Marco

Marco is a human from the Animorphs continuity.

Polo.

Marco is an Animorph, and views himself as a joker, so funny that he even cracks himself up! A good quality to have, he thinks, as it prevents him from buckling under the pressure while the Yeerks ploy to take over the Earth. And if there's anything he can't afford, is to go crazy while his friends and his Dad desperately need him in this battle. Nonetheless, he still wishes he could tell you his last name, mind his own business and tell jokes in math class like the good old days. That would signify his life would once again be normal. But the situation is too grim for such pleasantries. So forget normal. Wielding a chain segment as a makeshift whip, he morphs into a gorilla to show the Yeerks that he means business. Monkey business. Or alternatively, he'll take the shape of a fire beetle, and continue to fight until the whole world is free! At some point he, along with his fellow Animorphs Cassie and Jake, broke into a Yeerk genetic experimentation lab, and all three gained the ability to merge into one powerful form: the colossal Tri-Rex.

Fiction

Ask Vector Prime

Vector Prime knew of the Animorphs' exploits, despite them taking place in the Megaverse, outside of the Transformers' multiverse. Ask Vector Prime

Toys

Animorphs

• Marco/Gorilla (Deluxe, 1999)
  • Accessories: Left paw, right paw, chain

Part of the first wave of Animorphs toys, Marco transforms from a human who clearly ingests steroids instead of food into a gorilla, as well as a transitional third mode combining features from both. His gorilla mode hands are separate pieces that attach like gloves. He also has "Battle Chain" to wield as a weapon, presumably because gorillas don't have sharp claws and are therefore pathetic weaklings. Like all Animorphs deluxes, he includes a Yeerk slug.

• More information on Marco (Gorilla) at tfu.info

"Boy, Morty, I really Cronenberged the world up, didn't I?"

• Marco/Beetle (Deluxe, 1999)
  • Accessories: Left beetle mandible, right beetle mandible, Yeerk Slug

• Known designers: Tim Bradley (concept artist)

Marco's second retail toy transforms from a rather beetle-y human into a brightly-colored stag beetle, as well as a transitional third mode combining features from both. His beetle mode mandibles are removable, becoming a pair of "Battle Pincers" for use in human-ish mode. He again is included with a villainous Yeerk slug.

• More information on Marco (Beetle) at tfu.info

"You've got a... whole planet of Cronenbergs walking around down there, Morty."

• Tri-Rex (Super, 1999)

• Known designers: Tim Bradley and Masakatsu Saito (concept art)

This version of Marco was available only in the Super Class Tri-Rex giftset, along with similar versions of Jake and Cassie. Unlike most Animorphs toys, he has no normal human form and only possesses a 'transitional' dinosaur/human hybrid form. He forms the legs and abdomen of Tri-Rex and is the component that contains the electronic sound gimmicks for the combiner. Pressing a button on his back activates a roar sound effect (seemingly taken directly from Godzilla films), and pressing in either of his legs activates a stomping sound effect.

• More information on Marco (Tri-rex) at tfu.info

Notes

• Marco's packaging art for his gorilla mold is based on the actor that portrayed him in the Animorphs television series, Boris Cabrera. For his beetle mold and the Tri-Rex toy, a photograph of the actor was used instead.
• Marco's last name is not Polo. Or maybe it is. He's not telling.
• Design sketches from Transformers Generations 2017 indicate that Soundwave was originally designed to be a toy of Marco, before the cancellation of the Animorphs toyline led to it being retooled and released as one of the Mutant Beasts.