently in a MetLife commercial.
Cartoon Network also created a 2-minute filler piece featuring Marvin, entitled "Mars Forever" by Fantastic Plastic Machine. It's a disco-style video combining clips of Marvin and Bugs Bunny from their encounters in "Haredevil Hare", "Hare-Way to the Stars", as well as bits of "Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century" and "Rocket-Bye Baby".
Marvin was also cast as the referee in Space Jam (though he did not stay to referee the whole game due to Bupkus beating him up), and then later had a major role in Looney Tunes: Back in Action where he was hired by the ACME chairman (Steve Martin), to finish DJ (Brendan Fraser) and the gang at Area 52. In the film's climax, he reappears to bring the Blue Monkey diamond to the ACME satellite, but is thwarted by Bugs (who he duels in a parody of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jango Fett in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones) and Daffy (who arrives as Duck Dodgers to save Bugs after he is exhausted from the battle).
Marvin appeared in the Looney Tunes version of A Christmas Carol, Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas as an employee at Daffy Duck's "Lucky Duck Super Store". Marvin was homesick for his planet, Mars, and wanted to go back for Christmas (but also mentions that he is planning to destroy the Earth as well). At first, Daffy does not let him take Christmas off, since he expects the employees to work on Christmas Day. After being visited by the abrasive yet well-intentioned Christmas ghosts, Daffy is redeemed, and as part of a surprise Christmas celebration, gives Marvin a rocket that will go faster than the speed of light, allowing him to make it to Mars by yesterday.
Marvin is the main antagonist in Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run. In the film, he plots to turn the Earth invisible and sends his henchman Cecil Turtle (who posed as a government agent) and a pair of disguised Instant Martians to get Lola Bunny's perfume which is able to turn anything invisible. However, his plan is fooled by Bugs Bunny, who gets Marvin to accidentally destroying his lair (and Mars as a whole).
In nearly all of his appearances, Marvin is shown using a raygun that fires either bubbles of pliable plastic or energy beams, and he is seen in Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century, with Gossamer, a hairy red monster, as his assistant.
Marvin made a brief cameo in the 2003–2007 CN Fridays intro.
Marvin is a minor character in Space Jam: A New Legacy, voiced by Eric Bauza, where he appears alongside K-9 after Bugs claims Tune World in the name of the Earth. Marvin arrives to claim Tune World in the name of Mars, though Bugs tricks him into thinking that Tune World is in the clear. Bugs hijacks Marvin's ship and retreats with LeBron James to find the other Tunes. A recurring gag is that Marvin gets knocked out by the hatch of his ship everytime he regains consciousness.
Marvin appears in the preschool series Bugs Bunny Builders, debuting in the episode Blast Off.
Marvin appears as a playable character in the video game Multiversus as a projectile based character who uses his rayguns and a Martian ship that fires rockets.
The launch patch for the Spirit Mars Rover, featuring Marvin the Martian.
Marvin's likeness appears in miniature on the Spirit rover on Mars as well as on the mission launch patch.[41]
Marvin appears in the South Park episode "Imaginationland Episode III". Here, he marches among myriad other evil fictional characters to battle against the surviving good characters along with an evil-eyed Gossamer and a possibly rabid Wile E. Coyote.
He appears in the FBI lineup with other TV aliens in "The Springfield Files", an episode of The Simpsons, wearing a purple helmet and skirt. He also appears in the episode "Love Is a Many-Splintered Thing" where he was shown in a fighting video game, Mixed Martian Arts.[42]
He appeared in 1993 Nike commercial as the antagonist who had stolen all of the Earth's supply of Michael Jordan Air Jordan sneakers, and both Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan defeat him and his instant Martians to reclaim the shoes.
In a deleted scene on the Futurama episode "That Darn Katz!", Marvin is seen as a student in Mars University.
An early cover art proposal for Big Black's 1986 Atomizer album, eventually discarded due to legal problems, included Marvin pointing a raygun at the Earth.[43]
Marvin makes a cameo appearance in the 1988 feature film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, set in 1947, even though his first cartoon appearance was during the following year.
Rapper Lil' Wayne references the characters at the beginning of his verse in the 2009 song "Forever" where he says, "Okay, hello it's the Martian, Space Jam Jordan's". He references the shoes Marvin wears in the 1996 film Space Jam, which also starred NBA player Michael Jordan.
Marvin also makes a cameo appearance in episode 14 of the cartoon series Animaniacs when Buttons reaches the moon.
The Illudium PU-36 explosive space modulator is referenced in several songs, including T-Pain's "Time Machine," as well as Ludacris's "Mouthing Off."
In the pilot episode of the TV series Weird Science, Lisa comments that she would have a lot more power had Wyatt installed a "Neutronian space modulator" before her creation.
In the Pinky and the Brain episode "Star Warners", Marvin was briefly shown on a date with Minerva Mink. K-9 is sleeping next to them.
Marvin briefly appears in Diane Duane's 2010 novel A Wizard of Mars, when one of the main characters gets caught in a spell that brings their stereotypes of Mars into existence.
Marvin appeared in a MAD News segment, letting his sink run water on Mars.
Reach Records artist PRo referenced Marvin the Martian and the space modulator in his song "Mission to Mars" from His 2011 album "Dying to Live".
In the Young Justice episode "Secrets," Miss Martian takes on the form of a gigantic Marvin the Martian to scare a teenager (coincidentally, also named Marvin) who is committing a War of the Worlds-style prank.
In 2009 Bi-Mart Membership stores in Oregon sold University of Oregon vs. University of Southern California buttons featuring Marvin the Martian as the Trojan "Mascot."
In a MetLife commercial that aired during the 2012 Super Bowl, Marvin made a cameo in the ad.
In Peter David's 1991 Star Trek novel The Rift, the Calligarians have a device called "The Illidium Pew-36 Explosive Space Modulator," a direct reference to Marvin's Earth-shattering device.
A figurine of Marvin appears on the space shuttle in the film Gravity.
Marvin appears in the 1995 film Clueless when Travis tells Tai that he wants to cover his skateboard with pictures of Marvin, and she says she can draw him.[44]
Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio frequently wore a Marvin the Martian T-shirt onstage between 1993 and 1997.[45]
Marvin from Daddy Day Care (2003) frequently wears a Marvin the Martian T-shirt.
Xenia Rubinos's 2013 Magic Trix album cover features a naked person sitting in a chair with Marvin's head overlying theirs.[48]
In the 2016 video game Titanfall 2, there is a banner design titled "Where's the Kaboom?" that depicts a robot called MRVN (pronounced Marvin), whose color palette is changed to mirror Marvin's, wearing his signature helmet.
When a young Hank Green would hack into early websites he would add a small image of Marvin the Martian to the webpage. Mentioned in an episode of his podcast Dear Hank and John.
Cancelled film adaptation
On July 29, 2008, Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment announced plans for a live action/animated film starring Mike Myers as the voice of Marvin and Christopher Lee as Santa Claus. The film would have involved Marvin trying to destroy the Earth during Christmas by becoming a competitor of Santa Claus but being prevented from accomplishing his goal when Santa wraps him inside a gift box. Alcon compared the project to other films such as Racing Stripes and My Dog Skip.[49] It was initially scheduled for an October 7, 2011, release, but the movie was later taken off the schedule and no word on it has been heard since. Test footage of the film and the Eddie Murphy vehicle Hong Kong Phooey was leaked on December 28, 2012.[50]
^Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 187. ISBN0-8050-0894-2.
^Differences of opinion exist regarding the correct pronunciation; Chuck Jones rendered the modulator's name as Q-36 in print in Chuck Amuck : The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist (New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1989; ISBN0-374-12348-9), p. 213.
^Adamson, Joe (1990). Bugs Bunny: 50 Years and Only One Grey Hare. Henry Holt. ISBN0-8050-1855-7
