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Martin Tubbs is an honor student who is known for his trademark glasses which he cannot see without them. Martin is a nerd but despite this, he has proven himself to be a faithful companion. He has a big crush on Irma, although she only sees him as a friend.

Personality[]

TV series[]

In the Show Martin has a big crush on Irma, who only sees him as a friend and sometimes as an annoyance. Martin was interested in Sondra but after he found out she was lying about being from Switzerland, he went back to crushing on Irma.[1]

Comics[]

Martin is the textbook definition of a "nerd". He greatly enjoys academics, participates in a variety of extra curriculars, and is not at all smooth when talking to the girl he likes. He's had a major crush on Irma Lair for at least two years,[2] though she has made no indication of liking him back. She often finds him dorky and a pest, but does enjoy his generally sweet and funny personality. She has called him her best male friend[3] and continues to care about him a great deal, even threatening to break up with her boyfriend for belittling him.[4]

Despite his lack of popularity in school, Martin is very self-confident, believing himself to be a charming boy (though few others agree). While he has little luck in wooing Irma, he did win the heart of a few females, most notably French exchange student Michelle, though their romance was short lived.

He has a great many close friends, particularly from his co-ed scout group, the Happy Bears. Recently, Irma joined his group[5] and occasionally goes camping with them[4] He is also good friends with Nigel Ashcroft and [6] Eric Lyndon.[7]

Plot[]

Comics[]

Arc 1: The Twelve Portals[]

Martin made his first appearance at Sheffield Institute’s Halloween party, wearing a poorly made mummy costume. He took a picture of Irma and her friends in their costumes, handing out copies to each of them. After this, he asked Irma if she might take a photo with him while calling her pet names; she was disgusted and told him to “disappear”, unintentionally making him invisible. Unaware of his unseeable state, Martin wandered around the party until bumping into Vathek who dispelled Irma’s magic. Impressed by Vathek’s “costume”, he took a picture of him too, blinding the Meridianite with the flash and nearly getting strangle by him. Principal Knickerbocker announced the award for best costume and Martin initially thought she meant him until the spotlight fell on Vathek. Martin didn’t join the other students for the pumpkin lighting and so missed the fireworks explosion.[8] Weeks later, Martin happened across Irma being teased by her friends and greeted her. She almost told him to disappear again, but this time the others stopped her (now more aware of their powers). Irma changed her wording, “kindly” asking Martin to leave her alone. He happily complied and walked away.[9]

Martin paid a visit to the Lair home in his Happy Bears uniform, hoping to impress Irma. He invited her to hang out for their celebration but she “politely” declined the offer and shooed him out of her house. Martin believed she simply rejected him because her parents were present. He returned again later that evening and this time, “Irma” (actually her Astral Drop) was a lot nicer to him. She agreed to his date to the museum which real Irma was horrified to learn about once she returned.[10]

As agreed, Martin arrived to the Lair home to pick up Irma for their date (which she was forced by her mother to keep). Again he was wearing his Happy Bears uniform, thinking it was a charming look, though Irma was not pleased in the least. Irma’s mother deflected the girl’s anger as being due to a bad mood which Martin believed while he escorted her out the house. As they walked to the museum, Martin tried his best to impress Irma, confident he could win her heart but having little charms and even tumbling down a flight of stairs.[2]

Before going into the museum, Irma clarified to Martin that she considered him a friend and nothing more. He was hesitant to accept this truth but respected her wishes. He asked if she wanted to go home but she declared they could look around the museum and he took her to the dinosaur room, actually entertaining her with his sense of humor. The moment was interrupted when a security guard exclaimed about a “strange creature” and the teens ran to investigate this. They spotted the reptilian monster (a Meridianite) and Martin ran to get the other security officers. When he brought them back to Irma, the “lizard” was gone though Martin found the encounter very cool. He and Irma finished their visit to the museum and returned home.[2]

After being too involved in class, Martin was kicked out and roamed the halls in disbelief. He spied Uriah Dunn breaking into Nigel’s locker to plant a watch he’s stolen from another student. Later in the day, Knickerbocker called an assembly to find the missing watch and eyes immediately went to Uriah who put on a big act of his innocence. He opened his locker to show he didn’t have it, challenging everyone else to do the same which they did. When Nigel opened his own locker, the watch came out and everyone believed Nigel was guilty, though Martin realized Uriah’s trickery. The boy wanted to tell the truth to protect Nigel but at the same time feared what Uriah would do to him for telling. Feeling indecisive, he called on W.I.T.C.H. to tell them the truth and ask for advice. The girls encouraged him to tell Knickerbocker and that they would protect him from Uriah. Martin didn’t quite believe in this but agreed that saving Nigel was the most important thing.[6]

Martin went to Knickerbocker with the whole story, with both Nigel and Uriah present in the room. The principal praised Martin as a good person and Nigel was incredibly grateful to him, while Uriah was punished for his crimes. Knickerbocker also warned the bully not to touch Martin and he swore he wouldn’t, though when giving Martin a handshake of “no hard feelings” he threatened the boy which Nigel noticed. They students exited the office and W.I.T.C.H. came to find them, again assuring Martin they would save him. He told them not to worry as he did the right thing and no matter what Uriah would do, he wouldn’t regret it which earned him Cornelia Hale’s respect.[6]

Once school was over, Martin headed for home and predictably was caught by Uriah's Gang who wanted to beat him up. The boy was terrified, but the interference of W.I.T.C.H. using invisibility let him escape into the park. Uriah cornered him against a tree, only to be stopped by Nigel who came to protect Martin. Uriah turned his aggression on his ex-friend, using Martin’s backpack to knock Nigel down and nearly crush him. At this point, Martin found his courage and punched Uriah in the face, knocking the bully silly. With both boys now safe, Nigel congratulated Martin and the boy likewise thanked the other for the rescue. The two walked away as new friends.[6]

Arc 2: Nerissa's Revenge[]

Martin and his Happy Bear troupe were having a campout on the beach when Irma walked by, surprisingly alone. She admitted to having a fight with her friends and was too upset to talk about it. He assured her she needn’t explain and as his friends called him back to the fire, one of them joked about his flirting attempts which earned a swift rebuttal from Irma. This impressed the other scouts and once introductions were made, they invited her to join their troupe though as a newbie, she would be “Baby Bear”. To Martin’s surprise and delight, Irma agreed and joined their many games together which she admitted was a lot of fun.[11]

The group moved on to their favorite game, Egg Head, which involved bashing raw eggs against their foreheads. Eventually, one of the scouts got the "stone egg" which nearly concussed him to the amusement of his friends. Irma, however, did not find this funny and though the other scout insisted she had to play their games to be one of them, Irma renounced such an idea and readied to storm away. Martin tried to stop her, desperately reminding her that they were her good friends. She thanked him for the fun evening but declared she already had the best friends in the world, now determined to patch things up with W.I.T.C.H.[11]

On the first day back to Sheffield Institute after summer vacation, Martin came to school in his Happy Bear uniform. He bumped into Irma in the middle of a tense standoff against Matt Olsen and while Martin offered to comfort her, he was ignored. He noticed the new kid Eric Lyndon and introductions were made, until Irma elbowed Matt (who was treating Will Vandom unkindly) which shocked the three boys. Irma then dragged off a crying Will, followed by the rest of their friends, and left the boys alone together, all equally confused.[7]

After school, Martin took the task of showing Eric around Heatherfield while listening to the boy’s life story. Eric accepted Martin’s invitation to see the Happy Bears and talk turned to Irma, with Martin declaring he would one day win her heart. They also spoke about Matt and his crush on Will, which clued Eric into the boy’s earlier coldness (Matt mistook Eric as liking her too). While walking past a basketball court, Eric caught a rogue basketball and they found it belonged to Nigel who invited them both to play. Martin wasn’t really interested, but Eric agreed and they soon found Matt was the one Nigel was playing with. All four took to the court, though Martin was more interested in their love drama realizing Eric had a crush on Hay Lin and not Will, which was a comfort to Matt. Following the game, the boys went for lunch at The Silver Dragon.[7]

Arc 3: A Crisis on Both Worlds[]

When Sheffield Institute took part in the exchange program with Redstone Academy, Martin was one of the students chosen to join. Chaperoned by Principal Knickerbocker and new teacher "Ralph" Sylla, the group flew across the world to Port Nelson where their very late greeting committee finally arrived to pick them up. Martin was whacked in the head by the man’s sign and he introduced himself as Redstone’s headmaster, Principal Bullford. Martin noted how the man’s flirtations made Principal Knickerbocker blush.[12] After spending some time in Redstone Academy, Martin attracted the unwanted attention of Redstone student Matilda Pliffter who developed a crush on him. The feelings were not mutual and Martin ran from her around the campus, even hiding behind Cornelia, Taranee Cook, and Hay Lin who helped him escape. The girls joked that Irma would say there was justice in the world if she knew about this.[13] The students enjoyed many other activities in Redstone including a volleyball game[14] and watching shooting stars.[15] Eventually it was time to head home, though Principal Bullford declared he and his school would visit Sheffield Institute one day. This terrified Martin as he would meet Matilda again, though Cornelia teased he would miss the girl once they got home. All returned home to Heatherfield.[15]

During the Heatherfield Winter Carnival, Martin approached “Irma” (actually an Astral Drop) and wanted to talk to her. However, the girl was unexpectedly hostile towards him, commanding he go away. She went on to say she no longer wanted his French tutoring as she was sick of him. Shocked and heartbroken, he asked her why she had become this way but “Irma” left with her friends, eager to get away from him.[16] Following this, Martin’s heartbreak turned to anger and he remained in a persistent bad mood for days. When he ran into “Irma” (Astral Drop) on the street, he immediately ran away without saying a word, which made the drop feel guilty for being so mean to him.[17]

Arc 4: Trial of the Oracle[]

Martin was approached by Irma (the real one) and immediately became defensive, asking what she wanted. Since she was unaware of his experience with her astral drop, she asked if he’d help her with French again, to which he claimed he was too busy, struggling not to call her by pet names. He made an excuse and ran away. Irma and her friends assumed Martin was just tired after all of Irma’s rejections.[18]

Irma finally caught up to Martin, asking to talk. He finally blew up that he was tired of her changing moods, sometimes acting like his friend and other times pushing him away. Though he said this, he unintentionally revealed his still had a crush on her. In response to his complaints, Irma promised not to send him anymore mixed signal but likewise wanted him to accept that their relationship was never going to change from being friends. Martin was disappointed at this idea but Irma encouraged that they had a friendship that would last a long time, which should be enough. The boy at least wanted to know how his friendship ranked to her and she declared him her number one male friend which perked him up. However, he took this to mean there might still be a chance for him romantically which exasperated Irma. He then asked if she wanted to hear him play with his band, the Happy Plantigrades. She told him not to push his luck, but the two were finally friends again.[3]

Despite having made up, Irma and Martin lost touch with one another for a time. Irma became involved with Joel Wright who quickly became her closest non-W.I.T.C.H. friend.[19][20] Meanwhile, Martin was becoming more mature, even getting a job as a pizza delivery boy to make extra money. Martin tried several times to contact Irma, but she never replied to his messages (too distracted with missions).[21] He also became pen pals with a girl from France, Michelle, to improve his French language skills. He developed a crush on her while recognizing how he would never be in a relationship with Irma.[21]

Arc 5: The Book of Elements[]

For his last delivery of the night, Martin took a pizza to the home of "Rebecca Rudolph", though it was Irma who answered the door to his delight. He mentioned how they hadn't seen each other in a while to which she admitted there was a lot going on in her life. They chatted, with him mentioning Michelle, and that he would always be glad to give Irma more French lessons whenever she asked. Just as he was about to leave, Irma invited him to join their party, and he agreed. Walking in, he was greeted by W.I.T.C.H., "Rebecca", and her friend Josh who all welcomed him in. The pizza was served but while "Rebecca" introduced the newly arrived Ray, Martin knocked his drink over, leading Irma to comment on him not really changing at all. "Rebecca" gave the group the news about her getting the journalism job and they all toasted her in congratulations. They also gave cheers for Taranee who mentioned she had been accepted into Jensen Dance Academy. The party continued without further incident.[21]

In an alternate view of W.I.T.C.H.'s future, Martin moved to Midgale and worked for a major publisher that specialized in fantasy works. After that, he became an editor for the Heatherfield Tribune. While Martin was helping Will move, he found some of her novel manuscripts and asked to let his publisher friend read it. The publisher loved it and bought the story, giving W.I.T.C.H. enough money to buy back the house they'd just been evicted from.[22]

In the present, despite his having given up on her, Martin still greeted Irma with pet names. She approached him with a confusing speech about the future then she kissed his cheek (in gratitude to the him that helped) and bonked him on the head (so current him doesn’t get his hopes up), refusing to explain what either was for. He was left in confusion.[22]

Sometime after this, Martin went to France for a few days to live with Michelle's family. The two became incredibly close to the point that Michelle followed him back to Heatherfield to spend a few weeks in his home, enrolling in Sheffield Institute.[23] Martin took Michelle to the Rock and Roll Café to see Cobalt Blue perform. In the audience, he spied Irma and introduced the girls to each other.[24]

As the Sheffield Institute Centennial approached, Martin signed up to do a presentation on the school's history, researching it intensively. He showed Michelle his findings, admitting he might bore everyone, but she disagreed while placing her hand on his. This gesture made him so nervous he knocked over his projector and had the box of slide fall on his head. Michelle found this clumsiness adorable and they both laughed about it. She admitted she liked him a lot, hugging him to his great joy. They cleaned up the mess he'd made, oblivious to Hay Lin who witness this and was happy for them both.[23]

It's implied that the two became an official couple after this.

Martin and Michelle were still very close, walking through school holding hands and sharing snacks. Irma witnessed this and in jealousy, tried to show off her close relationship with Joel. Martin didn't even notice her.[25]

Martin appeared in Irma's dream as one of her many male admirers. He stood in front of her with Joel, each asking her to pick one of them. However, both were rejected in favor of a giant dream dessert.[26]

It soon came time for Michelle to return home, though she and Martin went out for a final outing to the Golden Diner, where they were seen by W.I.T.C.H. and a jealous Irma. On Sunday, Martin took Michelle to the airport to see her off. Once she was gone, he looked at a picture of them both, heartbroken.[27]

Michelle is not mentioned again from this point on, but it's assumed her relationship with Martin came to an end.

Arc 6: Ragorlang[]

Knickerbocker announced elections for a School Body Representative to organize the upcoming school Olympics inauguration. Bess and Courtney Grumper immediately signed up to share the seat, but Martin shocked everyone by signing up as well. Though he had a lot of good ideas for changing the school, he had a hard time gaining traction with the Grumpers using shady tactics to buy the votes of others. As he tried to promote himself, he greeted Irma and Joel to show them his programs. Joel kept his distance (as he didn't like Martin) but Irma declared she would definitely be voting for Martin which greatly touched him. He started telling her about his ideas, but she had to hurry along, taking Joel with her.[4]

Martin also took to promoting outside of the school, running into Taranee on the streets and trying to talk to her about his idea for counseling to students who failed auditions. Unfortunately, this was bad timing (Taranee had just been rejected from a part she wanted), leading her to snap at him and his program “mysteriously” bursting into flames to his confusion.[4]

For the public debate, the Grumpers were absent (Irma had locked them in a closet) letting Martin gain a bit more attention. After this, W.I.T.C.H. and Sheila Jensen offered their support to Martin, helping to improve his campaign with more innovative ideas. Cornelia did her part by "accidentally" spilling a drink on him and despite the boy's insistence it was alright, she took him on a shopping spree to pay him back, which was only an excuse for her to update his public image.[4]

On the day of the vote, Martin sat with his friends watching the students head to the booth. The Grumpers were also there, passing out more of their bribes which made Martin nervous. Once all the votes were cast, they listened to Knickerbocker read the results and after a very close race, Martin was declared the winner to the joy of his team. He took the stage to make his victory speech, but his klutzy ways nearly caused a disaster until Will swooped in to take over. On the night of the Olympic inauguration, the party was a big success (in thanks to W.I.T.C.H. using their magic). Martin was once more asked to do a speech but as he started to ramble on without end, Joel cut him off by taking the microphone, letting the party continue.[4]

Arc 9: 100% W.I.T.C.H.[]

At some point, Sheffield Institute created their own co-ed soccer team. Martin joined along with W.I.T.C.H. and Uriah's Gang (though it's implied they didn't have a choice). Their team was not good at the sport, but Martin enjoyed it and unknowingly caught the eye of soccer-lover Cynthia.[28]

Martin tried to scold Uriah for picking up a ball, but was ignored. Knickerbocker invited Irma's father to become their new team coach, as well as a new player joining: "Nash" (secretly a former enemy of W.I.T.C.H.) who was by far the best player on the team. The following day, Cynthia also joined the team, admitting to W.I.T.C.H. how much she liked Martin to their surprise. The team began their practice with Coach Lair describing plays, though few of the members understood them. They had their warm-ups and practiced moves, with Martin making a header he was quite proud of. Cynthia was also impressed by it, though Coach Lair was more concerned that he'd knocked the ball off the field. Martin threw the ball back in and their practice continued with Martin scolding Uriah again, who responded by tripping him. Cynthia hovered over him in concern while Taranee and Cornelia glared at Uriah.[28]

The next day was their first game with Nash, Cynthia, and Martin being the only ones to put in effort. The rest of the team had no motivation to win and thus, they suffered a humiliating defeat.[28]

In the following game, W.I.T.C.H. showed remarkable improvement, using expert teamwork and skills to score points. This - plus an own goal from the opponents - scored Sheffield their first win of the season, to the delight of all. Following this Martin and Cynthia began to get closer to each other, with him seeming to return her feelings. Thanks to a stroke of luck, Sheffield's team was allowed to compete in the finals in which they would face Trent, coached by Officer Lair's rival. Practice became more intense and Coach Lair invited the team to his house to watch a soccer game. Cornelia wasn't very interested but Martin pointed out it was the last world championship match. After watching the video, the rest of the team had discovered their spirit for the sport, though Martin commented on some of the missed plays in the last round. Regardless, the team finally had its motivation and Hay Lin presented them all handmade uniforms to help their unity.[28]

At last came the day of the finals, Sheffield Institute vs Trenton. Their team had improved greatly but the Trenton side played dirty, targeting Nash whenever they could. During the second half, Sheffield's team pulled ahead thangs to the tag-team plays of Will and Nash. Sheffield Institute won the match and the championship.[28]

It's unknown if Martina and Cynthia started a relationship after this. She was never mentioned again, but Martin also didn't show crushes on anyone else after this.

Martin signed up to direct a play he wrote for the Heathfield Theatre Festival, then invited W.I.T.C.H. to be his actresses. He explained the play to be about the Rosendorf Countesses from Heatherfield's history. W.I.T.C.H. worried that they only had two weeks to learn their parts and create the costumes, though Martin assured that if they all organized they could make it. When Cornelia questioned why he'd cast her as the "mean girl", he tried to run away, though the rest also began to question their given roles. Hay Lin broke up the squabble by reminding them of the great opportunity to star in the play, thus Martin escaped further questioning.[29]

However, over the next week, W.I.T.C.H. became too busy with other engagements to properly learn their parts and Hay Lin suffered a power failure which caused her to lose her designs for their costumes. Martin, oblivious to this, had been trying to call Irma all week though she avoided him so as not to admit the issues. When he finally found Hay Lin at school, he asked about the costumes and she lied that she'd already finished them, then ran away.[29]

They began their rehearsals with a week left to go, but it became clear that the girls hadn't studied their parts as they read the wrong script and messed up the props. By Friday, Martin was in a frazzle, refusing their attempts to calm him as they had no costumes and didn't know their parts. Irma accepted the scolding but promised him that by the day of the play, whey would be ready. He asked how they could manage this, but she only asked him to trust her.[29]

Martin did put his faith in Irma and despite that W.I.T.C.H. disappeared for two days (they traveled back in time to learn how the countesses lived), he got the play scenes set up and prepared. On the night of the play, everything was set up and W.I.T.C.H. reappeared two hours before their turn, wearing "perfect costumes" (actual countesses' dresses). Martin was worried if they were truly ready, but Irma assured him all was fine. Sure enough, the play went off without a hitch and though W.I.T.C.H. weren't following what Martin had written, they were convincing enough that the play was a success.[29]

Martin isn’t seen again after this, though Cornelia mentioned that he was still Irma's closest friend outside of W.I.T.C.H. Irma protested this, asking why it had to be Martin, but Cornelia declared it was just how things worked out.[30]

Alternate timeline[]

In a possible future, Martin grew up to be a very good-looking young man but he still had his old geeky quirks. He had moved out to Midgale for work but decided to return to Heatherfield and later ran into Irma at the supermarket. He helped the girls move things out of Mrs. Rudolph's place with his truck at Irma's request. Irma found him attractive in this timeline. He then helped Will publish her first book.[22]

TV series[]

He believed she has feelings for him, but doubted when Irma publicly humiliated him on school-wide radio. Irma later apologized.[31]

Appearances[]

TV series[]

Season 1[]

Season 2[]

Trivia[]

  • He is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.[32]

Gallery[]

Main article: Martin Tubbs/Gallery

Images of Martin Tubbs.

References[]

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