Marvin the Martian, one of Looney Toon’s most popular characters made his film debut 75 years ago in Hareball Hare on July 24, 1948. He was originally voiced by the late, great Mel Blanc (1908-1989), but has since had 13 different voice actors. The character was created by Chuck Jones. Since 1948 he has appeared in several TV shows, films, and video games.

Here’s his first appearance. Say hello to Marvin the Martian and his dog K-9, who amusingly also wore the same pushbroom-decorated Martian helmet, ill-fitting pleated kilt, and red and white track shoes.

Marvin was too good a character to only be in one cartoon, so naturally he came back. Most famously in the 1953 short, Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century, which Michael Garibaldi on Babylon 5 described as one of his favorite things in the universe. When Duck Dodgers was revived as a TV series from 2003-2005, Marvin came back, too, as Dodgers’ arch-enemy, Commander X-2, the adoring servant of the Martian Queen Tyr’ahnee. Being a red-blooded American duck, naturally Duck Dodgers had to fight tyranny wherever he found it in the galaxy, no matter how it was spelled.

Marvin appeared in five theatrical cartoons from 1948 to 1963, although he hadn’t been named yet. He didn’t get the name Marvin until 1979 in The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie.

• Haredevil Hare (1948)
• The Hasty Hare (1952)
• Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (1953)
• Hare-Way to the Stars (1958)
• Mad as a Mars Hare (1963)
• Marvin the Martian would later appear in Tiny Toons Adventures, Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas (2006), Space Jam (1996), and Space Jam 2 (2021). Marvin also appeared in Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003). Although Marvin is a Warner Bros. character, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) is a Disney movie, Marvin the Martian did have a cameo in Roger Rabbit.

Marvin the Martian’s best-known, most quoted line is: “Where’s the ka-boom? There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering ka-boom.” For the past 3/4 of a century, Marvin has been trying to destroy the Earth, because we block his view of Venus. However, Bugs Bunny and/or Daffy Duck always overcome him.

Marvin the Martian is sometimes accompanied and assisted by Gossamer, a large hairy monster, and sometimes by his niece, Marcia.

Recent Cartoons

• Bugs Bunny’s Bustin’ Out All Over (1980)
• Spaced Out Bunny (1980)
• Bugs Bunny’s Lunar Tunes (1991)
• The Man from M.A.R.S. (1993)
• Another Froggy Evening (1995)
• Superior Duck (1996)
• Animaniacs (1995-1998)
• Tweety’s High-Flying Adventure ( (2000)
• The Looney Tunes Show (TV Series) (2011)
• Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run (2015)
• New Looney Tunes (TV Series)
• The live-action movie Gravity (2013) almost has a Marvin the Martian cameo. One of the characters has a Marvin the Martian plush toy.

Video Games & Amusement Parks

Marvin the Martian starred in the amusement park attraction in Marvin the Martian in the 3rd Dimension, also called Marvin the Martian in 3D, at Drayton Manor Resort in England, Warner Bros. Movie World in Australia and Germany, and Six Flags Great America in the USA,

He has appeared in many video games. According to Wikipedia: ” he served as the main antagonist in the Genesis video games Taz in Escape from Mars and Bugs Bunny in Double Trouble, the Super NES game Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions, and the Game Boy Color game Looney Tunes Collector: Alert!. He also appeared in Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time for the PlayStation where he was the boss of Dimension X, and in the final level of Sheep, Dog, ‘n’ Wolf. He is also a recurring enemy in the Quantum Beep stages of Road Runner’s Death Valley Rally for Super NES. He also was an enemy in Looney Tunes: Back in Action. He is also a playable character in Looney Tunes: Space Race, Looney Tunes: Marvin Strikes Back! Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal, and MultiVersus.”

Voice Actors

Marvin the Martian has had fourteen voices actors over the years. Some voiced him for years, some for only one project. It’s quite an honor roll. Here are the actors:

Special thanks to Bill Leff for his help with this article.

Happy Birthday, Marvin. Here’s looking forward to the next 75 years.

Susan Macdonald

Susan Macdonald is the author of the children’s book “R is for Renaissance Faire”, as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in “Alternative Truths”, “Swords and Sorceress #30”, Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, “Cat Tails” “Under Western Stars”, and “Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid”. Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio’s web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions,  Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.