| “ | "Imagining yourself a hero? One final act to make you the martyr you've always seen yourself as? Then what are you waiting for?" |
—  Silco to Marcus as he contemplated killing himself and Silco, ultimately unable to bring himself to do so, Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy
| |
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Marcus was the corrupt Sheriff of 
Piltover's 
Enforcers.
Background[]
Early Life[]
During his younger years, Marcus joined the Enforcers, with Sheriff 
Grayson as his superior and developed a hot-blooded and aggressive attitude towards his job. Eventually, he would marry an unknown woman and have a single daughter named 
Ren.
Hexgem Incident[]
Marcus had always been overzealous in acting on his duties as an enforcer. He looked down on Zaunites in general and aggressively went after them.[1][2] When four children from the undercity caused an explosion in 
Jayce's workshop, Marcus joined Sheriff Grayson in investigating. They went to see 
Vander, with whom Grayson had a deal with to maintain the peace between their districts.[1] Marcus did not care about their deal however and when pressured by the Council, tried to look for the children on his own; more so when the crime lord Silco approached him with a deal and information about his culprits.
Marcus went to The Last Drop and ordered his men to aggressively search the place. Grayson rebuked him for this because she thought the Undercity would retaliate and trigger a war. However, they received the pneumatic tube capsule she’d given to Vander for when they had someone who would claim responsibility for the explosion, thus giving Grayson hope that they could still maintain the peace deal. Vander's daughter 
Vi tried to turn herself in,[2] only for Vander to stop her and surrender himself in her place. Before they could return to the upper city however, Silco had a shimmer-mutative 
Deckard kill Grayson, 
Benzo, and other accompanying Enforcers. Silco told Marcus that the terms of their deal has changed and threw him his money.
Later, Marcus kidnapped Vi.[3] Silco had expected, and possibly ordered, Marcus to kill her, but he instead threw her into Stillwater Hold without a trial or details of her crimes.[4] Marcus had to bribe the warden on at least one occasion to ensure Vi's stay in the prison.[5]
Piltovan Bicentennial[]
Marcus kept up his corrupt dealings with Silco. He was also eventually promoted to Sheriff in the Piltover police department, making him even more useful to Silco. With his position, Marcus and other enforcers managed to aid Silco's criminal business by letting his smuggled shimmer-shipments go through the Hexgates with no problems. He also interfered when other enforcers tried to investigate Silco's dealings and shut them down.[6][7] Marcus also had deals with the merchants in the city, one that was secretly sanctioned by most members of the Council.[8]
He was not without his doubts about his deal with Silco, particularly when Silco's daughter 
Jinx caused the deaths of his officers. Once, he visited Grayson's crypt and remembered Grayson's time as Sheriff and how good the woman had been. Nonetheless, Marcus toed the line of doing right by his men and having to work for Silco, now needing to find someone to answer for the explosion as Silco would be unwilling to give up his daughter. Silco told Marcus to pin the explosion on the 
Firelights, Silco's enemy in the Undercity, and use it as an excuse to hunt the gang down. For a moment, Marcus considered blowing himself up along with Silco by using Jinx's bomb but was ultimately unable to do so.[8]
When Jayce Talis, very recently appointed a Councilor, ordered him to tighten security at the Hexgates, Marcus tried to warn him and advised him to consult the Council first. True enough, Jayce would later need to adapt to the ire from the merchants and Councilors whose businesses suffered from Jayce's security measures. When he learned from 
Mel that the decision was poorly received and endangering his House, Jayce would need to politic and negotiate new deals to sway these disgruntled parties into following his agenda. Jayce was not happy about how vulnerable Piltover still was. In frustration and in hopes of getting ahead of further attacks from—as Marcus misinformed—the Firelights, Jayce took his joking suggestion to form a blockade at the bridge and search everyone who would attempt to pass seriously.[4]
Silco eventually learns that Vi is still alive and is investigating Silco with a rogue Enforcer named 
Caitlyn Kiramman. Silco makes a visit to Marcus' home and subtly threatens Marcus' daughter in order to coerce him to eliminate Silco's problem. Marcus stops Caitlyn and 
Ekko at the Bridge of Progress and attempts to murder them and retrieve the stolen hextech gemstone. When Caitlyn tried to cross the bridge back to Piltover, now with evidence against Silco, Marcus threatened to shoot her. He hesitated and was ultimately not given the chance to decide whether he would go through with it or not as Jinx's weaponized firelight bombs surrounded them and went off. Marcus survived long enough to try and pass on a message to his daughter through Caitlyn but succumbed to his injuries before he could finish his sentence.[9]
With this, the Council was finally made aware of his partnership with Silco, though Caitlyn tried to somewhat save his reputation by clarifying that he did it not primarily for what he would gain but for what he had to lose.[10]
Appearance[]
Marcus is a muscular pale man, with brown eyes and hair (which was graying when he got older), as well as sporting a mustache. He is always seen wearing his Warden uniform with navy blue colors and gold trimmings.
Personality[]
Initially, Marcus was a hot-blooded and aggressive person. He was very overzealous about his job. He always looked down on the people of Zaun and was willing to use heavy handed policing on them. However, his ambition to outwit the criminals that eluded him, and also his naivete, made him easy to manipulate; such as when he naively made a deal with Silco which disasterously ended with Silco killing his superior and his fellow Enforcers—something that Marcus always regretted.
After the timeskip in the story, Marcus became the sheriff of Piltover. He served as a saboteur and plant for Silco in Piltover, and was begrudgingly compliant to Silco. Silco knows that Marcus is impotent in resisting him and puts the screws on Marcus to get him to do his bidding. Although Marcus is vexed that he is subjugated by Silco and is committing wrongs on his behalf, Marcus cannot muster the resolve to refuse him and so Marcus meekly obeys Silco's commands. He cared and loved his daughter more than anything else, even above his moral standards and his sense of duty. He knows his daughter relies on him and thus she was the main reason he continued working with Silco—and did everything he asked him to do.
As the sheriff of Piltover, Marcus was respected by his subordinates and always maintained an image of an honorable and professional man. However, he was harsh and cold to Caitlyn due to her being part of a wealthy, influential family—and so could never fully control her. Caitlyn was a thorn in Marcus' side as she investigated Silco's crimes despite Marcus discouraging her not to. Nevertheless, Caitlyn always respected Marcus because of his position and also because he was seen as a dutiful Enforcer and loving father. As pointed out by Silco, Marcus always saw himself as a martyr to maintain the balance between the top and underground city—and deep down, he wanted to be the hero his daughter always thought he was. However, with the passage of time, Marcus's guilt and remorse for his actions started to consume him and made him doubt if he was actually doing the right thing for Piltover or himself.
Marcus was corrupt but was troubled by his guilt and doubts. His only regret was he could never become the selfless hero that he or his daughter thought he was. In the end, he died without redeeming himself.
Abilities[]
- Enforcement Skills: Marcus was an Enforcer, indicating he had skills related to law enforcement, investigation, and maintaining order in the city. He displayed a hot-blooded and aggressive attitude towards his job during his early years as an Enforcer.
Relations[]
Grayson[]
Marcus worked under Sheriff Grayson during the bulgary of Jayce Talis' workshop and its resulting explosive incident. They investigated the explosion caused by children from the Undercity and were tasked by the Piltover Council to find the perpetrators and make an example of them. While Grayson had a deal with the Undercity's leader, Vander, and sought to handle their manhunt diplomatically, Marcus chose to be very heavy handed with the Zaunites. Grayson tried to isolate Marcus from the Zaunites and tried to negotiate with Vander privately so as to not exacerbate tensions—but after the Council put pressure on the Enforcers to get results, Marcus was emboldened to agressively search The Last Drop with his men. Grayson rebuked Marcus for his bullying tactics as she thought he could have provoked a war. Unbeknownst to Grayson, Marcus had accepted a deal with Silco—but Silco apparently changed the terms of their deal at the last minute. To Marcus' shock and dismay, Silco killed Grayson and her accompanying Enforcers during Vander's arrest—an action that Marcus didn't consent to. Nevertheless, Marcus continued to accept bribes from Silco and did his bidding, as he has already involved himself in his corruption and felt he couldn't back out for the sake of his daughter. After Marcus became Sheriff, he would visit Grayson's grave in times when he was troubled by guilt at what he's done. When his daughter inquires about the grave, he tell his daughter about the good woman Grayson was.
Vander[]
Vander had a deal with Sheriff Grayson to maintain peace between Piltover and Zaun. Marcus, however, disregarded this deal and later bullied Vander and his bar when he was searching for the children responsible for the Piltover explosion. Marcus was bigoted against Zaunites, and he saw Vander as just another Zaunite criminal that was maliciously shielding the criminals he was after. However, after Vander made himself the scapegoat for the workshop explosion, Marcus gained some respect for Vander as he kidnapped his adoptive daughter, 
Vi, in order to prevent Silco from murdering her.
Silco[]
Silco approached Marcus with a deal after the Piltover explosion incident and seems to indicate that the criminals that Marcus is searching for are Vander's children. Silco apparently changed the terms of their deal at the last minute. To Marcus' shock and dismay, Silco killed Grayson and her accompanying Enforcers during Vander's arrest—an action that Marcus didn't consent to. Nevertheless, Marcus continued to accept bribes from Silco and did his bidding, as he has already involved himself in his corruption and felt he couldn't back out for the sake of his daughter, Ren.
Marcus kidnapped Vi, Vander's daughter, eventually throwing her into Stillwater Hold Prison without a trial or records for her arrest; all in order to hide her from Silco. For Marcus, it was the only way to save Vi's life—as Silco would murder her—while also preventing her from revealing Marcus' dealings with Silco.
In the following years, Marcus became Sheriff of Piltover and used his authority to cover up Silco's shimmer-distribution operations and misdirecting the Piltover Council's blame to Silco's enemies, the Firelights. Aside from concealing Silco's criminal activities, Marcus has also been leading his Enforcers in killing the Firelights as well. However, he becomes increasingly stressed and frustrated when Silco's favorite agent, Jinx, orchestrates a series of chaotic massacres in Piltover, killing numerous of his own Enforcers and making protecting Silco's criminal enterprise more difficult. However, Silco dismisses his concerns since he knows Marcus is too impotent to resist him and that he is the dominant partner in their enterprise. Although Marcus would fantasize about refusing Silco and even heroically taking him down in a suicide bombing, Marcus could never muster the resolve to follow through and meekly obeyed Silco's commands.
Silco eventually learns that Vi is still alive and is investigating Silco with a rogue Enforcer named Caitlyn Kiramman. Silco makes a visit to Marcus' home and subtly threatens Marcus' daughter in order to coerce him to eliminate Silco's problem. Marcus stops Caitlyn and Ekko at the Bridge of Progress and attempts to murder them and retrieve the stolen hextech gemstone, but Jinx attacks everyone with insect bombs and kills Marcus in the process. Despite downplaying Jinx's harmful actions, even Silco admitted that Marcus was a great asset to him and his loss will set him back.
Jayce Talis and Caitlyn Kiramman[]
After Jayce Talis was promoted to a Councilor, Marcus saw him as an inconvenience and a potential threat if he learned too much. Jayce was the only Councilor who was attentive enough to spot the discrepancies created by Marcus' cover ups, implemented security measures that disrupted Silco's criminal enterprise, and was determined to root out the corruption. Fortunately for Marcus, he still had his reputation of a trusted sheriff of Piltover, which he used to mislead Jayce. While Marcus posed as a dutiful and cooperative subordinate under Jayce, he would misinform Jayce by trying to make the Firelights the culprits of Silco's crimes.
Marcus considers Caitlyn Kiramman an upstart, an interloper, and a well-meaning cop. Although Caitlyn believes she is trying to contribute to the Enforcer's cause by doing meaningful police work, Marcus accuses her of using her family's status to ignore the chain of command. In truth, Marcus saw her as a problem for his corrupt activities. He tried to keep her distracted with trivial busywork and ordered her to leave the investigations into Silco's crimes alone. However, Caitlyn was determined to uncover Silco's criminal conspiracy and when Silco found her and Vi's investigations into him problematic, he pressured Marcus to eliminate her. Marcus made a plan to murder her at the Bridge of Progress, using her trust in him to lower her guard. Although he mananged to put a gun to her, he seemed hesitant to kill her for a moment. Before Marcus could pull the trigger, he was fatally injured by Jinx's insect bombs. In his dying moments, he asks Caitlyn to pass on a message to his daughter, but couldn't finish the message before dying.
Arcane Show Appearances[]
| Season One appearances: 7/9 | ||
| Welcome to the Playground: Appears |
Some Mysteries Are Better Left Unsolved: Appears |
The Base Violence Necessary for Change: Appears |
| Happy Progress Day!: Appears |
Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy: Appears |
When These Walls Come Tumbling Down: Appears |
| The Boy Savior: Appears |
Oil and Water: Appears as a corpse only |
The Monster You Created: Mentioned only |
Read More
Starring Champion
Mentioned Champion
Trivia[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Arcane: Season 1, Episode 1: Welcome to the Playground
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Arcane: Season 1, Episode 2: Some Mysteries Are Better Left Unsolved
- ↑ Arcane: Season 1, Episode 3: The Base Violence Necessary for Change
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Arcane: Season 1, Episode 6: When These Walls Come Tumbling Down
- ↑ Council Archives - Vi's Records ("The Warden's Write-Ups")
- ↑ Arcane: Season 1, Episode 4: Happy Progress Day!
- ↑ Council Archives - Caitlyn's Files ("The Grand Conspiracy")
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Arcane: Season 1, Episode 5: Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy
- ↑ Arcane: Season 1, Episode 7: The Boy Savior
- ↑ Arcane: Season 1, Episode 8: Oil and Water
