Martin Dunkly (Red)

Martin in "The Martin Crimes"

**Martin Dunkly** was the version of Martin from the Red World.

## Biography

Like his counterparts from the Blue, Silver and Yellow Worlds, he was a pompous, obnoxious bully who delighted in belittling other people and making their lives miserable.

While not in school, he helped his mother Olive run her antiques shop. When the Werrinup Thief (later revealed to be Francis Zapmeister) began stealing things from all over town, Mrs. Dunkly offered a $100 reward for his capture. Martin assisted Constable Garcia apprehend Ben, who appeared to be the culprit, and told his mother that he wanted the reward money.

When Francis Zapmeister stole Martin's MP3 player, he assumed that the Francis of his own world was responsible and Mrs. Dunkly threatened to report the incident to Constable Garcia if the player wasn't returned by five o'clock that day. The two Francises and Ben conspired to convince the adults that Martin had simply misplaced the player and at the same time make him look like an idiot. The three of them agreed that the best way to do it was with Tiffany's unwitting help. At exactly ten to five, Francis emptied a bin all over Martin. Simultaneously, Francis Zapmeister, posing as his counterpart, confessed his undying love to Tiffany, who later confirmed that Francis had been with her when he had supposedly dumped the rubbish over Martin. Mrs. Dunkly then arrived with the MP3 player which Francis Zapmeister had put back in his bedroom. Martin was humiliated and his mother chastised him for making her look foolish in front of the Shorts.

Although Martin was dating Tiffany, he and Ben were longtime rivals for Melinda's affections. Martin bet Ben that he could not organise a successful 1950 themed rock n' roll dance on two days' notice. The stakes were that Ben would leave Melinda alone if the party was a disaster while Martin would do likewise if Ben pulled it off. Although the dance was a success thanks in part to Francis Zapmeister's efforts, Martin told Melinda that Ben had warned all of the boys in town to stay away from her. However, Martin did not realise that he was speaking to Melinda's Blue World counterpart at the time. This Melinda told him that he would love it if he told her jokes about dumb blondes and called her by her favourite pet names "Flossy" and "Cheeky Babe." Several minutes later, Martin tried all three with the Red World Melinda, who promptly poured her drink over his head. She then danced with Ben. After this incident, Melinda found Martin increasingly irritating and avoided him whenever possible.

Martin particularly hated Ben and tormented him at every opportunity. He frequently mocked him over his fear of the water and even pushed him into the ocean on one occasion. While Francis rescued him, Martin taunted Ben by calling him a big girl. He later described him as a total wuss. This was one of a series of incidents across the Parallax that inspired the gang to exact revenge on the Martins. They each lured one of the Martins to a hut in the Green World where the four of them came face to face. All four Martins were terrified at meeting their counterparts. They were subsequently told that it was all done with mirrors but they all had their suspicions that something else was going on.

Several weeks later, Martin observed Stefan exiting the portal in the drain and became suspicious. His Blue World counterpart then emerged from the portal as his suspicions had likewise been raised when he saw Stefan entering the portal on the other side. This led to the two Martins meeting. They compared stories and realised that Ben and Katherine had tricked them when they led the two of them and their counterparts to the Green World. Realising the possibilities for alibis, the Martin of the Blue World disguised himself as his counterpart so that no one would be able to tell them apart. The Martins then went to the Johnson house and demanded an explanation.

Annoyed that the gang refused to tell them anything, the Martins attempted to blackmail them into letting them join by threatening to reveal the existence of the Parallax to everyone in both of their worlds. However, Ben and Katherine pointed out that no one would believe them while the Melinda of the Blue World reminded her Martin that his claims would probably get him locked up in their world. Tiffany sided with the two Martins and she decided to join their gang. After it became clear to the Martins that she knew very little about how the Parallax worked, they abandoned her. The Blue World Martin criticised his counterpart for his choice of girlfriend.

Tiffany became concerned that the two Martins were lost in the Parallax and tried to explain the situation to Constable Garcia. While trying to avoid being seen together, the Martins ran into Francis, who sheepishly asked the Martin of the Blue World to return home and not cause any trouble. The Martins bullied and blackmailed Francis into giving them the fast food that he had just bought by threatening to tell Garcia everything that they knew about the Parallax. Seeing an opportunity for revenge for the earlier incident with the bin, the Martin of the Red World then told Francis that he had to empty a nearby bin all over his head in front of Garcia and warned him that they would be watching. Francis realised that he had no other choice if he wanted to protect his friends and the secret of the Parallax. The Red World Martin told his counterpart that revenge was sweet. However, Garcia had misunderstood Tiffany's claims about there being two of him and believed that there was a new criminal gang called the Martins operating in Werrinup. He reported his suspicions to Mrs. Dunkly, who ordered her son home because of his alleged gang involvement.

Several days later, Martin was annoyed that he had missed the opportunity to look like a hero when Francis saved Melinda from drowning after she fell off her bodyboard. Having been goaded by his counterpart, he ran down to the beach and attempted to steal the limelight by suggesting the formation of a Surf Club with himself as President and Melinda as Secretary. When Melinda pointed out that Francis should be President as he had saved her, Martin argued that he was the best choice. The shy Francis admitted that he wasn't that fussed. Melinda then got the idea from Una that a triathlon consisting of running, cycling and paddleboarding should be held to determine who should be President. Martin was reluctant as he knew that Francis was much fitter than him but went along with the idea in order to save face. His counterpart suggested that they cheat by taking turns in the competition. Tiffany realised what the two Martins had planned and threatened to tell everyone, citing a desire to protect their morals. Martin backed down and decided to do it all by himself, to his counterpart's annoyance and confusion. Francis eventually won and was declared President of the Surf Club. Delighted by his own counterpart's victory, Francis Zapmeister taunted the losers by telling them that it would take more than two measly Martins to beat one Francis.

As with his counterparts from the Blue, Green and Silver Worlds, he was recruited by Betti as part of her Martin spy network across the Parallax. He was given a red baseball cap to distinguish him from the others. Martin was delighted when he learned of Ben's apparent death, branding him a loser. His Green World counterpart was very disturbed by his attitude. Seeing the Parallax symbol on a book in Betti's house on Circe Island, Martin realised that it was where she hid her stave. He and the Martin of the Blue World began fighting over it and accidentally activated it. He was furious when he learned of the other Martin's plan to make a deal with Betti.

The next day, Martin was searching for Ben, whom he had learned was still alive, in his own world. When he ran into the Melinda of the Blue World, she pretended to be intimidated by him and sent him on a wild goose chase by telling him that she had last seen Ben heading towards the drain. Francis was very impressed by her deception.

## Appearances

* "One Big Happy Family"
* "The Artful Dodger"
* "Achey, Breaky Heart"
* "Lost in Paradise"
* "The Battle of Mundi's World"
* "The Big Sleep-Over"
* "The Martin Crimes"
* "Too Many Chiefs"
* "The Reluctant Guardian"
* "Sand Witch"
* "My Favourite Martin"
* "Cheats Never Prosper"
* "Martinmania"
* "The Reading Room"

## Behind the Scenes

All versions of Martin were played by Kazimir Sas.

With 14 appearances, he made the most appearances of any version of Martin.