Animation director Chuck Jones noted that while Bugs' enemy, Yosemite Sam was loud and violent, Bugs soon learned to outwit Sam at every turn and he was obviously no threat (a similar problem plagued the Elmer Fudd character). 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, nasal voice, but later the Martian adopted an accent resembling Received Pronunciation.
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 Hareway to the Stars, being freeze-dried Martians that become full-size on addition of drops of water).
Marvin the Martian, Mars Exploration Rover Mission patch
Marvin wears 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.
Marvin Faces off Against Duck Dodgers
Marvin Faces off Against Duck Dodgers
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 dwarf 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 Mel Blanc, and in recent years has been voiced by Joe Alaskey, Bob Bergen and Eric Goldberg. Other cartoon actors, like Dan Castellaneta, provide the voice of Marvin if it is a cameo appearance or parody of the character.
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 merchandising 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 in the Duck Dodgers television series. In the latter, he works for the Martian Queen, Queen Tyr'ahnee, whom he has a crush on. The latter reuses 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). 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 appeared in the game Bugs Bunny Lost in Time where he was the boss of Dimension X, and also the Mega Drive/Genesis game Taz-Mania 2: Escape From Mars, where he plays the main antagonist.
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, Mr. 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 foiled by Bugs and Daffy.
Most recently, Marvin appeared in the Looney Tunes version of A Christmas Carol, Bah, Humduck. He played 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. However, Daffy wouldn't let him take Christmas off, and demanded he, and the other Lucky Duck employees work on Christmas day. After being visited by the Christmas ghosts, Daffy changes his ways, and gives Marvin a rocket that will go faster than the speed of light, allowing him to make to Mars by yesterday.
In nearly all of his appearances, Marvin is shown using a small pistol that fires either bubbles of pliable plastic or energy beams.
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