Editing Harry Lyme (section)

== Biography ==

=== Early Life ===
Harry Lyme was presumably a school dropout, as he once mentioned never making it to the sixth grade. At some point, he teamed up with Marv Murchins, forming the duo known as the Wet Bandits, infamous for their string of burglaries.

=== Home Alone ===
While scouting homes in the affluent Chicago suburb of Winnetka, Harry disguised himself as a police officer using a name tag that read "Birniasz." This allowed him to gain access to the McCallister household under the pretense of checking for burglary precautions.

Inside the chaotic home, Harry was largely ignored as the McCallister family hurriedly prepared for their Christmas trip to Paris. He briefly interacted with a pizza delivery boy, asserting that the order wasn’t for him and casually stating he was “just around for the holidays.”

Eventually, Harry managed to speak with [[Peter McCallister]], who explained that their home had door locks and automatic light timers. Harry tried to inquire about the family’s departure schedule, but Peter was pulled away by his son Buzz to eat pizza. Harry later caught [[Kate McCallister]]’s attention as she paid the delivery boy. She explained that the trip was a gift from her brother-in-law Rob, who had recently moved to Paris. When Harry heard they were leaving first thing in the morning, he cheerfully responded, “Excellent.” Before departing, Harry reassured Kate that her home was "in good hands."

After the McCallisters left for their trip, Harry and Marv parked their van near the house. Harry revealed to Marv that his impersonation of a police officer had successfully deceived the neighborhood, and he knew which homes would be vacant.

When they attempted to break into the McCallister house, they were surprised to see the interior lights suddenly turn on. Kevin, left home alone, had noticed their shadows outside and acted quickly to deter them. A perplexed Marv questioned Harry, who reiterated that the family was supposed to have left that morning. Unwilling to take any risks, the duo retreated for the time being.

The next morning, Harry and Marv decided to rob the Murphys' house, located across the street from the McCallister residence. While there, they overheard a voicemail from Peter McCallister on the Murphys' answering machine, confirming that Harry's assumption about the McCallister family being away was correct. They planned to return to the McCallister house later that night to rob it.

As they left the Murphy home, Marv performed their infamous "calling card" by clogging the kitchen sink and leaving the water running, much to Harry's irritation. Harry scolded Marv, calling the act "a sick thing to do." While driving away, they almost hit Kevin, who was walking past the driveway. Marv shouted a warning to Harry just in time, and Harry angrily told Kevin to watch where he was going. Attempting to play it cool, Harry wished Kevin a Merry Christmas and smiled, flashing his gold tooth. Kevin immediately recognized the distinctive gleam, having seen it the night before, and realized Harry was one of the burglars. Alarmed, Kevin ran away, prompting Harry to pursue him. However, Kevin eluded them by hiding in a nativity scene at a nearby church.

Later that night, Harry and Marv returned to rob the McCallister house as planned. However, Kevin, anticipating their return, created the illusion of a lively party inside by animating mannequins and playing loud Christmas music. Fooled once again, the burglars abandoned their plans.

The next morning, Harry sent Marv to investigate the house further. Inside, Marv encountered Kevin's clever setup, which included a recording of a gangster film scene and real fireworks to simulate gunfire. A shaken Marv reported back to Harry, who saw this as an opportunity to frame a supposed "murderer" to deflect attention from their own crimes. Their confidence was soon restored when they saw Kevin cutting down a backyard tree for Christmas, realizing that the party and gunfight had been a ruse. Despite Marv's hesitations about robbing a house with a child inside, Harry insisted on proceeding, declaring the house a prize he'd wanted since the beginning.

The pair formulated a plan to break in at 9:00 p.m. Pretending to be Santa Claus and an elf delivering gifts, they approached the house but were immediately met with resistance when Kevin shot Harry in the groin with a BB gun through the doggy door. Marv was similarly shot in the forehead. Furious, they split up, with Harry attempting to enter through the front door and Marv heading to the basement.

Kevin's house was rigged with an array of booby traps, and Harry suffered numerous injuries, including slipping on icy steps, burning his hand on a heated doorknob, getting his head scorched by a blowtorch, being covered in glue and feathers, and slipping on toy cars. Marv fared no better, enduring his own set of traps before both were hit by paint cans and tangled in wires. At one point, Kevin used Buzz's pet tarantula, Axl, to further disorient them. A terrified Marv accidentally flung the spider onto Harry, prompting Harry to angrily retaliate by striking Marv with a crowbar.

As the chase continued, Kevin fled to the Murphys' house, where Harry and Marv managed to ambush and capture him. The pair gleefully prepared to exact revenge on Kevin, with Harry threatening to bite off his fingers one by one. However, before they could harm him, Kevin's neighbor, Marley, intervened, knocking them out with his snow shovel.

The police arrived shortly after and arrested the duo. As they were driven away, Harry glared at Kevin through the police car window, seething with frustration and defeat.

=== Home Alone 2: Lost in New York ===
After spending nine months in prison, Harry and Marv escaped during a riot and made their way to New York City, stowing away on a fish truck. Along the way, they acquired a revolver and new clothing, possibly stolen from the truck driver. The duo's plan was to obtain fake passports and flee to a foreign country.

Marv, embracing his quirky tendencies, decided to rebrand their criminal partnership as the "Sticky Bandits," demonstrating his new moniker by taping his hand to collect loose change. During this time, Kevin McCallister, coincidentally in New York himself, accidentally bumped into Harry in a crowded street. Although Harry thought he recognized the boy, Kevin disappeared into the crowd before he could confirm his suspicion.

Later, at an ice rink, Harry decided it was time to change their approach to crime. Acknowledging that stealing goods wasn’t yielding much, he suggested they shift to robbing cash instead. Marv proposed targeting hotels, but Harry dismissed the idea, reasoning that tourists rarely carried significant amounts of cash. Instead, Harry devised a plan to rob Duncan's Toy Chest, a store known for making substantial profits during the holiday season. The pair intended to hide inside the store overnight, steal the money, and leave undetected the next morning.

Their paths crossed with Kevin again after they spotted the McCallister name on a bag he was carrying as he left Duncan's Toy Chest. Realizing Kevin was in New York, they pursued him down the street, only to be thwarted when Kevin broke a necklace, spilling pearls that caused the duo to slip and fall, giving him time to escape.

Marv and Harry eventually caught Kevin when he fled the Plaza Hotel after the staff exposed him for using his father's stolen credit card. After ripping up Kevin's plane ticket to Miami, Marv revealed their plan to rob Duncan's Toy Chest and their intent to kill him, much to Harry's irritation. Kevin once again escaped, causing both criminals to be punched by a woman Marv had earlier harassed, and fled in a horse-drawn carriage. While Harry was uneasy knowing Kevin was nearby, Marv reassured him, pointing out that Kevin had no home to booby trap and was now alone in the perilous Central Park.

On Christmas Eve, as Harry and Marv looted Duncan's Toy Chest, Kevin appeared outside, knocked on the window, took a photograph, and hurled a brick through the glass, triggering the alarm. In their pursuit, they unknowingly stepped onto a makeshift seesaw Kevin had rigged, launching Harry through the air and onto a parked car.

The chase led to the roof of Kevin’s uncle Rob McCallister's abandoned townhouse. Harry attempted to outwit Kevin by convincing him to hand over his camera in exchange for being left alone, but Kevin retaliated by hurling bricks that hit Marv four times, enraging Harry. Harry then attempted to outmaneuver Kevin by jumping onto a fire escape ladder but slipped and injured his back due to the ladder being greased with soap.

Inside the townhouse, Harry endured a series of painful traps, including tools dropping on his head, a blowtorch burning his head and being extinguished with lighter fluid, a fall from a sawed ladder, two hits from an iron pipe, a crushing by a tool chest, a fall from a burning rope, and a varnish splattering. Despite these obstacles, Harry and Marv cornered Kevin in Central Park after Kevin slipped on ice.

In the park, Harry, fed up with Kevin's antics, tried to shoot him. However, the pigeon lady intervened by throwing birdseed at the duo, drawing a flock of pigeons that overwhelmed them and allowed Kevin to escape. Kevin left evidence of their crimes behind, leading the police to apprehend Harry and Marv once again. As they were being arrested, Harry repeatedly kicked Marv for babbling to the authorities about their plans.

=== Later Life ===
The events of ''Home Alone 4'' introduce continuity issues with the first two films. Marv eventually grew frustrated with being constantly imprisoned and severed ties with Harry, who had always been the leader making the decisions. Marv later partnered with and married [[Vera Murchins|Vera]], who became his new accomplice.

While watching the home of [[Natalie Kalban]], Vera questioned whether Marv could handle planning without Harry. Marv countered that Harry's plans had always led to their arrests. Shifting away from burglaries, Marv concocted a scheme to kidnap the Crown Prince of the Royal Family during a visit. Although Marv was excited to finally be "the boss," he was actually operating under the supervision of his mother, Molly.

In a later event, Harry attempted to break into the McCallister home again, now occupied by a grown-up Kevin. However, Kevin thwarted the attempt using his Google Assistant, forcing Harry to retreat.