Marlow Green

"'That was the trouble with being a hellraiser. Sometimes you get burned.'""- Marlow, Hellraisers"Marlow Green is one of the two main protagonists in The Devil's Engine trilogy. He is a fifteen year old boy who gets roped into the secret war between the two engines.

Appearance
As of Hellraisers, Marlow is introduced as a fifteen year old teenage boy, skinny in size but 5'10" in height. After being released from police custody, Marlow receives a temporary outfit from the lost and found consisting of: a white "STEELY DAN" band T-shirt three sizes too big, baggy green shorts, and a pair of leather sandals. He eventually changed back into a more sensible outfit of sweatpants and a fresh T-shirt.

As of Hellwalkers, Marlow while in Hell gets marbled black Engine metal skin and copper eyes when his body is remade. When he receives the Devil's heart, it attaches to his hand with thick ropy veins, and turns all of his own arteries and veins black in colour. In Pan's perspective, she describes Marlow as a mass of shadow, his skin constantly shifting and repairing itself and his eyes two twin black holes embedded into his face.

The character design poster depicts Marlow with coily black hair, light skin, and wearing a white long sleeved T-shirt.

Personality
Marlow is a self admitted hellraiser. He acts brashly and impulsively, and to cope with the consequences he runs away and burns his bridges. He does seem to be a genuinely affable boy, and at times his impulsive actions end up as an attempt to save and rescue the people he wants to keep away from danger. It just happens to be that these traits get drowned out by his immaturity, his snarkiness, and that his actions often have negative consequences despite his good intentions.

He has deep insecurities and self-esteem issues about always seeming to cause trouble, and that his mother often compares and berates Marlow for not being like his dead older brother.

Backstory
As of the events of Hellraisers, Marlow had been expelled and transferred between three schools within eight months. He's had extreme asthma attacks since childhood, sometimes to the severity of near death encounters.

Marlow was five years old when his older brother Danny had died during his service in the army. His mother had brought him his dog Donovan when he was six, and he's remained deeply attached to the dog since then. As Marlow grew up and began to act out, his mother turned to alcoholism to cope with her distance with her son, and likewise Marlow had taken to drinking his problems away to the point of having been arrested twice for being drunk and disorderly.

Part I - New World
Marlow Green's story begins with the confession that he is a hellraiser; setting fire to the world where ever he went. Suitably, we first see Marlow getting expelled from school after scratching a penis into his principal's car (with his own signature), and accidentally attacking a school monitor during of a moment of panic in an asthma attack. Knowing he can't turn back without being immediately arrested, and that that school had been the last of a line to accept him, Marlow runs. Deciding to drink away his problems, Marlow tries to distance himself away from his best friend Charlie Alvarez, who calls him out on his cowardice, but ultimately leaves Marlow alone when he realises he can't change his mind.

In pursuit of his plans to day drink, Marlow finds himself haggling with a cashier, when an explosion outside sends chunks of the ceiling inside the bodega to collapse. The cashier in question attempts to pull a shotgun on Marlow, only to be crushed to death as another explosion rocks the foundation of the building. Grabbing the clerk's shotgun, Marlow attempts to figure out what was causing the mayhem outside.He runs from the store, hoping to avoid the cops while armed with the shotgun and sneaks off and away until he eventually reaches the entrance to an underground parking space that seems to hold the causes of the explosions. Marlow ducks into the parking space. Inside, he finds a war zone with a lone man attempting to shoot beasts that were manifesting out of the inanimate parking space. He could also see a badly wounded girl trying to fire a crossbow at the various mechanical beasts roaming around. Marlow and the stranger try to run over to make it over to the girl in time, but a truck monster beats them to her first and impales her in the chest.

Horrified but still desperate to save her, Marlow fires round after round of his shotgun into the truck until it finally lay dead. The smoke from the fires inside the garage triggers another asthma attack from Marlow, who ends up collapsing, the mechanical demons ready to finish him off. Miraculously, he is saved by that girl who somehow alive, the wounds in her chest slowly healing completely shut. She says out loud to somebody to "end the contract" and within seconds, all of the creatures inside of the garage simply freeze and return back to inanimate forms. With no luck finding his inhaler, Marlow goes unconscious from asthma attack.

A day later, Marlow regains consciousness while strapped down on a hospital bed. The man from earlier introduces himself as Herc and questions Marlow on what he has seen, who replies asking what the creatures were. Herc offers the choice to Marlow to become an Enginner and work as a soldier, to get anything could he want and suggesting that he'd also see the girl - Pan - again if he accepts. When Marlow refuses, Herc reminds him that they can't let him go knowing what he saw. Herc leaves and Marlow changes his mind when two other Engineers - Hope & Bullwinkle - take Herc's place, as if to dispose Marlow. The two begin to escort Marlow out through an elevator, letting him live. Inside the elevator, the three end up in a serious scuffle that ends with Hope injecting a sedative into Marlow. Drowsy, delirious Marlow stumbles alone out of the building, immediately picked up by the police.

Marlow comes to in custody, where a cop reveals that his blood alcohol level was 0.37%, and that Marlow drunkenly confessed to being a part of a planned terrorist attack. Marlow denies it and tries to tell the cops about what he saw in the parking garage with the demons, but is written off as being too drunk when the commotion happened. The cops send him off with a warning, and allows Marlow to go home. As he does so, he feels that he's being watched and spies a girl scoping him out, but vanishing in a blink of an eye. At home, he catches up with his dog Donovan and his with his Mom. His mother had already received the word that Marlow was expelled, and berates him for not being as good as his dead older brother Danny.

Unable to stay at home, Marlow sneaks back off to his school again to seek out Charlie to talk to. After interrupting class, Charlie agrees to talk to Marlow but isn't convinced by Marlow's story of demons and resurrections. Their conversation is cut short by the school going into lockdown, due to Marlow's illegal presence. At the same time, the girl that had previously been scoping him out arrives, greeting Marlow and stepping towards him, her very presence inducing nausea and headaches. Mr. Caputo tries to stop her, but the second he lays hands on her, the man collapses into a seizure. The girl continues to bear down on Marlow, her voice appearing in his head as she reads his mind for information of the events in the hospital. When the pain is too much, Marlow shoves her away and the hall monitors threaten to throw her out.

Charlie punches the girl in the face, who screams out for Patrick. A strange boy materialises into the school through the windows, and swiftly takes cares of all the legal authorities that try to hold him back. Patrick disappears, while the girl tries once again to probe Marlow's memories to seek out information about the hospital. Charlie drags Marlow off and the two try to run away with the crowd of students attempting to flee, but are herded back into the school by Patrick. Marlow and Charlie manage to peel off into an empty classroom together, but Patrick reappears in front of them. As Charlie makes to attack Patrick, the two disappear in a flash. Patrick reappears alone, and teleports away with Marlow, only to rematerialise and dangle the boy over the edge of the school's rooftop.

Patrick disappears, leaving Marlow to fall to his demise, but he is saved in a split second by Pan who grabs onto his hand in the last second but does not have the strength to pull the boy back up. Patrick appears back again, taking the time to interrogate Pan in her vulnerable position about the Engine. He's knocked off his feet by an impossible fast figure - an Engineer named Nightingale, who then helps Pan pull Marlow up onto the roof again. Marlow follows Pan and Night as they scramble back into the school, and reconnects with Charlie on the way. The rest of the Engineers engage into a fight with Patrick, but the girl manages to possess another Engineer - a huge man named Truck - into choking Night, but Pan manages to stop her by shooting the girl in the shoulder. The girl tries to control Marlow's mind into killing Pan, but manages to knock her out before her command could really set in. Patrick, beaten almost completely down, pleads for them to let the girl - his sister, Brianna - go. A dark force washes through everyone's minds, and in fear Patrick bolts off, pleading once more to get Brianna out before someone else comes.

Everyone runs off from the school that literally deteriorates into a mass of rot and bugs as Mammon approaches. The Engineers, along with Brianna, Marlow, and Charlie pile up in the back of Herc's truck and attempt to drive as far away as they can from the school. Mammon shows himself to the group, an near invisible force in the shape of a man, claiming that there is nowhere for them to run. Marlow breaks open the back window of the truck with Pan's crossbow, and with Pan's help, fires a bolt right into Mammon's form. While not enough to kill him, it's enough stalling to buy Herc time to fix the engine and drive away as fast as he can.

After fleeing to a safer location down by the coast, Pan and Herc explain to Marlow and Charlie about the Devil's Engine, how it can grant powers in exchange for one's soul, and how demons materialise within the real world to collect the souls after six hundred and sixty-six hours. The conversation is interrupted by Brianna coming back to consciousness in the van. Pan and Herc interrogate the girl at gunpoint, but Brianna is determined to not reveal anything, imploring the rest of the group that they were on the wrong side. However, the interrogation takes a turn for the worst as Pan realises that Brianna's contract was expiring quickly. Still determined not to let any secret slip, Brianna remarks that she'll see them all in Hell, right before the demons materialise and devour her, the very essence of her soul dragged down into the ground.

Faced with the horror of reality, Herc reiterates that Marlow and Charlie have choices to make. He explains that there are two Engines in existence, and that the other one belongs to the side of Mammon and the Circulus Inferni. The Circulus Inferni intend to wreak havoc an open Hell onto to Earth, and that Herc and Pan and the rest of the Engineers want to stop that from happening. With these facts in mind, Charlie immediately accepts the choice to join up, but Marlow objects on the ground that Charlie still has a chance at a promising life, whereas his own has nowhere left to go. Despite Charlie's begging to stay by Marlow's side, Marlow insists on taking the burden alone. Herc injects Charlie a sedative to pass out, and carts Marlow off into an incoming helicopter to be taken to the Engine and become a part of the Hellraisers.

Part II - Old Magic
The Hellraisers gang takes off to Prague to return to the Engine and forge new contracts. Marlow huddles alone in the air plane bathroom, spending the majority of the ride puking from his fear of his newfound fear of flying. The gang mocks him, coming up with suggestions for his Engineer nickname based on in his toilet based in-flight entertainment.

After touching down in Prague, the group then escorts Marlow through an unmarked SUV to the location of the Engine. As part of the rules of their order, Marlow is forced to wear a sack over his head, as is the tradition when escorting new members to the Engine, to ensure that if Marlow differed from the organisation, he would not be be able to spill where the entrance to their Engine was. Herc takes the time to explain the history behind the Hellraisers, but Marlow dozes off during the conversation. When he wakes up an indefinite amount of time later, he pulls the sack off his head only to find the car empty and still and the environment outside the windows completely engulfed in darkness. A shadowy figure materialises in the front seat of the car, telling Marlow that he is being lied to. The figure refuses to provide explanations to Marlow's questions, while the sound of wailing and footsteps become louder and louder as though they were approaching the car. Another huge figure comes into Marlow's view, holding him down and Marlow strikes it. It is then that Marlow actually wakes up for real, with Truck, Pan, and Herc looking over him in concern. Truck had actually been the figure trying to wake Marlow up, and that Marlow has right hooked him in the face. Pan assures Marlow that the nighmare's are normal, due to the fact the finally arrived to the Engine.

As the group enters the courtyard of the Pigeon's Nest, Marlow is tested by another fellow Engineer, a man named Hanson who reads Marlow's minds and makes him swear that he's not secretly a member of the Circulus Inferni. Hanson deems Marlow to be clean, and allows them all entrance into the Pigeon's Nest. The Red Door is opened, and unleashes it's psychic effects of hallucinatory projections of violence and gore, along with the smells of sulfur, smoke, and excrement. Marlow is affected the worst, due to it being his first entrance inside the Red Door, and has to be carried by Truck in order to not pass out. After being lead through the base, Marlow is introduced to the Lawyers of the organisation. One of the lead Lawyers, an old man named Seth approves of Marlow, and insists on having the boy make a contract immediately. Herc approves, but declines to accompany the group and heads off to the dorm to sleep. Truck and Nightingale likewise also turn in for the night.

Marlow, Pan, and Seth take an elevator ride down to Engine's room. Upon entering, Marlow is similarly blasted with the same horrifying and hallucinogenic sensations as he had when first entering through the Red Door. Witnessing the sea of mechanical parts that was the Engine, and the pool of water that laid before it, Marlow is shown visions of possible wishes he could ask for. The visions show him breathing without ailment, getting a kiss from Pan, and a memory like sequence of his brother Danny alive and happily reunited with his family. Marlow tells Pan about the vision he had of Danny, but she advises him not to take the offer as it is an unbreakable contract, and that his brother would be reborn as a ghoul dressed as a memory. The trio are interrupted by the arrival of Hanson, Hope, and Bullwinkle. Hanson mocks Marlow relentlessly, almost spooking Marlow into leaving without a contract. Pan and Seth insist on having him craft one, and offer suggestions of wishing for strength and speed, along with curing his asthma. As Marlow hesitates, Hanson berates him once more. Marlow tries to insult him back, but Hanson has Hope and Bullwinkle restrain Marlow while Hanson grabs him by the throat and punches him back into the pool of water. As Marlow sinks into the pool, he can still hear Hanson, Pan, and Seth argue from above. Seth assures him the water won't hurt him, Hanson tries to scare him by claiming people have died in the pool, and Pan tells Marlow to focus specifically on his wishes. Right before they disappear completely from his view, Hanson tells Marlow not to think about Pan naked.

Completely submerged in the pool now, the Engine shows Marlow more visions of possible contracts. Another vision of Danny asking Marlow to bring him back, one of a completely beaten down version of Charlie that accuses Marlow of leaving him to drown in a river, asking for Marlow to wish him to be okay. Marlow manages to block out those visions, speaking his wishes for speed, strength, and the ability to breahe easily over and over. A voice appears in his mind, asking him if this was what he desired. Marlow once again speaks aloud reiterating those three desires, but thanks to Hanson's influence, his mind wishes for Pan to love him. After the voice confirms the deal, Marlow swims back to the surface, and is dragged out of the surface by Pan and Seth.

Immediately, Marlow can feel the effects of his contract. He'd accidentally injured Seth's arm by grabbing him too hard when being dragged out of the pool, being able to breathe easily the first breath he took out of the pool. Hanson ruins this moment by taunting and insulting Marlow and Pan. Considering this to be the last straw, Marlow runs right up to Hanson, and punched him right in the face hard enough to make the man's glasses shatter. Pan jumps to Marlow's defense, trying to placate the situation. Hanson agrees to leave, with one last threat and leaving Pan, Marlow, and Seth alone. Pan chastises Marlow for being so reckless and impulsive with his actions, then immediately grabs Marlow and kisses him. When the kiss ends, Pan quickly returns back to her normal state of mind and clocks Marlow right in the mouth, yelling at him for using the Engine to wish for her. Before he can finish apologising, Pan kisses him once more then follows up by kneeing him in the crotch. Furious, Pan orders Seth to cancel that contract immediately, and leaves Marlow crying on the ground.

Recovering inside the rec room, nursing his ego and injury, he and Seth have a conversation of nature of the organisation. Seth explains how in the beginning, soldiers of the Engine would perish quickly due to their contracts expiring without anyway to stop it. As time went by, the various Engineers and Lawyers began to realise how they can break the contracts without sacrificing any lives, thus sparking a new generation of soldiers who were able to cheat the devil, earning the title of "Hellraisers." Seth has Marlow test his newfound powers, getting him to lift an entire bench of weights, explaining once more how the Engine is able to manipulate physics accordingly to the person's desires in a manner similar to exploiting glitches in video games.

The two then go down back into the Lawyer's department to cancel Marlow's accidental wish for Pan to fall in love with him. As they remedy this part of his contract, the manipulation of the Engine causes Marlow to have sharp shooting pains as he is soul bound to his contract. Seth escorts Marlow away to get some rest, imploring the boy to stay inside the compound until he is called for a mission in order to keep up the secrecy of the war. Seth departs, and a still energised Marlow tries to take the opportunity to mess around with his new powers in the gym. On his way to the gym, he runs into an encounter with Bullwinkle, who mocks Marlow before giving him the order to go back to the dorms. Spiteful and refusing to give into Bullwinkle's mockery, Marlow decides to clear his head, and leave the Pigeon's Nest.

The Red Door teleports Marlow into Budapest. Blissfully unaware of this fact, Marlow takes full advantage of his powers, running and tearing throught the city without needing to reach for his inhaler. Taking a moment's rest by the city's main river, he's interrupted by a voice calling out for him. Stepping out from a dark alleyway behind him, Charlie appears. Beaten and handcuffed, Charlie pleas for Marlow to stay in place or else be killed. Appearing from behind Charlie are two figures. First, Patrick Rebarre, who puts Charlie in a choke hold, second is a girl dressed in all black with bright red hair who points a gun at Charlie's head. While Marlow has his superspeed, he is not fast enough to take down both Patrick and the redheaded girl at the same time without one of them killing Charlie first. Charlie tells Marlow that the two of them had beaten him in order to find out where Marlow went.

Patrick begins to choke out Charlie while the girl demands Marlow to tell them where his Engine is. Marlow tells them the truth of how he'd been bagged the ride over, but tells them that the Engine is guarded by a bright red door. Unsatisfied with Marlow's intel, the girl shoots Charlie in the stomach while Patrick launches Charlie away and towards the river.

Trivia

 * Marlow has an intense fear of flying on planes, almost always coming to the conclusion that the plane to crash (despite it never happening), and almost always needing to use the restroom when in the air. Hence, the colourful nicknames suggested by Night (Captain Vomit), Herc (Crapper), and Truck (Elvis).
 * Marlow's asthma is based on Gordon's experiences with the same condition in his youth, though his asthma attacks weren't as frequently as life threatening as Marlow's was.
 * Marlow's name is based on the writer Christopher Marlowe, who wrote the first dramatised version of the German legend in which a scholar makes a deal with the devil