| Villain Overview |
| Gallery |
| “ | You have great potential, Wolf. But at some point, you're going to have to choose between your friends, or the good life. | „ |
| ~ Marmalade trying to convince Mr. Wolf to choose his life. |
| “ | Uh, pretty much, yeah. You see, I never cared about what's "good", only what's good for me! Like, say, a billion dollars! [body tingles] Oh, I just got a tingle. | „ |
| ~ Marmalade's most infamous quote as he reveals that he cares about nothing but himself, revealing that his flower of goodness motto was a lie and he had no true knowledge of how being good feels like. |
Professor Rupert Marmalade IV, actually named Kdjfloerhgcoinwerucgleirwfheklwjfhxalhw in the books, is the main antagonist of Aaron Blabey's book series The Bad Guys, as well as its 2022 film adaptation of the same name.
He is an anthropomorphic guinea pig who is known for being a philanthropist and might seem like a good person, but in reality, he's a cruel, self-centered fraud who wants to destroy the world and steal anything by using others. He is also Mr. Wolf's former mentor-turned arch-nemesis.
He was voiced by Richard Ayoade in the film, who also played Mr. Pickles in The Boxtrolls and The Snowman in Danger Mouse.
Description[]
Appearance[]
Professor Marmalade is an anthropomorphic guinea pig with orange fur and a neat hairstyle. He is always wearing a white suit with a green shirt and a bow tie. However, at the end of the movie when he reveals his psychopathic nature, he has unkempt hair and wears yellow clothes that resemble gold.
In the original book, his appearance resembles more of a hamster than a guinea pig as he has fuzzy fur and wears a business suit with a tie. His true form appears to be a green squid-like alien with 9 tentacles, two of which house a pair or eyes and one with a mouth full of sharp teeth, with the other tentacles ending with buttcheeks.
Personality[]
| “ | There, there. Of course you didn't do it, how could you? After all… you're such a good boy. | „ |
| ~ Marmalade revealing his true colors to Wolf after revealing that he was the old lady to test his feelings. |
At the beginning of the story, Marmalade is introduced as a good man, a natural leader who always thinks of others before himself. Marmalade was also shown to be willing to give others a chance at redemption and will do anything to help them, even if it annoys him.
However, it turns out to be nothing more than a façade to hide his true nature: that of a selfish, greedy, lying and manipulative psychopath who only cares about himself and a liar full of bad intentions. He used the Bad Guys as his alibi for his getaway and came close to destroying Mr. Wolf's friendship with Mr. Snake and the rest of his friends after manipulating them into blaming Wolf for getting caught falling for his tricks and making them think he doesn’t want to be around them anymore when it’s not true. He also seems that he knew Diane's identity as the Crimson Paw, but likely found out when he captured her and Wolf, finding the diamond she stole during her criminal career. Marmalade is also shown to be traitorous as he is willing to leave Mr. Snake to fall to his death.
Books[]
| “ | My name is Kdjfloerhgcoinwerucgleirwfheklwjfhxalhw. | „ |
| ~ Marmalade revealing his real name. |
Marmalade appears as the main antagonist of the first ten books in The Bad Guys book series, with Dread Overlord Splaarghon serving as the main antagonist of the books following Dawn of the Underlord. Here, he is depicted as a malicious, albeit childish alien scientist who wants to take over the world.
The actual reason why he wanted to take over earth was because his parents on a far away planet frequently caught him being called cute (due to his immature acts) and his planet forbids that. To prove to them he was not cute, he tried to control earth in various ways. Nathan (the only known good alien) took him back to his home planet and warned everyone that Marmalade accidentally did some things to ruin the whole universe.
Film[]
Marmalade's story is very different in the movie. His early life is currently unknown and unexplained, but it is possible that he had three other siblings who were probably more favored over him. One day, when a meteor ended up falling in the city, Marmalade noticed that it emits an energy strong enough to control a lot of living beings. He came up with a plan to become the biggest bad guy ever, so he started doing a bunch of good deeds in an effort to cement himself as the greatest good guy in the city. After solidifying his image, Marmalade was invited to the Golden Dolphin awards. During the middle of the party, he disguises himself as an elderly woman and manages to trick Mr. Wolf by putting the idea of becoming a nice guy in his head.
After The Bad Guys are unmasked and arrested, Wolf makes a deal with Governor Diane Foxington so they can have a chance to redeem themselves, so the Governor accepts Wolf's proposal and puts him and his friends under Marmalade's guard. After a few days of unsuccessful training, Marmalade finally managed to turn the image of The Bad Guys around by posting a video of Wolf rescuing a cat from a tree. Because of The Bad Guys' increase in popularity, Marmalade invites them to his charity party.
In an out-of-scene moment, Marmalade steals the meteorite on display, causing everyone to blame the Bad Guys for stealing it, resulting in them immediately losing their gained popularity. The Bad Guys are arrested again, and Marmalade reveals to them in the police van that he's the old lady Wolf saved from falling down the stairs earlier, and also reveals that the meteorite harnesses a special energy to pull off his crimes. After Marmalade says that he used The Bad Guys to take the fall for the meteorite's disappearance, thus making Wolf's friends turn against him, making them think he didn't want to be around him anymore and wanted them to get caught. Wolf attempts to attack Marmalade in a fit of rage for his lies, only for Marmalade to open the van doors in front of everyone, making himself look like he was attacked without provocation, tarnishing The Bad Guys' image even more. As The Bad Guys are taken away, Marmalade starts lying during an interview with Tiffany Fluffit, making Foxington suspect that Marmalade set up The Bad Guys, as he talks in a rather condescending tone so that he could get more sympathy points.
Later, after The Bad Guys are taken to prison, Wolf tells his friends that he doesn't want be bad anymore, and how they can all be better. But Snake angrily refuses and gets upset at Wolf, not just because he's going good, but foolishly accuses him of selling them out during both the heist and thinking he doesn't want to be around them (which he didn't). As Wolf angrily yells at Snake for his stubbornness, Snake becomes heartbroken and speechless, but also quickly gets angry and attacks Wolf, starting a fight. Suddenly, their fight is stopped after being rescued by Foxington, who happens to be the retired criminal “The Crimson Paw”. After Foxington brings The Bad Guys back to shore and tells them that she needs their help to stop Marmalade, Wolf was all in to help save the city, but Snake and the gang refuse and selfishly abandon Wolf, feeling betrayed by his redemption. Meanwhile, Marmalade, harnessing the power of the meteorite, hypnotizes all the guinea pigs in the city to make them steal the vans carrying the funds raised from his charities.
Wolf and Foxington sneak into Marmalade's mansion to steal the meteorite back, but Wolf brainlessly gets himself and Foxington caught in his trap. With them hung on the ceiling, Marmalade realizes that Diane is the Crimson Paw (having obtained a diamond she stole during her crime days) and also reveals that Snake (who is secretly redeemed) is now working with him. As the two leave, Marmalade tells his henchman Cuddles to kill them both. Luckily, the remaining Bad Guys save them, and after reconciling, they steal the meteorite, making Marmalade chase after them in a helicopter. Since the meteorite is still active, the gang hacks all the vans carrying the funds to go back to their initial destinations. Marmalade argues with Snake, blaming him for everything when Marmalade wasn't doing any better himself.
The gang attempts to drop the meteorite off at the police station to reveal Marmalade's true intentions and clear their names, but despite Snake's betrayal, the gang decide to go back for him and convince him to come back and be good. Marmalade betrays Snake by tossing him out of the helicopter as he grabs onto the handrail with his teeth, cowardly using him as an advantage to make Wolf give the meteorite back, but Wolf calls his bluff as he threatens to break the chain with the laser blowtorch if Snake doesn't get pulled up safely first. Instead, Marmalade does the opposite as he pulls the helicopter up and kicks Snake off to fall to his death to distract the Bad Guys so he can take back the meteorite. Luckily, The Bad Guys save Snake as Wolf pulls them all up to safety with a grappling hook. As the Bad Guys' car explodes in the meteorite's impact crater, the blast of the explosion pushes Marmalade's helmet off and up into the propeller, destroying the helmet and causing him to lose control over all the guinea pigs.
The Bad Guys are still seen as criminals, but they proudly turn themselves in to save Diane's reputation when she tries to tell everyone she's the Crimson Paw to save the Bad Guys. When Marmalade comes down from the helicopter, he feigns innocence by trying to claim that he retrieved the meteorite back from the Bad Guys and that he will bring the meteorite to his lair. As he claps, thinking he got away with his crimes, the meteorite suddenly flashes on and off, making Police Chief Misty Luggins realize it's a lamp, having been planted by a secretly redeemed Snake.
Snake reveals to everyone that when abandoning The Bad Guys after saying that they could never change, he really did go good and decided to help Wolf by going undercover in aiding Marmalade. When Marmalade allowed Snake to use the mind control helmet, Snake secretly switched the real meteorite with a lamp in Marmalade's mansion shaped like it, where, after painting it to look like the real deal, placed it on the device for The Bad Guys to steal. The moment the lamp is stolen, Snake secretly placed the real meteorite back onto the device and set the machine to overload, causing the meteorite to explode and destroy Marmalade's mansion, leaving Marmalade shocked and speechless, realizing that his crimes have been exposed. As Wolf tauntingly pats him on the head while he and his friends get into the police car giving Marmalade smug smiles, Marmalade gets crushed by the lamp when the Golden Dolphin landed on it, causing the diamond ring he took from Foxington to fall out of his pocket. As Luggins examines it, she realizes the diamond is the Zumpango Diamond that was stolen by the Crimson Paw. As a result, Marmalade is implicated as the Crimson Paw, and despite Marmalade's foolish and desperate efforts to tell everyone Foxington is the real Crimson Paw, his words fall on deaf ears now as he is promptly arrested and placed inside a S.U.C.M. van by Luggins.
Realizing now that he's done for and that his pleas have fallen on deaf ears, Marmalade yells out in defeat as he ends up being taken away into custody, and it can be implied that he will be given a life sentence as punishment for his crimes. Despite his actions, Marmalade's actions still served as an example for the Bad Guys, who were released for good behavior a year later and began their new crime fighting career.
Quotes[]
| “ | Marmalde: [sadistic chuckling as he puts his hands on the truck doors] Mr. Shark: Uh, guys? He's creeping me out. Mr. Piranha: Wait, what? What's going on?! Someone turn me around! Marmalade: [scratches the doors and turns around to reveal a psychotic glare] Well, well…So you finally get it! |
„ |
| ~ Marmalade revealing his true colors to the Bad Guys after Mr. Wolf realizes that Marmalade stole the meteorite. |
| “ | Ms. Tarantula: [to Mr. Snake] You should've eaten him when you had the chance. Mr. Snake: Yep. Mr. Wolf: But why us? Marmalade: Because you're the perfect patsies. Come on! When people look up "bad" in the dictionary, do they see a sweet, adorable guinea pig? No. They see you…and they always will. Mr. Snake: Okay, fine! But YOU set us up! Marmalade: Oh pish, pish. Let's be honest: EVOLUTION set you up, but Wolfie here really clinched it. He fell for every one of my traps, starting with saving a helpless, little old lady! Mr. Snake: Wolf? What's he talking about? |
„ |
| ~ Marmalade revealing that Wolf fell for everything he did, which especially infuriates Snake. |
| “ | Marmalade: Oops…Did I say too much? Anyhoo, looks like yet again, the Big Bad Wolf got outsmarted by a Little Piggy. Mr. Wolf: You little pouchy-cheeked RAAAATTTT!!!! I'LL KILL YOU!! YOU HEAR ME?!?! YOU'RE DEAD!!! YOU'RE DEA- Marmalade: Help! The Big Bad Wolf is attacking me! |
„ |
| ~ Marmalade taunting Wolf and the Bad Guys, provoking Mr. Wolf into attacking him in a fit of rage after finding out Marmalade used them, only to make Wolf look worse in front of everyone by opening the doors and feigning innocence while being attacked. |
| “ | Marmalade: Oh, there you go again, making it personal. I'LL GIVE YOU ONE LAST CHANCE TO GIVE ME THE METEORITE!!! Mr. Piranha: Oh yeah? Whatcha' gonna do, Whiskers?! Marmalade: This! |
„ |
| ~ Marmalade's breakdown as he demands the former bad guys to give him back the meteor before attempting to murder Mr. Snake. |
| “ | Mr. Wolf: Not so fast! Pull him up first! Or I'll use this! Marmalade: Oh, come now. Mr. Wolf: Do it! Or you'll lose the rock! Marmalade: If you insist. Cuddles! |
„ |
| ~ Marmalade argues with Wolf, as Wolf threatens to break the chain from the helicopter with a blow torch if he doesn't pull up Snake to safety first, showing Marmalade he isn't bluffing and does the opposite of what Wolf told him to do despite the former's no win situation here. |
| “ | No, no!! I'm not the Crimson Paw! S-She's the Crimson Paw! She's the Paw! I'M THE FLOWER OF GOODNESS!!! NOOOO!!!! | „ |
| ~ Marmalade's last words as he is taken to prison, foolishly trying to save face when it's too late. |
Trivia[]
- Unlike in the books, Marmalade is a full-fleshed guinea pig instead of being an alien in disguise in the film.
- Originally, Marmalade was going to reveal himself to be an alien as in the books but was left out of the film and saved for a potential sequel.
- Despite having a first name (Rupert), he is mainly referred to by his surname, Marmalade.
- Unlike most antagonists in the books, who were either minor characters or only appeared in one episode, Marmalade is a recurring character that appeared in almost every book. He is also one of two antagonists in The Bad Guys series to appear in more than one book or episode (following The Splaarghon). He might, in fact, be the most recurring and prominent antagonist of the series, because he appears the most out of all antagonists of The Bad Guys book series.
- Despite Marmalade having knowledge of what it takes to be a good guy, he didn't realize that one extra thing it takes to be a truly good person was friendship and heart. Because he was self-centered, he failed to realize that because The Bad Guys were friends, his betrayal of Snake is made worse by the fact that he didn't see how Snake was a foil to his plan. Also, Marmalade was even foolish enough to believe friendship makes people weak like most true villains think, which led him to ultimately get outsmarted by the reformed villains.
- Marmalade serves as a dark counterpart to both The Bad Guys (specifically Mr. Wolf) and Diane Foxington / The Crimson Paw. Despite that they were villains too, they were never heartless nor self-centered, unlike Marmalade, who used his good-guy image as a cover-up for his true self and had no friends. Also, The Bad Guys and Foxington never intended to harm anyone for their crimes, while Marmalade was willing to kill anyone who got in his way. However, he serves as what The Bad Guys and Diane could've become if they haven't realized what it feels to be good.
- There are several easy-to-miss signs foreshadowing his true colors:
- When disguised as the old lady during The Bad Guys' first attempt to steal the Golden Dolphin, he carries a purse with valuables completely visible, indicating that he tried to bait Mr. Wolf into stealing it so he can implant the thought of being a good guy in his head.
- His "heist for good" for The Bad Guys has them attempting to rescue guinea pigs from a research lab, suggesting he wanted them to be free so he could later use them for his army and pull off his big plan.
- His vernacular whenever he says something inspirational can be seen getting played up to an exaggerated extent, suggesting that this was his attempt to cover up who he really is.
- Throughout the film, cool colors like blue or black are often associated with characters acting good, while hot colors like white or gold are often associated with characters being bad. During the first heist, The Bad Guys wear brightly colored outfits to showcase their bad deeds, while Marmalade wears a blue suit to showcase his good accomplishments. Later, during the second heist, The Bad Guys wear blue suits to show that they have gone good (although merely a cover, Wolf willingly went good), while Marmalade wears a bright red suit to foreshadow his big reveal about stealing the meteorite in an effort to frame The Bad Guys. Also, the jumpsuit Marmalade wears during his big plan is gold, which further cements the fact that he's evil.
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
The Bad Guys Others | ||