Marvin Thomas is a major character in the Power universe, appearing as one of the deuteragonists in Power Book III: Raising Kanan. Marvin is the muscle of the Thomas drug organization led by his sister Raq, and the father of Jukebox. He is portrayed by London Brown.
Description[]
| This section consists of the character's official description/s, provided by Starz. |
Season 1[]
Still, everyone has a position to play and Marvin’s aggressive nature makes him the perfect muscle to hammer home messages to rivals. No matter what he lacks in smarts, Marvin makes up for it with undying loyalty that makes him a valuable asset to the success of the family business.[1]
Season 3[]
The oldest of the Thomas siblings, what he lacks in smarts he makes up for in volatile aggression. His quick temper and loud personality make it difficult for his daughter Jukebox to connect with him, but this season he will try to build a stronger connection with her.
Biography[]
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Past[]
When his father died by suicide and his mother became neglectful, Marvin, the eldest among his siblings, at a very young age took it upon himself to raise his Sister Raq and Younger Brother Lou-Lou. To that end, he turned to a life of crime to help the family get by when he was a child.
Upon reaching adulthood, Marvin and his siblings took over the drug trafficking organization of Kingpin High Post, Raq's boyfriend, upon Post's death. As the Oldest, Marvin was the Leader and Raq served as his Lieutenant and gave him advice on business ventures. He later got into a relationship with a Woman named Kenya Pierce, and the two had a Daughter, Laverne Jukebox Thomas, but their relationship fell apart when she left to pursue her dreams, leaving him to care for the infant. When Jukebox was a child, Marvin became a drug addict who smoked his own supply, to the point where he got himself arrested and landed in prison, leaving Raq no choice but to completely take over the business and care for his daughter. Upon his release and getting clean, Marvin was forced to accept Raq as the new Leader whether he liked it or not. Marvin then settled for being the muscle.
Season 1[]
During Reaping and Sowing, Marvin meets with Symphony and tells him that he is aware of his interest in Raquel. After a tense talk, Marvin tells him that he is only making sure that Symphony has his sister's interest in heart and compliments him on holding his own.
During The Cost of Business, Marvin goes to see his brother and finds his home on fire. He quickly rushes in to save Lou, with the latter barely conscious but alive.
In Loyal To The End, as a result of his brother's injuries, Marvin planned to get even. He found Unique who was out with his son and shot at but the latter or his son would not hit, thanks to his car being bullet proof
He discovers a tape of Juke and Nicole, playing it to discover them singing together in a loving way, realizing that Juke was a lesbian. This left him shocked and they get into a heated argument, that escalates into a physical altercation. Marvin feels remorse but his daughter walks away, despite him calling out to her.
Season 2[]
In Sleeping Dogs, he and his siblings are contacted by Unique who had took Julianna, cousin of Raq's Columbian supplier hostage and uses her to have the Thomas family meet him to talk things out. When the family arrives, Marvin and the others hold him at gunpoint when he greets them and says he only wants talk. Unique states he is officially retired, due to his gang abandoning him and the cops still looking into him. Although they are distrustful, he says because he holds leverage (Julianna) against them and they agree.
In Pay the Toll, Marvin and his siblings meet Sal Boselli to discuss a business arrangement.
During It's a Business, Man, he approached Sal's son Marco Boselli on taking care of his ex-lover Toni, after she snitched on him.
During No Love Lost, he is dismayed to hear that Marco Boselli was killed after getting rid of Toni and Unique warned him that he better hope he finds Marco's partner before the Boselli patriarch learn of his part. Marvin later finds Juke burning gifts from her mother and is finally able to talk after she reveals her mother and the church attempted to perform extreme conversion on her. This leads to Marvin confronting Juke's mother and telling her to stay away.
In the finale, he is prepared for war when Sal Boselli sent goons after him. Marvin took down several of them, though got wounded in the end. Marvin barely stumbled through the building until he found himself trapped and heard the goons closing in. However, one of tenants alerted him and told him to come hide in his apartment quick. Marvin did so and was able to escape his enemies, surviving the night.
Season 3[]
The wounded Marvin got out of the apartment complex because of a friend and his wound was revealed to be straight through. Marvin soon patched himself up and disposed of evidence. He reconvened at Raq's house, where he was saddened to hear Kenya was killed in the crossfire. When he noticed Kanan and Raq's distance, he was confused and questioned her with Raq preparing to tell him. He was then shocked to hear that Raq lied about Def Con being Kanan's father and that his real father is Howard. Marvin learns she hadn't told Lou yet.
Marvin bonded with his daughter, by being there for her.
Murders[]
Committed by Marvin[]
- P-We: Shot in the chest and in the head to save Kanan.
- Frank The Inspector: Shot twice in the head with a nail gun for trying to rape Raq.
- Henchman Gangster: Shot to death while trying to kill Unique.
- Lil' Rob: Shot in the face for snitching on Kanan.
- Unnamed Crackhead: Shot twice in the chest in order to kill Sam.
- Sam: Shot twice in the chest for ignoring his warning to leave town for snitching.
- Four Italian Mob Members: Shot to death. (w/Lou)
- Italian Mafia Member: Shot to death.
- Sal Boselli: Shot in the back of the head on Raq's orders through Stefano.
- Italian Mob Member: Shot to death to escape after killing Sal.
- Two Henchmen Gangsters: Both shot in the back to save Raq and Kanan.
- Bookie: Shot to death for being belligerent and disrespectful.
- Terry Kan: Shot to death for being sassy and turning against him and Raq.
- Two Vietnamese Mob Members: Both shot in the chest in order to kill Quân.
- Quân: Shot in the head to eliminate competition.
- Londell: Shot in the back of the head.
- John: Shot in the chest to save Amber.
- Rebecca: Shot twice in the back to save Amber.
- Early Tyler: Shot to death for betraying him.
- Calvin: Shot to death.
Quotes[]
- "Ain't like I'm saying a n**** perfect. Shit. I make mistakes. I'm human. But everybody fuck up, even Raq fuck up, but it's always some shit when I do it. My ass is straight undervalued in this motherfucking organization. But I'm about to show and prove. You'll see. Well, actually, you won't see. But you know what I'm saying. I appreciate you hearin' a n**** out."
- —Marvin before killing Frank the Inspector[2]
- "Yo, man, y'all was shutting me out. Had me knocking down doors, cleaning out toilets. That's not me, that's not who I am."
- —Marvin pleads to Raq[3]
- "You're better at it than me. You see shit I don't see. You think shit I can't think. But I'm still a man, Raq. I still need my respect. I need to be heard. And when they come after my baby brother like they did, motherfuckers gon' hear me, and nobody gon' get me to quiet the fuck down. I raised you and Lou-Lou myself when Mom and Pop was on they shit. And I'd die for you and Lou."
- —Marvin to Raq[3]
[More quotes to be added.]
Trivia[]
- Kanan describes him as a man who never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
- He is very protective of his siblings as a result of raising them.
- Marvin is described to love eating in Raising Kanan's first episode, and therefore is seen eating in nearly all of his scenes.
- Marvin's fate after Raising Kanan is unknown.
- Notably, it's mentioned in Power while Tariq looks at the news, Kanan does not have any family in New York anymore after the events of his death.
- Kanan mentions him in Power's third season as he recounts how Jukebox's father kicked her out because of her sexuality.
- This is later shown in Raising Kanan when Marvin attacks Jukebox after discovering she is a lesbian, causing her to move to Raq and Kanan's house.
- Marvin avoids deodorant, and he is described as smelling bad.[4]
- Marvin has a gold belt in kung fu. [5]
- Marvin Thomas won Funniest Character in the Power Choice Awards.
- Marvin's actor London Brown mentioned Nipsey Hussle, LL Cool J, and Jay-Z as the rappers Marvin resembles.[6]
- Parallels can be drawn between Marvin and Cane Tejada, in that they are both the eldest brother and loyal muscle of their family's drug trafficking organizations, and have been exiled from their families in their respective series' first seasons by the matriarch for their recklessness.
- Marvin hates snitches, as the same for Tommy Egan and Cane Tejada.
- Similarly, Lou-Lou and Dru Tejada resemble each other in that they are younger brothers of their respective families who wanted to leave the game for their artistic pursuits. They also have been hospitalized in their respective series' first seasons.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Appearances[]
| Seasons | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Season 2 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Season 3 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Season 4 | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Season 5 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Notes[]
References[]
- ↑ Rocque, Anslem Samuel. Power Book III: Raising Kanan. Complex.
- ↑ "LEVEL UP". Dylan C. Brown (writer), Kieron Hawkes (director). Power Book III: Raising Kanan. Starz. August 29, 2021. 1x6.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "THE COST OF BUSINESS". Tash Gray (writer), Hernan Otano (director). Power Book III: Raising Kanan. Starz. September 12, 2021. 1x9.
- ↑ Season 1 Episode 8
- ↑ Season 2 Episode 7
- ↑ Raising Kanan's London Brown talks character development w/ Marvin. - Jazzie belle
- ↑ "There's a Snitch Among Us". Gary Lennon (writer), Gary Lennon (director). Power. Starz. September 2, 2018. 5x9.