Marceline

Marceline, the Vampire Queen (full name: Marceline Abadeer) is a fictional half-demon, half-vampire from the cartoon Adventure Time With Finn and Jake.

Marceline is a fun-loving and playful 1,000-year-old vampire queen. Unlike a traditional vampire, Marceline does not need to drink blood to survive; rather, she consumes the color red, or other similar tints. Marceline is also an avid musician who plays an electric bass guitar, which she crafted from her family's heirloom battle-axe. As of "Come Along With Me", Marceline and Princess Bubblegum have resumed their romantic relationship and is currently Bonnibel's girlfriend again.

Appearance[]

She has light blue skin and jet-black hair down to her ankles. She has a permanent bite mark on her neck. She wears a gray tank top, jeans, and tall, maroon-brown boots in her first appearance. In her second appearance, she sports a short black dress with a dark pink band spread across the waist. Also with purple and gray striped tights with red heels. In her third appearance, Marceline has her hair in a hanging pony tail with a red and black striped long sleeved shirt. With worn out jeans and blue flip flops. She drinks shades of red and sometimes blood. She eventually gets her hair cut into a shorter style.

Personality[]

A mischievous and hip rocker personality, she is just like your average teen. She has a strained relationship with her father and is a gifted musician.

80px-Marceline2 — Marceline as seen in Season 1

Having spent centuries traversing the Land of Ooo, she has evolved into a "fearless daredevil", and her fondness for mischief has turned her into something of a trickster. Consequently, in her first role, Marceline functions as the antagonist of the story, forcing Finn and Jake from their home. However, she eventually becomes their close friend once Finn recognizes that she is "a radical dame who likes to play games".

It is implied that some of her more malevolent traits are solely based on her vampire instincts. In "Red Starved", Marceline slowly becomes vicious and sinister after having been deprived of food, trying to tempt Jake so that she could eat him. In "Vamps About", Marceline was fine with Peppermint Butler creating weapons meant to kill her as a contingency, stating that she could have snapped and killed everyone at any given time.

She can also be sentimental. She was very emotionally attached to her teddy bear Hambo, which was given to her by Simon Petrikov; after Ash sold it to Maja, she was furious and broke up with him. Later, Princess Bubblegum got Hambo back in the episode "Sky Witch". However, she was willing to give up Hambo in order to help Simon reconnect with his fiancée, Betty Grof.

Marceline seems to be very emotional. For example, in "What Was Missing", she seemed to be more aggressive towards Princess Bubblegum than she usually is. She is also very independent, and in early episodes would often act without concern for Finn or his friends. It is easier for Marceline to express her feelings through music, as seen in the "Fry Song" and "I'm Just Your Problem," but has trouble expressing them otherwise. She keeps a diary that she uses for inspiration for songs as seen in "Marceline's Closet." When Marceline sang the words to "Remember You", from the letter that Simon Petrikov wrote for her, she began to cry.

Near the end of "The Dark Cloud", her personality changed slightly. Marceline had learned how to be more mature which is proved by her accepting her immortality, by stating that she will be able to hang out with Princess Bubblegum forever. She also learned how to be more empathetic to others too. However, it is still unknown if she got over her emptiness in the end. In Obsidian, which takes place several years after the series finale, Marceline has grown to be a much more emotionally mature person, while still retaining her playfulness.

"The Star"[]

The Star is an alternate version of Marceline from a timeline where she and the Vampire King had conquered Ooo. Unlike her counterpart in the main universe, this version of her is truly evil and loyal to the Vampire King's inner circle.

In her dimension, this version of Marceline never had Simon Petrikov to raise her under his wing due to the fact he was killed by vampires, not having the crown to protect him. She was instead taken by the Vampire King, who raised and trained her into his loyal ward. Marceline had later become a vampire some time before being feared by the citizens of Ooo, and was dubbed "The Star".

During "Casper & Nova", Cake casually mentions to Marshall Lee of how in her and Fionna's multiversal travel that his counterpart was trying to kill Gary's counterpart. This revelation shocked him.

Relationships[]

Finn and Jake[]

Marceline has a close relationship with Finn and Jake. Marceline and Finn have many things in common with one another; in the episodes "Evicted" and "Henchman," it is stated that the reason Marceline befriended Finn is that he enjoys being himself. Although she has kissed Finn platonically on the cheek twice, Ward has noted that there is no romantic subtext between the two. On the other hand, Marceline and Jake share a more complex relationship. In her initial appearances, she derived pleasure from scaring Jake, who was terrified "of her vampire bite". In turn, Jake felt that she was evil and had managed to take over Finn's mind. Due to this, Jake attempted to kill her several times, to no avail. However, after the events of "Henchman," Jake seems to have forgotten his fear of her; in "Memory of a Memory," he even refers to her as a "friend" in one of her memories.

Princess Bubblegum[]

At the start of the series, Marceline shares a tense relationship with Princess Bubblegum. However, as the show has gone on, their relationship has been fleshed out and changed. Marceline was the first person to address Bubblegum by her first name—Bonnibel—which occurred in the episode "Go With Me". Their connections are explored further in the season three episode "What Was Missing". In the episode, Marceline's song "I'm Just Your Problem" and the dialogue between her and Bubblegum implied that they may have had some sort of relationship in the past, although the exact details surrounding the nature of the relationship were not explained. This later caused an internet controversy over Marceline's sexual orientation. However, after the events of "What Was Missing", Marceline and Bubblegum's relationship seems to have gotten better, as the two spend quality time together in "Sky Witch", "Varmints", Stakes, and "Broke His Crown" and are seen having a strong bond. In the series finale, "Come Along with Me", Marceline and Bubblegum express their romantic feelings for one another and kiss, and the episode's epilogue shows the two seemingly as a happy couple. In the episode "Obsidian" of the spin-off series Distant Lands, set some years later (Finn is shown as an adult man in the episode), Marceline and Bubblegum are depicted as living together in Marceline's cave and are in an explicitly romantic relationship with each other. The episode also confirms that they had previously been in a relationship and a break-up is shown through flashbacks.

Marcy and her father[]

Marceline and her father, Hunson Abadeer, have trouble accepting one another. Initially, Marceline believes her father does not care for her and expresses her feelings through the before-mentioned "Fry Song." Although they admit to loving each other, Abadeer constantly pressures Marceline to follow in the family business and take over ruling the Nightosphere, a prospective job Marceline does not want.

Marceline's mother, Elise, died centuries before the series and is depicted only in flashbacks. In "Everything Stays", Elise and a young Marceline are shown living together in a trailer in the desert. In "Obsidian" it is revealed that Elise tried to take Marceline to a fallout bunker but succumbed to illness on the way, leaving Marceline alone. Marceline believed that her mother had abandoned her until she finds a recording from Elise apologizing.

Marcy and Simon[]

Marceline and the Ice King also have a complicated relationship. In the episode "I Remember You," it is revealed that the Ice King—then the human man named Simon Petrikov—discovered her crying in the ruins of a city destroyed by the Mushroom Wars. It was Simon who gave little Marceline, Hambo and attempted to watch over her. This kind gesture made the Ice King a long-time close friend and father figure to Marceline. However, as the crown's power increased, Simon began to forget more and more about his relationship with Marceline until he had all but forgotten their friendship. Former storyboard artist and showrunner for the series Adam Muto explained that Marceline and the Ice King's history was not part of the series' initial plan but something that "evolved from [the show's] original course and it will likely continue to evolve in the future." The Distant Lands spin-off shows that Simon eventually regains himself and maintains a close relationship with Marceline.

Abilities[]

From her demonic father, Marceline inherited the power to absorb people's souls and minor control over fire as shown in "Evicted!"'s first look at the Fire Kingdom and her use on candles. It was also implied by her Farmworld counterpart that her half-demon nature extended her natural lifespan, as Farmworld Marceline was able to survive for at least 1000 years, albeit old and withered.
After absorbing the essence of several powerful vampires, Marceline gained several supernatural powers. From The Fool she gained the power to fly; from The Empress the ability to turn invisible; from The Hierophant she gained the power to shape-shift (e.g. taking the form of a bat, a wolf, a reptilian creature, a large tentacled monster and she can even copy the form of other creatures if she has time to study them); and from The Moon, the ability to rapidly heal.
Marceline is immortal, youthful, and unaging as a vampire and as long as she's not contacted by any form of typical weakness that can kill vampires, she could live both forever and eternity.
She lit up all the candles in Finn and Jake's house with a wave of her fingers.
She can move things using her mind. She probably obtained this power from Vampire King, but this hasn't been confirmed.
Marceline can raise the undead to serve her.
She can fire red energy beams from her arms that are able to restrain people.
As a result of absorbing the Vampire King's dark cloud half, she can now communicate with a miniature mental projection of him. During the turmoil of the Gum War, Marceline was able to releases the vampiric essence she absorbed from the Vampire King, transforming into a similar black, cloud-like form. In this state she was powerful enough to defeat one of the creatures created by GOLB.
According to Ward, she is ambidextrous, which explains her ability to play bass with both hands.
Marceline is a very talented musician and songwriter, and is proficient at singing and playing her basses.
The Nightosphere Amulet: When worn the wearer gains the ability to shoot green lasers which either vaporize or transform whatever they hit. They can also create or transform into a large cloud of blood mist.
Marceline is capable of consuming the color red from an object she bites, while the object itself remains physically unharmed.

Weaknesses[]

Like many vampires, Marceline is vulnerable to direct sunlight. So far, it's unknown if she can be harmed by wooden stakes or garlic, since the garlic knocked away her parasol, exposing her to sunlight rather than actually causing damage to her itself. And Marceline was never actually stabbed with a wooden stake to see if it would actually harm her.

Trivia[]

Every outfit Marceline wears in the show has at least one red article of clothing in it (potentially so she has something to eat in an emergency to avoid going feral). The only exception to this is the outfit she wears in the episode "Red Starved."
Marceline and Jake are the only people known to have called Princess Bubblegum by her first name: Bonnibel.
Marceline is almost always seen wearing a tank top or some sort of shirt that exposes her arms and shoulders.
- This is rather odd, considering her vulnerability to sunlight.
Marceline does not appear in the Pilot episode with most of the other main characters, although she is still considered one. This is because she did not exist at the time the pilot was made.
In "Evicted!", Marceline appears in the realm of fire without burning herself, probably due to her being undead.
Despite being a skilled bass player, she does not know what a quaver is.
Marceline is ambidextrous like Finn.
- Marceline plays the bass guitar with both hands, often switching hand positions while floating depending where she is in the air. She most often plays with her right hand.
Her bass is strung and strapped for a right-handed individual. When Marceline plays left-handed, she's playing the bass upside-down. However, the animators are inconsistent regarding the handedness for which the bass is made.
She has a zombie poodle named Schwabl.
Marceline's name is based on Pendleton Ward's friend, Marie, whose middle name is Marceline. Pen described Marie as someone who likes the horror movie Psycho and dark clothing.
Marceline has a genderbent counterpart named Marshall Lee.
She is the most difficult character to work with for Jesse Moynihan.[citation needed]
She also plays basketball, as seen in "Simon & Marcy".
In "The Duke", Marceline is seated along with the other royals at the Grand Meeting of Ooo Royalty, showing that her status as vampire queen is recognized by the kingdoms of Land of Ooo.
Marceline's last name may constitute as an homage to the real-life city Aberdeen, Washington which is known for being a "tough" town and the hometown of Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain.
Marceline is the boss of Red Rock Pass in Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd you steal our garbage?!!
According to the note she left on her door in "Marceline's Closet", she gets lucid dreams when she eats tomatoes.
In "Princess Day", it is shown that sunblock can protect Marceline from the sun. In "Marceline the Vampire Queen", it is shown that she uses "Spf 10,000,000."
In the Art of Ooo book, it is confirmed that Marceline is older than Princess Bubblegum, who is 827 years old according to Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW!
In the episode "Skyhooks," Marceline has a candy form called Marshmaline the Campfire Queen.
Marceline has retrieved most of her powers from consuming the souls of previously slain vampires.
In the miniseries Stakes, Marceline has several flashbacks that show her encounters with the Ultra Vampires she continues to slay. Both The Hierophant and the Vampire King remind her of a price she must pay for her powers, or there would be grand consequences. The obvious price is renouncing the ability to live in the sun, but some have theorized the true cost is being forced to watch everyone she cares about wither away as the result of her immortality. The consequence for not paying the price is heavily implied to be the side effect of Magic: Madness, and Sadness, a concept researched by Betty Grof.
- Magic, Madness, and Sadness is the concept which, in short, claims that all spellcasters are cursed to suffer both madness and heartbreak, with either the former causing the latter or vice-versa.
Despite Marceline taking The Moon's powers, which allowed her to survive in sunlight, Marceline can still be burned by the sun. This is similar to her taking the power of invisibility from The Empress, but not her hypnosis, as well as her receiving no notable powers from the Vampire King, except immortality from being turned.
In Be Sweet, it is revealed that insects hide in Marceline's belly button.
Marceline is bisexual, as Princess Bubblegum is her girlfriend and she dated Ash before.
According to a post on the Frederator Blog, Marceline's dress in "Henchman" is made from Why-wolves skin. Ironically, Marceline turned into a wolf to scare Jake.
- This is also a clever nod to the concept of vampires and werewolves being common enemies in most media, as Marceline is a vampire and why-wolves share many familiarities with lycanthropes.