Marvin "Marv" is a fictional character in the graphic novel series Sin City, created by Frank Miller. In the 2005 film adaptation and its 2014 sequel, he is played by Mickey Rourke. He first appears in The Hard Goodbye and follows with appearances in A Dame to Kill For, Just Another Saturday Night, and Silent Night. He makes a brief cameo in Blue Eyes (as featured in Lost, Lonely, and Lethal).
Marv has been well received both as a comic book character and a film character.
Appearances in the Sin City series
Marv is one of the major characters of the series, and he appears or is mentioned in nearly every book. He is the protagonist of the first Sin City "yarn", The Hard Goodbye, as well as two shorter installments, Silent Night and Just Another Saturday Night. He also has a supporting role in A Dame to Kill For.
The Hard Goodbye
The Hard Goodbye begins as Marv has sex with a beautiful blonde prostitute named Goldie, only to wake up to find her dead and himself framed for her murder. He escapes from the cops and vows that he will avenge Goldie's death, killing his way through a chain of small-time thugs before learning the identity of Goldie's killer to be a mute and cannibalistic serial killer named Kevin. Kevin is the ward of Cardinal Patrick Henry Roark, and he is thus under the protection of the powerful Roark family.
Marv finds Kevin, but he is knocked out and finds himself in Kevin's basement, which is decorated with the heads of prostitutes mounted on the mantle. Marv also discovers that his parole officer, Lucille, is Kevin's next intended victim; he has already eaten her hand. He escapes with Lucille, who is killed by a squad of Sin City police. Marv, hearing from Lucille that Goldie was a prostitute, heads off to Old Town for more information before being ambushed by Goldie's twin sister Wendy, who also believed that Marv killed her sister. Marv convinces Wendy of his innocence and reluctantly takes her along to the infamous Roark family farm to subdue Kevin. Knocking Wendy out so she would not witness what will occur next, Marv inflicts the most brutal form of death he can imagine: sawing off Kevin's legs and leaving him to be eaten by his own pet wolf. Marv then finds Cardinal Roark, who admits that he and Kevin had been killing and cannibalizing prostitutes together and that Kevin killed Goldie for knowing too much. Marv kills Roark in an unspecified (but presumably grisly) manner before the police burst in and shower Marv with bullets.
Marv survives, however, creating a problem for the Roark family and the corrupt police force as he possesses knowledge that would have the city implode. The police threaten to kill Marv's mother unless he confesses to the murders that Roark and Kevin committed; Marv agrees, but only after breaking an attorney's arm in three places. He has a steak and a beer for his last meal. He is sentenced to die in the electric chair. Before his execution, Wendy visits him one last time to thank him for everything he has done. Marv goes to the chair, but survives the first jolt, defiantly saying to his executioners: "Is that the best you can do, you pansies?" They have to pull the switch again to finish him off, announcing "He's gone".
A Dame to Kill For
In A Dame To Kill For, a prequel to The Hard Goodbye, Marv becomes a sidekick of sorts to his good friend Dwight McCarthy by agreeing to help him rescue his former lover Ava Lord. When it is revealed to be a set-up, he rushes a mortally wounded Dwight to Old Town, where he is taken in by his former 'associate' Gail. Shortly afterwards, Marv becomes involved with Goldie.
Silent Night
In Silent Night, Marv rescues a young girl from sexual torture. The story is told with almost no dialogue.
Just Another Saturday Night
In Just Another Saturday Night, Marv wakes up on the side of a highway, surrounded by dead men, and tries to piece together how he got there.
Physical appearance
Marv is depicted as an extremely imposing, man with a flattop buzzcut, a falcon-like nose and a heavily scarred face, making him unappealing to the opposite sex. He has a massive frame and is distinctly broad-shouldered, generally towering over his fellow characters. He is usually seen dressed in an overcoat, white undershirt, leather pants and combat boots.
Personality
In the book Sin City: The Making of the Movie, creator Frank Miller describes the creation of Marv as a juxtaposition of his two biggest influences: film noir and medieval stories. The result was the idea for a character he called "Conan in a trench coat."