Marv Murchins

Marv Murchins was a small-time crook and the dim-witted partner of Harry Lyme, together forming the infamous duo known as the "Wet Bandits." The name stemmed from their calling card of leaving the water running in their victims’ homes. In their second outing, Marv rebranded them as the "Sticky Bandits" after using a tape-covered glove to steal money.

Names	Marv Murchin
Gender	Male
Race	Human
Occupation	Thief
Origin	Home Alone (November 16, 1990)
Alignment	Bad
Age	Unknown
Created By	John Hughes, Chris Columbus
Height	193 cm (6ft 4in)

Appearance

Marv Murchins has a distinctive appearance that complements his bumbling personality and makes him instantly recognizable in the Home Alone films:

• Height: At 6'4" (193 cm), Marv towers over his partner, Harry, who is 5'4" (163 cm). This height difference adds to the comedic dynamic between the duo.
• Build: Marv has a lanky and slightly unkempt look, consistent with his role as a hapless burglar.
• Hair: He sports curly, dark brown hair, which often appears messy and adds to his disheveled demeanor.
• Facial Features: Marv has a thin face with expressive, comically exaggerated reactions that highlight his clumsiness.
• Attire: In both Home Alone and Home Alone 2, Marv typically wears a long, dark overcoat, a scarf, gloves, and a beanie or other headwear, reflecting the cold settings of the films. His clothing often appears secondhand or worn, further emphasizing his lower-class, criminal lifestyle.
• Demeanor: His gawky movements, wide-eyed expressions, and penchant for loud, exaggerated reactions (especially when enduring Kevin's traps) are key aspects of his physical characterization.

In Home Alone 4, the character of Marv has a different appearance, portrayed by French Stewart. This version of Marv is still tall but lacks the physical charm and mannerisms that defined Daniel Stern's iconic portrayal.

Personality

Marv, though bumbling like his partner, often played the role of Harry’s lackey. He is extremely dim-witted, easily frightened, and quick to panic, often screaming hysterically when scared. While occasionally showing determination, Marv is ultimately cowardly and submissive. He consistently underestimated Kevin McCallister, dismissing him as a helpless child, only to be repeatedly outsmarted and subjected to Kevin's elaborate traps. His misadventures left him battered and humiliated, gradually eroding any initial reluctance to harm Kevin. On two occasions, Marv’s frustration and pain drove him to declare his intent to kill the boy.

Despite his eagerness to prove himself, Marv’s clumsiness often worked against him. In the first film, his attempt to leave a lasting mark by flooding the homes they robbed backfired, as it provided the police with a clear trail to their crimes. By the second film, Marv had developed some finesse, becoming an adept pickpocket capable of stealing personal belongings and Christmas gifts unnoticed. However, his fundamental incompetence persisted, as demonstrated during the toy store heist, where he clumsily stuffed cash into his bag, letting bills fall out in the process.

(From Home Alone 4, which conflicts with the continuity of the original films.)

After parting ways with Harry, Marv became more egotistical, claiming to be "the boss." He partnered with his wife, Vera, who served as his second-in-command, though it was his domineering mother, Molly, who truly called the shots. Despite his boastful demeanor, Marv quickly caved under Molly’s authority, revealing his continued submissive tendencies.

Marv’s encounters with Kevin left him with a bizarre mix of fear and respect. He casually introduced Kevin to Vera as though they were old acquaintances, but he admitted to feeling stalked by Kevin when their paths crossed for a third time, unnerved by the boy’s uncanny ability to thwart him.

Marv’s chaotic blend of ineptitude, misplaced confidence, and cowardice ensured his repeated downfall, cementing his place as one of cinema’s most inept criminals.

Biography

Home Alone

One evening while driving, Marv listened as his partner, Harry, boasted about how he had tricked the neighborhood residents into revealing their holiday travel plans, identifying the McCallister house as their prime target.

The duo attempted to break into the McCallister home during the day, unaware that young Kevin McCallister was still there. Kevin noticed their shadows and turned on the lights, making the house appear occupied and forcing the burglars to flee.

While robbing the Murphy residence, Marv and Harry came across a message left on the answering machine by Kevin’s father, Peter, who provided the Murphys with the phone number to his brother’s apartment in Paris. This confirmed for the duo that the McCallisters were out of town, solidifying their plan to target the house later that night.

Before leaving the Murphy home, Marv left his infamous “calling card” by clogging the drains and leaving the water running, much to Harry's irritation. This led to a heated argument as they drove off, during which they nearly ran over Kevin. Recognizing Harry from his gold tooth, Kevin fled, prompting the burglars to grow suspicious. They followed him but lost track of him at a local church. Unwilling to enter, they left, while Kevin, hiding among the nativity scene figures, made his way back home.

Later that evening, the duo attempted another break-in, only to find the house seemingly occupied. Kevin had cleverly staged a scene with mannequins and moving lights, creating the illusion of a lively party. Fooled once again, Marv and Harry decided to return the following evening.

The next day, Marv tried to enter the McCallister home through the doggy door but got his shoe stuck, which he quickly retrieved. Kevin, alarmed by the attempt, used a recording of Angels with Filthy Souls and set off firecrackers to simulate gunfire. Confused and startled, Marv mistakenly believed a murder had occurred inside the house. While he initially wanted to flee, Harry convinced him to investigate further.

Later, the pair spotted Kevin decorating a tree in the yard and realized he was home alone. They decided to return at 9:00 p.m., a plan Kevin deliberately overheard to prepare for their arrival.

That night, Marv and Harry set out to plunder the McCallister home as planned. Marv, claiming he was Santa Claus and Harry his elf, was met with unexpected resistance when Kevin poked a BB gun through the doggy door and shot Harry in the groin, causing him to squeal in pain. When Marv tried to peer through the doggy door, Kevin shot him in the face with the BB gun.

Undeterred, Marv entered the basement, only to slip and tumble down a flight of frozen concrete stairs. Once inside, he attempted to turn on a light but triggered a trap that sent an iron crashing onto his face.

As Marv climbed the tar-covered basement stairs, he lost his shoes and socks and stepped on a nail, driving it deep into his left foot. He screamed in agony and fell backward. Abandoning the basement route, he tried entering through a window, only to step on glass Christmas ornaments scattered on the floor, further enraging him. His fury boiled over as he screamed that he would kill Kevin.

Eventually, Marv reunited with Harry, who, after enduring his own share of traps, was covered in feathers and resembled a chicken. They pursued Kevin together but slipped on toy cars laid out on a flight of stairs. When they tried to ascend, Kevin sent a swinging paint can hurtling toward them. Marv was struck in the face and fell, followed by Harry, who also took a hit and landed on top of Marv. Dazed, Marv noticed that Harry was missing teeth.

They regrouped and chased Kevin upstairs. Harry tripped over a wire and fell, but Marv avoided the trap and managed to grab Kevin’s foot. Kevin, however, placed Buzz’s pet tarantula on Marv’s face. Marv let out a blood-curdling scream and flung the spider onto Harry’s chest. While Kevin escaped, Marv grabbed a crowbar and attempted to smash the tarantula but ended up hitting Harry instead. Enraged, Harry retaliated by hitting Marv with the crowbar.

The chase continued into the backyard, where Kevin climbed into a treehouse. Marv reluctantly followed, with Harry close behind, but Kevin used hedge clippers to cut the rope ladder, causing both burglars to crash into the house and fall to the ground.

Determined, the duo managed to ambush Kevin at the Murphy home. Just as they threatened him, Kevin's neighbor, Marley, intervened and incapacitated them with a snow shovel.

As the police arrived to arrest them, Marv foolishly bragged about their crimes, confessing to a string of burglaries. Harry, furious at Marv's slip-up, kicked him and told him to shut up as they were placed in the back of a police car.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

A year after their initial defeat, Marv and Harry escaped from prison and hitched a ride to New York City in a fish truck. Upon arriving, Marv demonstrated his new thieving method by covering one glove in double-sided tape and stealing money from a donation bucket, proudly suggesting the name "Sticky Bandits" for their rebranded partnership. Harry, unimpressed, dismissed the idea.

Marv later accidentally stuck his tape-covered hand to a fashion model’s purse. After managing to free himself, he attempted to apologize in French, but the model, unimpressed, slapped him and stormed off.

At an ice rink in Central Park, Harry decided it was time to change their approach. Instead of stealing goods, he proposed focusing on cash. While Marv suggested robbing hotels, Harry dismissed the idea, explaining that tourists were unlikely to carry significant amounts of money. When Marv brought up candy stores, Harry mocked him, asserting that toy stores were the most lucrative targets during Christmas. They decided on Duncan’s Toy Chest and planned to hide in the store overnight, steal the money, and leave by morning.

Their plans took an unexpected turn when they spotted Kevin McCallister in the city. Kevin quickly outmaneuvered them by scattering beads from a necklace, causing the duo to slip and fall.

Later, Marv and Harry managed to corner Kevin after he fled the Plaza Hotel, where he had been caught using a stolen credit card. Marv gleefully revealed their robbery plan and their intention to kill Kevin, much to Harry’s irritation. Unbeknownst to them, Kevin recorded their confession on his Talkboy. Using his wits, Kevin escaped their grasp once again by provoking the same woman Marv had previously harassed, causing her to punch both men. Kevin then fled in the back of a horse-drawn carriage.

Although Harry expressed concern about Kevin’s presence in New York, Marv reassured him that the boy had no home to booby trap and was now stranded in the dangers of Central Park at night.

On Christmas Eve, as the duo robbed Duncan’s Toy Chest, Kevin interrupted their heist by knocking on the store’s window, snapping a photo of them, and throwing a brick through the glass to set off the alarm. As they chased him, they unknowingly stepped onto a makeshift seesaw Kevin had rigged, launching Harry into the air and onto the roof of a car.

Marv and Harry pursued Kevin to his uncle Rob’s house, only to find themselves victims of the boy’s elaborate traps yet again. Marv was first struck by four bricks Kevin threw from the roof, leaving him dazed. When Kevin fled inside, Marv attempted to enter through the front door. He was tricked by a staple gun rigged to the doorknob, firing staples into his buttocks, groin, and nose as he fumbled with the rope attached to the contraption.

Frustrated, Marv kicked the door open but failed to notice a gaping hole in the floor. He fell three stories into the basement, where he slipped in a puddle of soap and crashed into a paint-covered shelf, leaving him doused in various colors. Trying to clean himself at the sink, he received a powerful electric shock that momentarily illuminated his skeleton.

After recovering, Marv spotted a rope he thought was an escape route. However, it was attached to a bag of concrete, which fell on him. Eventually climbing out, he reunited with Harry, who was recovering from his own set of traps. Together, they ascended the stairs, only for Kevin to trick them again by tossing two paint cans, which narrowly missed. Laughing at their perceived victory, they continued upward, only to be hit in the face by a swinging metal pipe. As if that wasn’t enough, Kevin cut the pipe’s ropes, causing it to crash down on them again.

Further attempts to catch Kevin led them to pull on a doorknob that triggered a toolbox to roll down the stairs, smashing into them. Undeterred, they chased Kevin to the roof, where Marv attempted to hurl a brick at him, yelling, "Suck brick, kid!" He missed, and Kevin escaped once more by sliding down a kerosene-soaked rope. When the burglars tried to follow, Kevin set the rope on fire, causing them to plummet several stories and land in varnish.

Despite their injuries, the duo eventually caught Kevin after he slipped on the sidewalk. Dragging him into Central Park, they prepared to exact their revenge. However, Marv grew uneasy upon seeing trees filled with pigeons. His fears were realized when the Pigeon Lady appeared and doused them with birdseed, attracting a massive flock of pigeons that swarmed and incapacitated them until the police arrived.

As they were arrested, the police found Kevin’s evidence: photographs and audio recordings of Marv and Harry’s robbery plans. Marv, as usual, could not keep his mouth shut and proudly confessed not only to the toy store robbery but also to their prison escape. Harry, furious, hit Marv repeatedly in an attempt to silence him. Undeterred, Marv shouted to remind everyone that they were no longer the Wet Bandits but the Sticky Bandits. Harry’s final attempt to get Marv to shut up failed as they were hauled away, cementing yet another humiliating defeat.

Home Alone 4

After being released from prison, Marv decided to cut ties with Harry, realizing their partnership always ended in disaster. He married a woman named Vera, and together they began working under Marv’s mother, Molly. Molly devised a plan to kidnap a visiting Prince during the Royal Family's Christmas visit to a wealthy woman named Natalie’s mansion. Marv agreed, as he believed his days of petty burglary were behind him. Unbeknownst to him, Kevin McCallister was also at the mansion, as his father, Peter, was in a relationship with Natalie.

The plot began with Marv and Vera scouting the mansion. Kevin spotted them and attempted to alert the mansion’s butler, Prescott, but failed. Marv and Vera used a remote to bypass the mansion's security and gain entry. Inside, Kevin flooded the mansion, sweeping the pair away and forcing them to retreat. Later, when Marv and Vera returned disguised as waiters during a dinner party, Kevin disrupted their preparations to kidnap the Prince by sending Marv tumbling out a window during a demonstration of their plan. This resulted in another retreat after Kevin hit Marv with a pan, and the Royal Family's delayed arrival made their efforts moot for the evening.

The next morning, with Kevin left alone in the mansion, Molly informed Marv and Vera it was time to execute the plan. Kevin, suspecting Prescott of being an accomplice, locked him in the wine cellar. Molly then revealed herself as the mastermind and locked Kevin in the cellar as well. Kevin escaped and set up traps throughout the mansion. He trapped Molly in an elevator and lured Marv into a cupboard trap. Using a recording, Kevin tricked Vera into thinking Marv insulted her, causing her to slap him and declare her independence. Despite Molly ordering Marv to abandon Vera and catch Kevin, Kevin used a remote-controlled plane to strike Marv, sending him tumbling into Vera.

Marv and Vera chased Kevin through a revolving door but ended up spun out and flung onto a chandelier, crashing to the floor. Prescott intervened and knocked out Molly before calling the police. When Kevin’s family returned, Marv and Vera attempted to flee but were tripped and pinned down by Kevin’s siblings Buzz and Megan until the authorities arrived. Marv, Vera, and Molly were arrested, bringing an end to their kidnapping plot.

Powers and Statistics

Tier: 10-B, 9-C with weapons

Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Durability, Resistance to Electricity Manipulation (Marv survived being electrocuted)

Attack Potency: Human level, Street level with weapons

Speed: Average Human

Lifting Strength: Unknown

Striking Strength: Human level

Durability: Wall level (survived lethal injuries that would usually kill a regular person, from being hit with a pipe at the head, a massive metal pipe crushing their chests and falling from a three story building. Marv survived being hit in the head with a brick thrown from a three story building four consecutive times).

Stamina: Superhuman (Continued to pursue Kevin despite having numerous injuries that would have killed a normal person)

Range: Standard Melee Range physically, Hundreds of Meters with firearms

Standard Equipment: Crowbars, gun

Intelligence: Below Average Marv is a complete idiot who gave away their plan to Kevin in the second film, failed to notice a large hole in the floor in front of him and fell through it, and admitted to the police that they broke out of jail and tried to steal money from charity despite Harry reminding him they had the right to remain silent),

Weaknesses: His poor intellect leaves them susceptible to being tricked. Marv also suffers from arachnophobia.

Trivia

• Marv, played by Daniel Stern in the first two Home Alone films, is a bumbling but memorable thief and one-half of the "Wet Bandits" (later renamed "Sticky Bandits"). Stern declined to reprise his role for Home Alone 4, where Marv was instead portrayed by French Stewart. Stern openly criticized Home Alone 4 as an "insult" and "complete garbage."
• In the first two films, Marv primarily refers to Kevin as "kid" or "little," only knowing his last name, McCallister. However, in Home Alone 4, despite continuity issues, Marv somehow knows Kevin's full name. Stern infused Marv with elements of his own background, including being Jewish, reflected in the line "Happy Hanukkah, Marv!" while robbing Duncan's Toy Chest in Home Alone 2.
• On December 24, 2015, Daniel Stern reprised his role as an older Marv in a short video titled Home Alone Wet Bandit Resurfaces and Responds to Kevin McCallister's Threatening Video. The video humorously references Marv's traumatic past with Kevin and ends ominously with Marv screaming as in the original films, a response to the DRYVRS episode featuring Macaulay Culkin as an older, vengeful Kevin.
• Marv is 6'4" tall, making him a full foot taller than his partner Harry Lyme, played by Joe Pesci. In Home Alone 4, Marv’s character diverges significantly from his portrayal in the earlier films, resembling a taller version of Harry instead. Home Alone 4 is also the only film in which Marv appears without Harry.
• Additionally, Marv appears to be a fan of Nicolas Comics, as he steals a stack of them in the first Home Alone.