Marceline the Vampire Queen

Marceline the Vampire Queen is a main character in the American animated television series Adventure Time created by Pendleton Ward. She is voiced by Olivia Olson in most appearances, by Ava Acres as a child and by Cloris Leachman as an old woman. Marceline is a fun-loving 1,000-year-old trickster vampire queen. The character makes her debut in the first season episode "Evicted!" and functions as an antagonist, forcing Finn (voiced by Jeremy Shada) and Jake (voiced by John DiMaggio) from their home. However, as the series progresses, Marceline becomes a close friend of Finn and Jake. Information regarding her early life is few and far between, however, her demon-father Hunson Abadeer (voiced by Olivia's real-life father, Martin Olson) has appeared in several episodes.

The name Marceline is based on the middle name of a childhood friend of Ward's, Marie. The artistic design for Marceline was created by Ward, with small changes and additions added by Phil Rynda, former lead character designer and prop designer for Adventure Time. Unlike most vampires, Marceline does not need to drink blood to survive. Rather, she eats the color red out of objects. Marceline plays an electric bass, which she made from her family's heirloom battle-axe as revealed in "It Came from the Nightosphere".

Marceline has been critically acclaimed and is popular with fans of Adventure Time. Ward himself has stated that Marceline is his favorite character in the series because he does not know everything about her history and backstory, which he noted adds a mysterious element to her character. Despite the positivity, the episode "What Was Missing" became somewhat controversial because of an allegedly implied past relationship between Princess Bubblegum (voiced by Hynden Walch) and Marceline.

Appearances
Marceline is first introduced as the antagonist of the episode "Evicted". When Marceline tricks Finn into becoming his henchmen, Finn discovers that she is not evil, but rather fond of mischief and pranks, and the two develop a friendship. She introduces her father, Hunson Abadeer to Finn when Finn summons him from another dimension. Abadeer is the ruler of the Nightosphere—a Hell-like demon dimension—and subsists on the souls of sentient beings. While Abadeer ravages the land, Finn discovers that there is animosity between Marceline and her father. While he is distracted, Finn manages to send Abadeer back to the Nightosphere. Marceline later attempts to help Finn ask Princess Bubblegum to go to the movies. In the end, Marceline and Finn decide to go together as friends. Later, Marceline and three of her ghost friends prank Finn and Jake and pretend to turn them into vampires. When three ghosts attempt to kill them, Marceline stands up for Finn and Jake, but notes that she cannot defeat ghosts because its "like a rock, paper, scissors kind of thing". In the end, Finn and Jake are spared when they end up watching the titular movie Heat Signature with the ghosts instead.

Marceline's former love interest, Ash (voiced by Steve Agee) was revealed when Finn and Jake believe that Marceline has fallen asleep to due a sleep spell that has been self-inflicted. Following the advice of a wizard, the two enter into Marceline's mind to retrieve the "memory core" in an attempt to wake her up. However, the duo soon learn that it was an elaborate trick by Marceline's ex-boyfriend Ash ; Finn and Jake actually removed Marceline's memory of their break-up. In the end, Finn is able to convince Marceline and she promptly attacks her chauvinistic ex-boyfriend. Some past anamosity between Marceline and Princess Bubblegum was revealed when Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum, Beemo, and Marcelline form a band in order to defeat the Door Lord and recover what was stolen from them. When Finn and Jake accidentally hide from Marceline in her own closet during a game of hide-and-seek. In the end, after discovering them, Marceline notes that she hides in Finn and Jake's house all the time.

Marcelline's dad returns when he gives her an amulet that causes her to become the demonic and evil overlord of the Nightosphere. In the end, Finn saves Marceline from the amulet. Marceline admits that she wants her father to understand her. It is later revealed that The Ice King (voiced by Tom Kenny) and Marceline knew each other immediately after the events of the Mushroom War, a mysterious nuclear war that ravaged the earth one thousand years prior to events of the series. In a flashback, Simon Petrikov—the name of The Ice King before he was overcome by the evil power of his crown—gives a young Marceline her stuffed animal Hambo to cheer her up after he discovers her crying in the wreckage of a city.

When Finn wishes for an alternate reality in which the Lich never existed. This in turn causes a universe where the Mushroom War was prevented by Simon Petrikov, and Marceline never became a vampire. She appears in the episode as an extremely frail and aged half-demon, who was killed when a "mutagenic bomb" that was frozen in ice by Simon Petrikov detonates. Jake however manages to undo this reality with his wish and sets everything back to the way it was. In ""Five More Short Graybles", an episode composed of five short stories and vignettes all centered around a common theme, Marceline searches for Wizard Bill’s Music Shop in order to "buy a guitar that plays the savoriest licks in Ooo".

Other
A gender-swapped version of Marceline—named Marshall Lee—appeared in the third season episode "Fionna and Cake". This version of the character, however, only had a small cameo and no lines. It has been revealed that another Fionna and Cake is in the works for season five, and the plot will largely revolve around Marshall Lee. In addition, he will be voiced by comedian and musician Donald Glover. In April 2012, a spin-off comic series written by Meredith Gran, known particularly for her work on Octopus Pie, was announced. The comic series, titled Marceline and the Scream Queens, was initially released in July 2012 and features Marceline and Princess Bubblegum forming a band and touring around Ooo.

Creation and design
Marceline is one of the main characters in Adventure Time. Although she did not appear in the series' pilot, the groundwork for her design and character were present in the series pitch book, penned by Ward. Marceline's name is based on the name of a childhood friend of Ward's friend, named Marie, whose middle name is Marceline. Ward described Marie as someone who likes the horror movie Psycho and wearing dark clothing. Ward purposely set out to make Marceline's character complex, as he explained that "with the female characters it’s easy to either write them as clichés or write them as the extreme opposite of those clichés […] I just try to make them have faults and strengths just like Finn and Jake have." Marceline is voiced by Olivia Olson; she had originally auditioned for the role of Princess Bubblegum. After her initial audition, she was asked to read for the role of Marcelline, and was "definitely impressed by the character" after seeing design drawings. Olson also is the character's singing voice. In flashback sequences, younger Marceline is voiced by Ava Acres.

The design for Marceline was created by Ward, with small changes and additions added by Phil Rynda, former lead character designer and prop designer for Adventure Time. Visually, Marceline has long and dark hair. She rarely walks on the ground, generally preferring to float when she travels, moves, sleeps, and other things. Marceline, unlike many of the other characters, wears varying outfits in most of her appearances. According to Ward, her clothing changes from episode to episode because "girls own more than one outfit". Olson was impressed by her character stating, "she has really cool style […] I love what they come up with [in] every episode." Olson explained that when she goes in to record the voices for each episode, she is "totally surprised" by the costuming for Marceline. While she says her lines, she is able to view the animatics for the episode and sometimes has to stop to admire the unique designs. Marceline's size and body shape changes slightly depending on who is drawing her, according to Muto. Rynda later called this fact "one of the coolest parts" about the character's animation due to the fact that "every artist leaves a little bit of their own taste and sensibilities in what they draw."

Personality and traits
Marceline is a half-demon vampire, and the eponymous Vampire Queen, after having killed the previous Vampire King, according to Ward. Although she is at least 1,000 years old, she appears in the form of an 18 to 21 year old. In addition, the circumstances surrounding her transformation into a vampire are unknown. In her first role, Marceline functions as the antagonist of the story, forcing Finn and Jake from their home. However, as the series progressed, she became a close friend to the two. Ward later explained in an interview that she is not a villain. Marceline enjoys playing music; in several official sources, she is described as "a wild rocker girl". Several times throughout the series, she jams with Finn and Jake, and various others depending on the circumstances. She is usually shown playing her axe bass, which was formerly her family's heirloom battle axe. According to Ward, she is ambidextrous, which explains her ability to play bass with both hands.

Marceline does not need to drink blood to survive. Rather, she only needs to eat the color red out of various objects. Due to this, blood is only appealing to her because it is red. However, Ward has noted that she does occasionally indulge in her thirst for blood. Like a traditional vampire, she is vulnerable to sunlight and is capable of turning into a bat of varying size. Marceline also possesses several powers, such as levitation, pyrokinesis, psychokinesis, invisibility, self-healing, and the ability to shape-shift into various paranormal creatures. In "Return to the Nightosphere" and "Daddy's Little Monster", it is revealed that her father desired her to become the next ruler of the Nightosphere. However she does not want to take up the position. She is also a survivor of the Mushroom War. Hints of her past are sprinkled through the series; in "Memory of a Memory" a trip into Marceline's mind shows her as a child wandering around the outskirts of a destroyed city, and "I Remember You" features her meeting Simon Petrikov in a ruined city.

Marceline's wandering of the Land of Ooo has made her into a fearless daredevil. Her fondness for mischief and fun has turned her into a trickster. Although appearing hostile at first, Finn soon realizes that she is "a radical dame who likes to play games". She was very emotionally attached to her teddy bear Hambo, which was given to her by a still-human Simon Petrikov, as revealed in the episode "I Remember You". In "Memory of a Memory", after Ash sold the teddy bear to a witch, Marceline was furious and broke up with him. Although she is very independent, she often feels alone, as depicted in "Marceline's Closet". While Jake and Finn are hiding in her closet, she expresses most of her feeling via the writings of her 500 year-old diary. She often finds it easier to express her feelings through music, as seen with songs like the "Fry Song", about her father, and "I'm Just Your Problem", about her relationship with Princess Bubblegum.

Relationships
Marceline has a close relationship with Finn and Jake. Marceline and Finn have many things in common with with one another; in the episode "Evicted" and "Henchman" it is stated that the reason Marceline befriended Finn is because he simply 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". Jake, in turn, 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.

Marceline shares a rocky relationship with Princess Bubblegum. Initially, in the series bible, the two were described as "friendly rivals" competing for Finn's attention. However, as the show has gone on, their relationship has been fleshed out and changed. Marceline is the only person to ever 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 there 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.

Marceline and her father, Hunson Abadeer, have trouble accepting one another. Initially, Marceline feels that her father does not care for, 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 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 to Marceline. However, as the crown's power increased, The Ice King began to forget more and more about his relationship with Marceline, until he had all but forgotten their friendship.

Reception
Marceline has attracted positive critical attention. Oliver Sava October of The A.V. Club praised that the fact that she is one "of this show’s most tragic characters". Susana Polo of The Mary Sue referred to the character as "one of the radder characters" in the series. Cam Shea of IGN named Marceline's introduction in "Evicted!" as the fourth best moment in the series' first season. He wrote that "sure, in this episode she evicts Finn and Jake from their home […] but hey, this is the first time we meet her and she's awesome." He later wrote that "Marceline = best [sic]". Due to her popularity, CartoonNetwork.co.uk named her "Character of the Week" on January 24, 2012.

The production crew of Adventure Time are also pleased with the character. Ward has stated several times that Marceline is his favorite character because he does not "know everything about her character yet", which he finds "mysterious [and] cool". Rynda claimed that Marceline was probably his favorite character in the series because "she's just really fun to draw." Marceline is also particularly popular with the Adventure Time fan base, and after the release of "Evicted!" her popularity grew enormously. Ward later noted that he felt "good about that. It's nice". The character's popularity has been recognized by the company that owns Adventure Time. In fact, the official press release for the Adventure Time: Marceline and the Scream Queens companion comic book referred to the character as a "fan-favorite".

The episode "What Was Missing" became somewhat controversial because of an allegedly implied past relationship between Marceline and Princess Bubblegum. The accompanying "Mathematical" video recap caused more controversy about these implied lesbian relations between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline by making it seem as if the writing staff actively seeks input from fans. This incident was addressed by the show's producer, Fred Seibert, who said that "in trying to get the show’s audience involved we got wrapped up by both fan conjecture and spicy fanart and went a little too far." Soon after, the video recap and the entire channel was pulled off of YouTube, although "What Was Missing" still airs. Ward later addressed the issuing and gave a more neutral view, saying, "there were so many extreme positions taken on it all over the Internet, and it happened so quickly. I don’t really want to comment on it because of that, because there were so many extreme sides taken. It was a big hullaballoo."