Chuck Jones Character of the Week: Marvin the Martian

This week’s Chuck Jones Character of the Week is my personal favorite, Marvin the Martian.  Marvin first appeared in 1948’s Haredevil Hare.  Marvin’s mission in life is destroying Earth because it blocks his view of Venus.  Marvin has been the villain to both Bugs (in Hare-way to the Stars) and Daffy (in Duck Dodgers in the 24 ½ Century).   Marvin is unique in his soft-spoken, quiet ways, but had incredibly destructive and legitimately dangerous actions.Marvin is easily recognizable by his green Trojan-like helmet and skirt.  His lack of a mouth also gives him a uniqueness, meaning that the illusion of speaking had to be conveyed through movement.  Marvin’s voice and mannerisms also endeared him to generations of cartoon watchers.  Marvin also has an Acme brand disintegration gun that creates quite the villain.

Marvin has proven to be long-lived in both fiction (he has claimed multiple times to having done over two thousand years of research to create his Space Modulator) and in reality, as he has appeared in other parts of the Looney Tunes franchise, such as Space Jam.  There will even be a live action movie starring Mike Myers as Marvin being released later this year, cementing his status as one of the most lovable villains in all of science fiction.