Marceline

Marceline Abadeer (full title: Marceline the Vampire Queen)is one of the main characters in Adventure Time. Marceline is a fun-loving 1,000-year-old vampire queen. Unlike a traditional vampire, Marceline does not need to drink blood to survive; rather, she eats the color red. Marceline is also an avid musician who plays an electric bass that she made from her family's heirloom battle-axe.

Histroy

 * For storyline analysis of Marceline's history and origin see Marceline/Analysis of Marceline's origin.

Roughly a thousand years prior to the events of the series, Marceline was born to a demon lord named Hunson Abadeer and a human woman. Abadeer is the ruler of the Nightosphere —a Hell-like demon dimension—and subsists on the souls of sentient beings. Marceline's earliest depicted childhood memory is of her living in a trailer with her human mother, who recounts to her the story of how she met her father.

The Mushroom War
For some reason, Marceline was left abandoned on Earth in events during the Mushroom War, a mysterious war that ravaged the earth one thousand years prior to events of the series. During this time, Simon Petrikov—the name of the Ice King before he was overcome by the evil power of his crown—found Marceline in the ruins of a city and gave her a stuffed animal named Hambo to cheer her up; by the events of this episode, she is apparently 7 years old, as stated by Simon. The two developed a caring relationship, although the crown took a toll on Simon's mental health, forcing him to leave Marceline alone. During this period in her life, Simon presumably somehow managed to reunite Marceline with her father, only to be disgusted by his cold and heartless ways. Although she attempted to tolerate his evil and selfish antics, she eventually severed all ties with Abadeer after she discovered him eating fries that she had bought for herself.

Becoming the Vampire Queen
In the following years, Marceline roamed the land of Ooo and eventually befriended a tribe of humans. She became their guardian and ally, and she helped them kill vampires, who had taken over much of the land. Marceline soon discovered that, upon killing a vampire, she was able to acquire their unique abilities thanks to her demonic power to absorb souls. However, when she tried to fight the Vampire King himself, she was bitten. Although she eventually managed to slay him, she was turned in the process.

Roaming the Land
At some point, she began a romantic relationship with a magician named Ash. The two would move into the Tree Fort, but their relationship would come to an end after Ash sold Hambo, her most prized possession, to Maja the Sky Witch. . Presumably, around this time, Marceline befriended Princess Bubblegum, the sovereign of the Candy Kingdom; the two would often avoid official royal meetings and explore the Candy Kingdom's elaborate rock candy mining complex. Eventually, due largely to the mounting stress of running her kingdom, Bubblegum pushed Marceline away, leading to a rift between the two that lasted for a while.

Marceline eventually comes into contact with Finn and Jake when she forces them from their home. Following this, Marceline tricks Finn into becoming her accomplice. However, Finn soon discovers that Marceline is not evil, but rather fond of mischief and pranks. Soon thereafter, the two develop a friendship.

Her father, Abadeer is accidentally summoned to Ooo by Finn. While Abadeer ravages the land, Finn discovers that there is animosity between Marceline and her father. Finn manages to distract Abadeer by playing a recording of Marceline's "Fry Song", which leads to a brief moment of reconciliation between the two before Finn sends him back to the Nightosphere.

Marceline's ex-boyfriend Ash attempts to rekindle his former relationship with Marceline via trickery. Disguised as Marceline's "spirit animal", he tricks Finn and Jake into believing that Marceline has fallen asleep due to a sleep spell that has been self-inflicted. Following Ash's advice, the two enter into Marceline's mind to retrieve the "memory core" in an attempt to wake her up. Along the way, they encounter various memories of her as a child in the aftermath of the Mushroom War. However, the duo soon learn that it was an elaborate trick by 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.

Marceline's dad eventually returns and gives her an amulet that causes her to become the demonic and evil overlord of the Nightosphere. After an ordeal, Finn saves Marceline from the amulet. Marceline admits that all she wants is for her father to understand her.

Eventually Marceline enlists the help of Princess Bubblegum, and the two are able to track down Maja, the titular Sky Witch. It is revealed that Ash sold Hambo to Maja. Only when Bubblegum trades her beloved rock shirt—which was given to her by Marceline—is Hambo able to be reunited with Marceline.

After being contacted by Simon Petrikov, the Ice King's original persona who ressurfaced after he lost his powers, Marceline sacrifices Hambo so that he can open a portal into time so that Simon can reconcile with his estranged fiancee Betty. Although the two are reunited in "Betty", due to the rush of events, Marceline and Simon are unable to fully catch up before Simon reverts back to the Ice King. With that being said, the two manage to more fully reunite, and as such, manage to affirm how much they care for one another.

Having grown tired of being a vampire, Marceline allowed her friend Bonnibel Bubblegum to extract Marceline’s vampiric essence, in an attempt to make Marceline mortal once again. Unfortunately, this leads to the reemergence of five of Marceline’s most powerful vampiric foes: the Fool, the Empress, the Hierophant, the Moon, and the Vampire King himself. The reappearance of these vampires forces Marceline, Bubblegum, Finn, Jake, and Peppermint Butler to stake them one-by-one (although the Vampire King is neutralized through a scientific process that removes the vampiric essence from his body); in the ensuing action, Marceline is once again turned into a vampire, but comes to terms with her immortal fate.

Marceline is then temporarily transformed by elemental magic into "Marhsmaline the Campfire Queen" - a sentient marshmallow creature. In her candy form, Marceline is gregarious and playful, but a bit naive about the nature of the new world around her; for instance, when an enraged Flame Princess attacks her, Marceline mistakes the assault for "wrasslin". Marceline is inevitably returned to her usual self. Marceline later details her recollection of these events via highly allegorical language to BMO.

Marceline's father returns to Ooo and attends one of her concerts. While he initially embarrasses his daughter and eventually causes a ghost fight to break out, by the end of the episode, Marceline is touched that her father was willing to support her.

The Great Gum War
Marceline fights for Princess Bubblegum during the "Great Gum War", and when the chaos deity GOLB is accidentally brought into Ooo, she refuses to abandon her friend. After one of GOLB's monstrosities very nearly kills the princess, Marceline rushes to her side, and after a tender moment, the two affirm that they care for one another and then kiss. During the episode's epilogue, Marceline and Bubblegum are shown sitting together on a couch under a blanket, and they both touch heads.

Personality
Marceline is described as a wild rocker girl. Centuries of wandering the Land of Ooo have made her a fearless daredevil. She is a lover of all things exotic and still travels across the land often. She has a mischievous personality and is rarely intimidated. Despite seeming evil in her first two appearances ("Evicted!" and "Henchman"), Marceline is a trickster at heart, and her "evil plans" often turn out to be nothing more than elaborate jokes. She is described by Finn as "a radical dame who likes to play games." She loves to play pranks on Finn and Jake. She also occasionally has violent outbursts, as shown in "It Came from the Nightosphere." Though during her line in the song, in "Evicted!" she stated that she was a thousand years old and had lost her moral code.

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".

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 read the lyrics to "Remember You", the song 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 saying that she will be able to hang out with Princess Bubblegum "forever". She also said the learned how to be more empathetic to others too. Yet, it is still unknown if she got over her emptiness in the end.

Appearance
Marceline has light blue-gray skin, crooked fangs, and long, midnight black hair that reaches to her feet. She also sports two marks on her neck, which are the marks of the bite that turned her into a vampire. She also has a tongue that is forked but sometimes her tongue looks normal and it might be part of her powers since she has shape shifting powers to make her tongue look forked or normal.

Despite being over a thousand years old, her appearance and personality are that of an 18 to 20 year old.

In the episode "Go With Me", her hair is shaved into an undercut, which reveals that she has pointy ears. She is very thin and sometimes appears to be thinner than Princess Bubblegum; however, her shape can vary slightly depending on who is drawing her. She is usually floating in the air but when she stands next to the other main characters she is taller than them; however in "I Remember You", she was just at Ice King's size (or slightly shorter). In most of her transformations, she is shown to have green eyes.

Marceline's general appearance, particularly her blue-gray skin, fangs, and pointy ears, is an apparent result of her demonic heritage, and she shares all of these characteristics with her father. From Marceline's maternal side, the episode "Everything Stays" revealed that she possesses genes from a dark-skinned race, although evidently, the phenotype associated with these genes are recessive.

Clothes
Her main outfit features a dark gray tank top, dark blue pants, and red boots.

Marceline wears different outfits in most of her episode appearances. Her style seems to be punk rock or grunge with colors normally red, black, gray, and other dull colors. For example, in "Henchman," she wears a dark violet strapless dress with a dull pink sash, lilac-purple stockings with dark purple stripes and pink heels. For more information, see Marceline/Gallery.

Abilities
Marceline has many supernatural abilities, most of which she acquired by sucking the souls of vampires she had slain. She has been shown to possess the following powers:
 * Soul-sucking: Marceline stated the only power her demon heritage granted her was the ability to suck souls, like her father. This allowed her to gain the specific abilities of vampires she had killed. She can also suck out still living souls, which she demonstrated jokingly on Jake when they were hunting vampires in "Stakes".
 * Levitation: She has the ability to float and even to fly with careful control and rapid speed. She can even sleep while floating, as shown in "Marceline's Closet". She obtained this power from The Fool.
 * Pyrokinesis: She can light a fire with only her mind, as seen in "Evicted!" when she lit up all the candles in the tree-house.
 * Telekinesis: She can move things using her mind, as shown in "Evicted!" and "Daddy's Little Monster". She probably obtained this power from Vampire King.
 * Invisibility: She can turn invisible, as seen in "Heat Signature", "Bad Little Boy", "Red Starved", and "Princess Day". She obtained this power from The Empress.
 * Necromancy: She can raise spooky scary skeletons, as seen in "Henchman".
 * Rapid healing: She appears to heal quickly from injuries, at least damage from sunlight, as shown once she was returned to the shade in "Henchman". Also in "What Was Missing" she was exposed to the sunlight in this episode, she quickly retreated and the wounds healed. She obtained this power from The Moon.
 * Shape-shifting: She has the ability to shape-shift into numerous monstrous forms, including a bat, a wolf, a reptilian creature, and a large tentacled monster. She can also use this power to copy things she can see if she has time to study them, as shown in "Varmints". She obtained this power from The Hierophant.
 * Eating shades of red: Unlike traditional vampires, Marceline is capable of sustaining herself on "shades of red," such as the color in strawberries, rather than being limited to surviving on blood. She has claimed in her first appearance in "Evicted!" to "sometimes" consume blood, but this was not proved or referenced again until "Red Starved", in which she consumed the pink blood of Princess Bubblegum (who quickly revived herself with the Spoon of Prosperity). According to the note she left on her door in "Marceline's Closet", she gets lucid dreams when she eats tomatoes.
 * The Nightosphere amulet: When worn she gains the ability to shoot green lasers which either vaporize or transform whatever they hit. She can also create or transform into a large cloud of blood mist with the ability to shoot green lasers.
 * Communication with absorbed beings: As a result of absorbing the Vampire King's dark cloud half, she can now communicate with a miniature mental projection of the Vampire King.
 * Stylish Magic Clothing: Whenever she shape-shifts into a larger form, her clothes either grow with her or are torn apart explosively. At times she appears to be able to preserve her clothing, even after changing into large forms that would cause it to break: in many appearances, the clothing disappears until she returns to her humanoid form, whereas in "Sky Witch", she performs numerous transformations while still wearing her outfit. In either case, her duds always reappear when she reverts to her normal form.

Abilities

 * Bass player: She is an expert bass player.
 * Singer: She is a proficient singer.
 * Basketball player: She can play basketball and perform a slam dunk without floating.
 * Hand-to-hand combat

Weaknesses
Marceline is very vulnerable to sunlight, as is common in vampire lore, though she does not dissolve right away. The nuance to this in the Adventure Time world is that vampires are vulnerable specifically to direct sunlight. Marceline is capable of unrestricted movement on a bright sunny day provided that she shields herself sufficiently, which she usually accomplishes with a combination of a parasol and a large sunhat, sometimes with the addition of full-length gloves to cover her arms. According to Marceline, moving around on a bright day still hurts mildly, comparable to scraping her knee, but she can bear it.

Exposure to direct sunlight will cause Marceline to painfully melt into a pile of goo, though if she retreats into cover she can heal back to normal within moments. It is not clear if prolonged exposure to direct sunlight will eventually kill Marceline outright. This could be explained by her being a half-demon turned into a vampire, giving her resistance which a human-turned-vampire would lack. What type of demon her father is is still unknown.

Also like typical vampires, Marceline cannot see her own reflection in a mirror. In "Heat Signature", Marceline explains to Finn and Jake that vampires cannot defeat ghosts: "It's like a rock-paper-scissors thing". It is unknown if Marceline is negatively affected by garlic because her only known exposure to it happened when Jake pelted her in the head with large cloves of it, so the pain she experienced may have come from the impact and not the exposure. It is also unknown if Marceline can be slain with a wooden stake since she hid when Jake attempted to do so, although a wooden stake to the heart would kill just about anything. In "Princess Day", she reveals that she cannot digest syrup.

Music and instruments
Marceline is a very talented musician and songwriter and is proficient at singing and playing her basses. Because she is ambidextrous like Finn, she is capable of playing her basses with either hand and may even be able to employ double-handed tapping which allows her to combine simple rhythm progressions with lead parts. As seen in "It Came from the Nightosphere", Marceline is familiar with the production of chords, which is a technique not normally employed by bass players.

Marceline has three bass guitars, one seen in "Evicted!" a butterfly bass seen in "Heat Signature", and her ax bass in "Henchman" and "It Came from the Nightosphere". She seems to be most attached to and protective of her ax bass. The ax bass is supposedly a family heirloom as mentioned by her father in "It Came from the Nightosphere," and it was originally a weapon before Marceline modified it. It is shown in "Daddy's Little Monster" that she also plays and has a banjolele, or banjo ukulele. Though she has amplifiers, she does not usually need to plug her instruments into them.

In "Five More Short Graybles", Marceline is in search of a Wizard Bill's music store to find a guitar known to play the 'most savory licks in Ooo'. Whether or not she bought the instrument is uncertain, but she was shown playing it before the scene panned.

Quotes
See Marceline Abadeer/Quotes

Major appearances

 * "Evicted!" (debut)
 * "Henchman"
 * "It Came from the Nightosphere"
 * "Go With Me"
 * "Heat Signature"
 * "Memory of a Memory"
 * "What Was Missing"
 * "Marceline's Closet"
 * "Return to the Nightosphere"
 * "Daddy's Little Monster"
 * "I Remember You"
 * "Finn the Human" (Farmworld Marceline)
 * "Jake the Dog" (Farmworld Marceline)
 * "Five More Short Graybles" (grayble)
 * "Bad Little Boy"
 * "Simon & Marcy"
 * "Sky Witch"
 * "Red Starved"
 * "Betty"
 * "Princess Day"
 * "Sow, Do You like Them Apples"
 * "Varmints"
 * "Marceline The Vampire Queen"
 * "Everything Stays"
 * "Vamps About"
 * "The Empress Eyes"
 * "May I Come In?"
 * "Take Her Back"
 * "Checkmate"
 * "The Dark Cloud"
 * "Broke His Crown"
 * "The Music Hole"
 * "Skyhooks" (as Marshmaline)
 * "Hero Heart" (as Marshmaline)
 * "Ketchup"
 * "Seventeen"
 * "Marcy & Hunson"
 * "Come Along With Me"

Minor appearances

 * "The Duke" (cameo)
 * "Power Animal" (cameo)
 * "Video Makers"
 * "Holly Jolly Secrets Part II" (cameo)
 * "All the Little People" (as a toy)
 * "Time Sandwich"
 * "Ocarina" (cameo)
 * "Jake The Brick" (cameo)
 * "Astral Plane"
 * "Dark Purple"
 * "Hoots" (cameo)
 * "Be Sweet"
 * "The Comet" (cameo)
 * "President Porpoise is Missing!" (cameo)
 * "Crossover" (Farmworld Marceline)
 * "Beyond the Grotto" (Purple Flower)
 * "Wheels" (cameo)
 * "The Invitation"
 * "The Light Cloud" (flashback, cameo)
 * "Bespoken For" (flashback, cameo)
 * "Skyhooks II"
 * "Whispers" (flashback, non-speaking)
 * "Son of Rap Bear" (cameo)
 * "Bonnibel Bubblegum"
 * "Diamonds and Lemons"

Mentioned

 * "Joshua and Margaret Investigations"
 * "Temple of Mars"

Pictured

 * "The Thin Yellow Line"

Marceline's songs

 * "Fry Song"
 * "I'm Just Your Problem"
 * "Fisherman Song"
 * "My Best Friends in the World"
 * "House Hunting Song"
 * "Journal Song"
 * "Not Just Your Little Girl"
 * "Nuts"
 * "Remember You"
 * "Boss Marceline Who's In Charge Here"
 * "Breakfast Song"
 * "Yeah, Girl, It Stinks"
 * "Super Porp Jingle"
 * "Everything Stays"
 * "According to Our New Arrival"
 * "Remembering Memories"
 * "Time, Sweet Time"
 * "It's Spring Again"
 * "Was it Reality"
 * "Rather Be Anything"
 * "Happy Ending Song"
 * "Francis Forever"
 * "Slow Dance With You"

Trivia

 * 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 until the year 2010.
 * In "Evicted!," Marceline appears in the realm of fire without burning herself, probably due to being undead.
 * Despite being a skilled bass player, she does not know what a quaver is.
 * 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 with which handedness the bass is made for.
 * Marceline is ambidextrous like Finn.
 * 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  and dark clothing.
 * Marceline has a genderbent counterpart named Marshall Lee.
 * She is the most difficult character to work with for Jesse Moynihan.
 * She also plays basketball as seen in "Simon & Marcy."
 * 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?!!
 * In "Princess Day," it is shown that sunblock can protect Marceline from the sun. In "Marceline the Vampire Queen (episode)" 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 DONT KNOW!).
 * In the episode "Skyhooks," Marceline has a candy form called Marshmeline the Campfire Queen
 * Marceline has retrieved most of her powers from consuming the souls of previously slayed 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 price is obviously renouncing the ability to live in the sun, but the consequence for not paying the said 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 of an emotional complexity concept (possibly disorder) inside nearly every Wizard/Magical Being. It is seen as the "consequence" of having magical power in the present day of Ooo.
 * 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.
 * 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.

Appearances in other media

 * Adventure Time released an official 3D design of Marceline The Vampire Queen on MyMiniFactory.
 * Marceline has an exosuit in the game Project Exonaut.
 * Marceline is the final boss in the game Righteous Quest 2.
 * In the game Legends of Ooo, she appears to have a coat, an undead gardener, and an undead cleaner.
 * Her age was the answer to one of Gaia Online's ten trivia contests to answer to try to win a first season DVD set.
 * There was a Pet Society costume of Marceline.
 * Marceline is a playable character in Adventure Time Battle Party and Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW!.
 * Marceline is a playable character in the video game LEGO Dimensions.
 * ARDIPITHECUS album by Willow Smith features 2 experimental pop songs: Marceline, and Marceline Pt. 2, about the vampire queen.
 * On 2017, Mondo has released two 9-inch statues of Marceline The Vampire Queen  exclusively available on their website. It features her floating in the air, playing her Axe Bass. On the floor are some of her favorite snacks: strawberries with half of their reds eaten and fries, and it comes with a mini copy of the hit film Heat Signature. Her pedestal features a replica of the wooden floorboards of her cave house and her father, Hunson Abadeer. Mondo has also released a Mondo Exclusive version which comes with all of the same accessories made available on the regular version plus Hambo.
 * Mondo has also produced Marceline Enamel Pins designed by J.J. Harrison. It can be purchased individually or as a set in their Adventure Time: Land of Ooo 5-Pin Set made available in their website.

Storyline analysis

 * 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.