Marco Diaz

Marco Ubaldo Diaz is the deuteragonist of Star vs. the Forces of Evil series.

Marco is the son of Rafael and Angie Diaz, as well as Star Butterfly's best friend on Earth. From "Lint Catcher" to "Cornonation", he lives on Mewni with Star and her family. As of "Doop-Doop", he goes back to living on Earth with his family.

Appearance
Marco is a Latino-American teenager of medium height with a slender build, tan skin, dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a mole on his right cheek. He usually wears a light gray shirt, a red hoodie, dark gray skinny jeans, and olive and white sneakers.

As an adult in Hekapoo’s dimension, he is taller and muscular, with shaven facial hair, multiple piercings in his right ear, and a scar on his left eye. As a result of Hekapoo's constant searing smacks to the back of his head, he also has a bald spot.

In "Deep Dive", Marco has crescent moon-shaped emblems on his cheeks while casting the All-Seeing Eye spell.

Personality
Marco is kind, responsible, very organized, and supportive of others. He has a reputation at his school for being the "safe kid" due to avoiding danger and being cautious, though he insists that he is a "misunderstood bad boy" and lives for danger. He prefers keeping his possessions neatly organized. Marco is smart, gets good grades in his math and psychology classes, and figures out how to find a replacement for Star's wand charger using the metric system. Because he likes it when things go his way, he can become unstable when they don't, like when he snaps at Star for ruining his room and insanely trying to live in front of Stop & Slurp. Although he isn't used to the kind of craziness that Star brings, he admits that he would like a little danger in his life and finds fun in fighting monsters with karate.

He often struggles with self-confidence, afraid of being ridiculed by others, and can become nervous easily. "Naysaya" reveals that he has many insecurities and emotional hang-ups. He has an occasional temper and can get frustrated and/or annoyed with others, such as with Star when she intrudes upon his life, or recklessly drags him into overly dangerous situations. However, he soon makes amends with those who cause him grief, like thanking Pony Head for saving him in "Party With a Pony". He cares deeply for those he is close to, attempting to save Ferguson from being kidnapped in "School Spirit" and trying to cheer up Star whenever she is feeling upset. Marco also has an urge to occasionally protect Star and keep her safe, as depicted in "Sleep Spells" and "Blood Moon Ball".

Over the course of the series, Marco becomes less overly cautious and more confident, especially in his romantic pursuit of Jackie Lynn Thomas in "Freeze Day" and "Naysaya". He progressively takes more risks as a result of his friendship with Star, but he sometimes still struggles with self-confidence. After Marco moves into the Butterfly Castle, he usually tends to prioritize his wants over his responsibilities which can cause him to mess up his important duties such as him wanting a job higher up so that he could see Star or keeping Star's sleep-portaling a secret from Hekapoo so that they can continue to work together and go on adventures. Whenever he realizes this, he does his best to make things right.

In his role as Star's squire, Marco takes his responsibilities seriously and carries them out as best he can, as shown in "Trial by Squire", "Is Another Mystery", and "Divide". However, his intense focus sometimes causes him to ignore other people in his life, such as his parents in "Marco Jr."

Abilities

 * Karate: Marco is a student in the Tang Soo Do discipline of karate and, as of the eponymous episode, has a red belt. He is very capable of using karate chops, kicks, and punches to battle monsters as effectively as Star. He is able to use karate with potentially lethal force as demonstrated when he cuts off Tom's hand with a karate chop and punches a hole through Toffee's chest. In "The Knight Shift", Marco defeats four knights, including experienced knight Sir Stabby, with minimal effort - using only his feet.
 * Culinary prowess: Marco is good at making nachos. In "Pizza Thing", he makes a pizza with Pony Head, which had too many mushrooms for Star's liking. In "Baby", Marco prepares an entire spread of food for Baby.
 * Academics: In "Match Maker", it is shown that Marco has good math skills, getting good grades (including an A in psychology) and in "Quest Buy", using the metric system to find a charger for Star's wand at Quest Buy. However, he admits in "Naysaya" that he doesn't know how to do long division.
 * Strategic mind: Marco has somewhat of a talent for coming up with strategies, as demonstrated in "St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses" when he plans out Pony Head's rescue and in "Toffee" when he leads a resistance movement against Ludo. In "Divide" and "Conquer", he plans out ways to slow down Meteora's advance on the castle.
 * Weapon-wielding: As of "Running with Scissors", Marco has become proficient at wielding a one-handed sword. As shown in "Divide", he can also skillfully wield an axe, a spiked flail, and a two-handed broadsword.
 * Survival skills: Sixteen years of experience hunting Hekapoo has turned Marco into a hardened survivor and warrior. "Divide" shows that he has retained these skills, even being able to fight on par with Star.

Trivia

 * Marco has appeared in every episode except "Is Mystery", "The Hard Way", "Moon the Undaunted", "Book Be Gone", "Puddle Defender", "Club Snubbed", "Stranger Danger", "Demoncism", "Starfari", "Ponymonium", "The Bogbeast of Boggabah", "Total Eclipsa the Moon", "Butterfly Trap", "Skooled!", "Bam Ui Pati!", "Tough Love", "Lake House Fever", "Down by the River", "Princess Quasar Caterpillar and the Magic Bell", "Ghost of Butterfly Castle", and "Meteora's Lesson". His appearance in "Ludo in the Wild" was recycled footage from "Storm the Castle". He appeared in "Ludo, Where Art Thou?" only by proxy as a doll created by Ludo.
 * Marco has the same birthday as his voice actor.
 * In "Match Maker", Marco says that he has a dozen red hoodies, due to liking both the color red and hoodies.
 * Marco's favorite color has varied depending on the episode/situation. In "Sleepover" and "Match Maker", he says his favorite color is red. However, in "Gift of the Card", he says his favorite color is plum at first, and later says it's Prussian blue.
 * At the start of the series, Marco has a green belt with a white stripe in the Tang Soo Do discipline. As of "Red Belt", he is promoted to red belt.
 * A green belt represents "the growth of a seed that sprouts upward, becoming a plant. Like the sprout, the student is becoming something greater." A green belt is roughly middle level.
 * A red belt represents "a close, hot sun. This proximity to the sun represents the student's detailed knowledge." In standard forms of martial arts, a red belt is just below black belt.
 * Marco's middle name is Ubaldo, as revealed on a test paper in "Match Maker".
 * Marco's initials spell "MUD".
 * The names "Marco" and "Ubaldo" are of Italian origin.
 * His middle name is said aloud for the first time in "Lint Catcher".
 * At the start of the series, Marco is 14 years old. As of "Lava Lake Beach", he is 15.
 * Marco once kissed a ninja at Karate-Kon 2012, as shown on the shirt he wears in "Cheer Up, Star".
 * In the original pilot "Star and the Forces of Evil", Marco's pants are blue instead of dark gray.
 * According to Marco's voice actor, Adam McArthur, Marco's favorite food is nachos, which was first demonstrated in "Party With a Pony".
 * Originally, in Daron Nefcy's version of Star without magical powers, Marco was named Sol, had an obsession with Dragon Ball Z (where his karate interest came from), and was more like an enemy to Star.
 * As seen in "Cheer Up, Star", Marco's cellphone number is 555-0111, and his ringtone is "Space Unicorn" (which he claims is supposed to be ironic).
 * However, when Star calls Marco's cellphone in "Storm the Castle" from the Diaz Household landline, she dials 573-1829.
 * He suffers from motion sickness, as evident in "Brittney's Party", but in "The Other Exchange Student", he was fine riding to Isolation Point in his family's minivan.
 * As seen in "Freeze Day", Marco has only greeted Jackie Lynn Thomas with a nod since kindergarten. At the end of the episode, he moves up to saying hello.
 * In "St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses", Marco claims to have seen "every prison escape movie made".
 * As shown in "My New Wand!", Marco can ride a unicycle.
 * According to "Gift of the Card" and "Sophomore Slump", Marco's social security number starts with "904" and ends with "271".
 * In "Naysaya", Marco is forced to reveal his deepest secrets and insecurities:
 * Ever since watching a shark movie, he is afraid of the bathtub and only takes showers.
 * He wears ballet shoes around the house (first revealed in "Gift of the Card").
 * Until he started dating Jackie, he had never held hands with a girl, so he practiced with Ferguson.
 * He always sits when he uses the bathroom to be polite to the girls living in his house.
 * He cries when it rains.
 * He still has his "wubbie", and he calls it Esteban (also revealed in "Crystal Clear").
 * He used to think the "state of mind" was between Nebraska and Kansas.
 * He has no idea how to do long division, despite being a straight-A student.
 * He filled a notebook with his first name and Jackie's last name because he couldn't decide which looked better – "Marco Diaz Lynn Thomas" or "Marco Lynn Thomas Diaz".
 * He kept Jackie's painting of a watermelon (which he originally thought was a moon) that she threw out in art class because it reminds him of his biggest fear: "that we're all alone on this tiny blue marble, floating in the infinite expanse of the universe, ripped from the center and ejected out into a black void for no reason at all. Players on the stage of the absurd."
 * In "Heinous", Marco reveals he receives a monthly royalty check for $650 for "Princess Marco" merchandise based on his likeness. This becomes a recurring gag in earlier and later episodes:
 * Prior to that episode, in "Goblin Dogs", he pays $650 for Goblin Dog merchandise.
 * In "Pizza Thing", he pays a crane operator $650 to drive him and Pony Head to Emilio's Pizza.
 * In "The Bounce Lounge", he provides the last $650 needed to pay off the Bounce Lounge's mortgage.
 * In "Just Friends", he gets a medical bill for $650.
 * In "Toffee", he uses the $650 to represent the Resistance members on a crudely drawn map for a plan to ruin Ludo's credibility as a ruler.
 * In "Sophomore Slump", he uses the $650 to buy everything on a restaurant menu while on a date with Jackie.
 * In "Marco Jr.", he pays Cobalt Ferrero $650 for a portrait of himself.
 * In "Booth Buddies", he pays $650 to take pictures with Star in the photo booth.
 * In "Butterfly Follies", he buys two pies at the Pie Carnyvale for $650 each.
 * In "Yada Yada Berries", he bribes Apothecary Sherry with $650 for information.
 * It is revealed in "Monster Bash" that Marco's karate stance has become a popular dance craze among Mewman and monster teenagers called the "Sword Hand Dance".
 * Marco has a cat allergy, as shown in issue #4 of the Deep Trouble comic series.
 * Marco's favorite karate move is the "block and claw", and his favorite spell is Rainbow Fist Punch.
 * In the "FanCo13" live chat:
 * Marco admits he's felt strange around Star ever since the events of "Blood Moon Ball".
 * He also admits that he's not sure if he and Tom have become friends.
 * He gets upset to learn that someone nicknamed him "Mango" (namely Oskar Greason in "Starcrushed").
 * When asked about how he feels about Star, Marco admits that he still doesn't have an answer, saying that he barely had any time to process Star's confession (but also admits he's glad she told him).
 * Additionally, in the "StarLIVE" live chat with Star Butterfly, although he has yet to give a finite answer on the subject, he casually remarks, "Who wouldn't have a crush on you?", hinting how he may feel about her.
 * In the second "Marco's Spooky Stories" live chat, Marco admits that Star is "kinda cute", but when asked if he thinks she's "super cute", he becomes flustered and moves on to the next question.