Starvin' Marvin (Character)
- For other uses, see Starvin' Marvin (Disambiguation).
Starvin' Marvin is a thin little boy from Ethiopia, who first appeared in the episode, "Starvin' Marvin".
Background
In his first appearance in "Starvin' Marvin", Marvin was accidentally shipped over to the boys, who then took him into their custody, and tried to teach him the ways of the Americans. However, they are eventually found out, and forced to return him to Ethiopia, but not without a large number of mutant turkeys to feed his family.
In his second and most recent major appearance in "Starvin' Marvin in Space", Marvin got control of a spaceship, which he and the boys used to travel to outer space. Later in the episode, Marvin brought all of the other Ethiopians to the paradise planet Marklar.
Marvin makes a brief cameo in the 100th episode, "I'm a Little Bit Country" in the large crowd at the very end. It is not explained how he returned from Marklar. Though a group of Marklars were spotted next to him and presumably took him with them.
Language
He does not know how to speak English, but he learns how to say a few of Cartman's catchphrases, such as "Sweet!" or "Yeah, I want the Cheesy Poofs!". He also learned how to say his name (that is, the name the boys give him). His real name in his clicking-based language sounds something like "(click)-(oh-in-uh)-ma'bin" - the boys find this difficult to pronounce and shorten it to just "Marvin" based on the ending. According to the government agents who greet his parents, his surname is "(click)-(click)-derk".
Appearance
Starvin' Marvin is incredibly malnourished due to the famine in his home country, thus appearing incredibly emaciated. He has nothing to wear except a dirty loincloth and sandals.
Prominence
- "Starvin' Marvin" - Is shipped to the boys, who try to teach him the ways of the Americans.
- "Starvin' Marvin in Space" - Takes control of an alien spacecraft and ends up on Marklar with the boys.
- "I'm a Little Bit Country" - Appears in a cameo role at the episode's finale.
- "Red Man's Greed"
- "1998 New Year's Countdown"
Video Games
South Park Rally
Starvin' Marvin is a secret playable character in the game. To unlock him, the player must lose the Thanksgiving race while not collecting any turkeys.
South Park: Phone Destroyer
Starvin’ Marvin is a 3-Cost Rare Fighter of the Neutral theme. He is a flyer and a Headhunter, which means he specifically targets the enemy leader.
Starvin Marvin in South Park Rally.
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Gallery
- Images of Starvin' Marvin
Starvin' Marvin on South Park Studios.
Starvin' Marvin in "Starvin' Marvin".
Starvin' Marvin with Eric Cartman.
Starvin' Marvin with Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski.
Starvin' Marvin at South Park Elementary.
Starvin' Marvin in "Starvin' Marvin in Space".
Starvin' Marvin at the controls of an alien spacecraft.
Starvin' Marvin in the space ship with the boys.
Starvin' Marvin in the intro cutscene from South Park (Video Game)
Model of Starvin' Marvin in South Park (Video Game).
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Trivia
- Out of any character with a starring role in an episode, Marvin has had the longest absence. Having not being seen in an episode since Season 7. (20+ years)
- He does reappear in the games South Park, South Park Rally, and South Park: Phone Destroyer. Phone Destroyer is technically his most recent appearance, as it was released in 2017.
- Despite his long absences, Marvin does continue to appear in all of the different variations of the intro.
- The boys were intrigued by the clicking sounds of Starvin' Marvin's language, which actually bear a greater resemblance to the Khoisan languages of Southern Africa, rather than any languages spoken in Ethiopia.
- Starvin' Marvin appeared in a teaser for Season Twenty-Seven, with him and the boys being chased through space by P. Diddy. At the 2025 San Diego Comic-Con, Parker and Stone revealed that all content from the trailer was only produced for the promotion itself.[2]
International Names
| Language | Title | Translation/Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| Cantonese | 青雲 (cing1 wan4) |
|
| Czech | Hladovej Marvin | Starvin' Marvin |
| French | Pascal la dalle | The Hungry Pascal |
| German | Hungriger Hugo | Hungry Hugo |
| Hungarian | Kákabélű | |
| Italian | Donato l'allupato | A wordplay on the word allupato, which means both "famished" as well as "horny" |
| Japanese | 腹ぺこマーヴィン (Harapeko Māvuin) |
Starvin' Marvin |
| Mandarin Chinese | ㄅˇㄚ ㄅㄨ (Bǎ bū) |
|
| Polish | Głodny Marvin | Starvin' Marvin |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | Marvin Faminto | Starvin' Marvin |
| Spanish (Latin America) | Paco el Flaco/Pepe | |
| Ukrainian | Марвін Голодарвін (Marvin holodarvin) |
transl. "Starvin' Marvin". Голодарвін is translated from голодний (holodnyy, "hungry") to maintain rhyming of the character's name |
Notes
References
- ↑ "South Park" Starvin' Marvin (TV Episode 1997) - IMDb.
- ↑ Emily Zemler (July 25, 2025). Trey Parker and Matt Stone Respond to ‘South Park’ Premiere by Joking ‘We’re Terribly Sorry’. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on August 8, 2025.