However, he is a pretty nice guy most of the time and everything he does is out of love for his son and later, even Dory. Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While he is mostly polite and friendly, Marlin is extremely overprotective towards Nemo, doesn't trust in him very much and can be harsh towards Dory from time to time, such as when he accidentally tells her that forgetting is the only thing she can do, when he knows very well that she suffers from terrible amnesia.Fish".not many characters actually refer to him by his real name. In-Series Nickname: "Marty", "Clown boy", "Mr.Hurting Hero: He lost his wife and most of his children, save one, to a barracuda attack, and he is absolutely paranoid of losing his only remaining son.Foil: Marlin is much more pessimistic and serious than Dory.One part of his Character Development is learning to give his son space. Fatal Flaw: His obsessive behavior toward his son, while understandable, causes Nemo intense embarrassment and shame and drives his son away from him.Early-Bird Cameo: In Monsters, Inc., he appears as a painting on the wall of the sushi restaurant where Mike and Celia are having their date.Determinator: Willing to tangle with sharks, an anglerfish, jellyfish, and choke his way out of a pelican's throat to find Nemo.Despair Event Horizon: After Marlin thinks Nemo has died, he crosses, abandoning Dory and swimming off into the sea until Dory and Nemo find him.
Deadpan Snarker: Sometimes, towards Dory. His wife and 400 eggs, except Nemo, were eaten by a barracuda. Dark and Troubled Past: No wonder he's so overprotective. Cynicism Catalyst: The death of his wife and almost all of his eggs (except Nemo) turned him from a cheerful and easygoing fish to an overprotective, neurotic pessimist. Curb Stomp Cushion: He manages to dodge all of the barracuda's bite attacks and even gets two hits in on it (which actually disorient it) before it knocks him out with a single flick of its tailfin. Cowardly Lion: He'll do anything to get his son back even get over his own fears. Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Hanging around with Dory and encountering many more zany fish makes Marlin the Only Sane Fish. Character Development: Throughout the journey, he makes several friends and begins to understand that he should have given Nemo more freedom, particularly through his interactions with Dory and Crush because, as Dory states, "You can't let nothing happen to him, because then nothing will happen to him," meaning if Marlin doesn't let Nemo grow up and get out in the world, he won't be able to live life to the fullest. Cannot Tell a Joke: He's rubbish at telling jokes at the start of the film due to his neurotic personality and being a hermit for years. Badass Unintentional: Thanks to his hijinks, Marlin gets this reputation throughout the entire ocean area surrounding Sydney. Badass on Paper: Marlin does get through most of his trials through wits, desperation or luck, and the tales of his are recounted across the ocean to the point that he is re-imagined as an unstoppable badass Papa Wolf - granted, this isn't far from the truth, and he nearly becomes this during the end of the film. Artistic License Biology: Clownfish are protandrous hermaphrodites, meaning that if the breeding female of a group, who is the largest one and effectively the alpha, dies or disappears, then the largest male will actually undergo a physical transition to become the new female alpha. Anger Born of Worry: In Finding Dory this causes him to lash out at her when she accidentally attracts a hungry squid due to forgetting a warning, which nearly leads to Nemo being eaten. In the sequel, while not quite as overprotective, he's back to being a worrywart and a stick-in-the-mud. Aesop Amnesia: The first movie has him learning over the course of the film to be less of a worrywart and a stick-in-the-mud. This allows him to stay conscious in the jellyfish field longer than Dory. Acquired Poison Immunity: Marlin is mostly immune to the stings of baby jellyfish, due to living in anemone.
He is the main protagonist of Finding Nemo and the deuteragonist of Finding Dory. After Nemo is taken by divers, Marlin risks life and fin to find and rescue his son, becoming a braver and more self-confident person himself. Voiced by: Albert Brooks (movies), Jess Harnell (other media), Noritake Kinashi (Japanese), Herman López (Latin American Spanish)Ī clownfish who becomes an overprotective father after his mate Coral and all but one of his offspring were killed by a barracuda, making him very protective of Nemo to the point of isolating him.