Martin Kratt (Wild Kratts)

OOC Information

NAME: Mew

AGE: 26

OTHER CHARACTERS PLAYED; N/A

IC Information

CHARACTER NAME: Martin Kratt

AGE: Mid to late 20s, possibly early 30s (Generally 4 years older than Chris)

CANON: Wild Kratts

CANON POINT: Post-Series (Wild Kratts currently has a third season in production, but I don’t expect a huge amount of change to occur to Martin in canon since that’s not really the aim of the show)

FAMILY TYPES: Deep Savers, Nature Spirits, Wind Guardians

These three families best reflect the aspects of Martin I find most remarkable. Martin is the “Swimming Kratt” so Deep Savers is an obvious choice for him. He has a very kind and gentle nature in keeping with that family. However, he is also absolutely a free spirit who marches to the beat of…some kind of drum, so Wind Guardians suits him as well, especially since he’s arguably the best flyer of the two brothers. Finally, Nature Spirits is almost too easy a choice since he and his brother both fit that category to a “T” in personality and in interests. Nature is their profession after all.

APPEARANCE: Martin is a tall (around 6’1”) male with an athletic build. He has blond hair and bright blue eyes, and slightly tan skin from being outdoors nearly all the time. He wears a blue zip-up fleece jacket (often with the zipper all or halfway down) with a white t-shirt underneath. Khaki cargo shorts, grey socks, and a pair of brown hiking boots complete his outfit.

Martin will also have his backpack with him, which is a basic greyish-brown, weather-resistant traveler's pack. Inside will be an assortment of simple camping and survival supplies, in particular a first-aid kit, an air mask for underwater study, his creature pod (a smartphone-like personal communication device and his creature power suit. The latter two won't work except for certain events, due to the in-game breakage of non-Terminal tech. Martin has a canon habit of having...unusual items and things on him that borders on "convenient hammerspace", both in his backpack and on his person. However, I'll be careful to keep these items to a reasonable type and amount.

PERSONALITY: Martin, despite being the older brother, is arguably the more exuberant of the two in most situations. As a zoologist and creature adventurer, he gets excited at the prospect of watching the animals he loves in action and seeing them use their amazing abilities. And getting to nickname them. That's always fun.

While both Kratts are generally optimistic, cheery, and peppy individuals, Martin takes it to the next level. He has an enduring happy-go-lucky attitude and he is a goofball. He likes to joke around, and laugh, and have fun, sometimes even in the face of danger or dire straits. However, he is not an idiot, nor is he incapable of looking out for himself as, while Martin has been known to make some incredibly ill-advised choices, like chewing on sticks to make a point or not always watching where he’s going, those have to do with his occasional lack of common sense, not intelligence. He’s actually incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to creatures and has very good intuition when it comes to their thought processes, like in “Huge Orange Problem” where he was the first to figure out that an imposing male Orangutan they encountered was actually trying to help them, not hinder them. He also has a decent knack for pointing out problems with his brother’s or the crew’s plans, like in “Cheetah Racer” or “Little Howler” where his brother wanted to attract a predator using its respective prey creature power. He actually tends to be cautious, if not reluctant at least, about things that he seems certain will end poorly. Unfortunately, he’s not always listened to, possibly because of the jovial nature with which he tends to point things out, or because what he’s saying is more “out there” than others are willing to believe. He doesn’t seem to let this bother him though and he approaches most problems with a positive, determined mindset. He also puts a lot of trust in his friends’, and most especially his brother’s judgment. Even if it means doing something that seems most assuredly dangerous, like helping paddle their canoe over a raging waterfall in “Build It Beaver”, with only his brother’s reassurance to go on.

And Martin can treat things completely seriously though, not the least example of which is when an animal or its habitat is being threatened, or when his friends and especially his brother are in trouble. He spends the better part of the episode “Flight of the Pollinators” trying to get Chris back, to the point where he may or may not have gotten any sleep at all, and he takes responsibility for the dire situation the entire crew finds themselves in in “Let the Rhinos Roll,” as well as the loss of Aviva’s beloved creature power suits in “Octopus Wildkratticus”. He’s also clearly concerned about the repercussions his choices and actions will have for the animals he’s placed in charge of in “Ker-Honk”. It’s not totally impossible to get him discouraged either, as when things start to really drag him down or look especially bleak, his mood can take a nose-dive, but he does tend to rebound from these moments fairly quickly.

His approach to problems is often trial and error: Do something, see if it works, and if it doesn't try something else. This is in contrast to his brother, Chris's more analytic approach, and it can get him into trouble sometimes, even if it arguably can also buy Chris the time he needs to do things the more careful way. This dynamic is most clearly shown in the episode “Fireflies”, where Martin goes on ahead, coming up with plans and distractions against the villain of the day literally “on the fly” while Chris stays behind to decode the firefly language that will ultimately help the brothers rescue poached fireflies. Martin is really good at thinking quickly and improvising as seen in "Honey Seekers" where he uses his small Honey Guide bird form (that most might see as useless) to defeat a much larger foe as well as rescue Chris and their friend, Aviva. He can also be pretty crafty when it comes to out-smarting villains in general, as seen in "Flight of the Draco" where he fools fashion villain Donita into thinking he's going to go along with her animal fashion show and again in “Mimic” when he tricks her into taking a sleeping, and soon to be incredibly irritable, Honey Badger instead of the Cheetah cub that she wanted.

Martin is incredibly friendly and amiable, very rarely becoming truly annoyed or frustrated with someone unless they push one of his buttons (those being creatures, their habitat, his friends, and his brother). He’s got a fuse several miles long, likely from having grown up with a brother with a somewhat shorter temper, but in general he seems to avoid taking offense or getting agitated at others. While both Kratts are far too nice to their antagonists, Martin tends to converse with them in a more cheerier manner, if one bordering on sarcasm, whenever they run into them. He looks out for his brother and his friends, ready with a sympathetic ear and often supplying a word of encouragement or acting as a source of optimism. He and his brother may differ in some ways, and bicker or tease each other from time to time, but it’s never mean-spirited and it’s clear they care a lot about each other. One of their creature adventurer mottos is “Always watch each other’s backs” and for them, that’s a promise.

In short, Martin is pretty easy going, prone to bouts of silly humor, and generally just a nice, likable guy.

HISTORY: Martin's early years are a little lacking in solid details, although from a brief flashback in canon and an off-hand quote from one of the brothers, it can be gathered that he grew up with his younger brother Chris in a suburban New Jersey neighborhood. Even at a young age, Martin apparently had a love of animals as seen in a flashback to his childhood where he and Chris confront a future villain about his mistreatment of a hapless frog. It's possible that as the older brother, Martin's fascination with creatures carried over into Chris, although it's just as easy to assume these two had an appreciation of animals at conception birth.

At any rate, this interest followed him into adulthood as he studied zoology and eventually he turned his passion for the animal kingdom into a career as he worked in nature conservation. He'd be joined later by his brother Chris, and the two of them would journey around the continent, studying animals and ecosystems together. At some point during their treks they met the computer scientist, Aviva, who also had an interest in studying nature. She developed the Tortuga (a huge flying, tortoise-shaped ship) and, along with teammates Koki and Jimmy Z, asked the Kratt brothers to join her in traveling the world. It was in this way that Martin and Chris began their planet-wide creature adventures, journeying from place to place to discover more about animals and their environments as well as help Aviva develop her amazing Creature Power Suits that allowed the wearers to almost literally "be the creatures" they were studying.

With the Creature Power suit, Martin was able to experience the lifestyles and abilities of his beloved animals first hand. Notable transformations of his include a Peregrine Falcon, a Largemouth Bass, a Monarch Butterfly, and even a Giraffe, but he has many more creature forms beyond those. It seems that occasionally the instincts of the animal whose power Martin has activated can get the better of him (particularly when it comes to food instincts) but what's life without a few surprises?

Throughout their adventures the Kratt brothers and the rest of the Tortuga crew have encountered an assortment of bad guys who would much rather use animals for profit or harm them for kicks, but Martin, along with his brother Chris, are always able to undo their plans and save the animals in time. Every once in awhile it's the brothers themselves who have inadvertently caused trouble for the animals (they're only human after all) but they always find a way to set things right again.

As mentioned earlier, I'm taking Martin post any and all episodes of Wild Kratts so any truly important canon details will be added as needed. ...The episodes are aired out of order anyway so this shouldn't be a huge problem, and since his tech won’t work here, the issue of what creature powers he does and doesn’t have is almost completely moot, barring an event or something. XD

SAMPLES
FIRST PERSON:
1.) If you were given the option to stay in the Digital World or return to your home, which would you choose? Why?

Uhh…hah, fun as the Digital World is, I’d have to return home. There’re sooo many creatures back home we haven’t learned about yet, and people like Zach, Gourmand, and Donita are still out there who don’t understand how important these creatures, h’all creatures, are. And all our friends and family are back home too, missing us. Can’t just leave them behind.

2.) What ability would you most like to have?

Oho man, tough question. Uhhh, maybe the ability to breath underwater? No no, ah, flight. Being able to fly is so cool. …Althooough, so is being able to see in the dark. Or having a prehensile tail. Ooo, or being super strong! How about the ability to run really fast? And you can’t forget about super sensitive hearing, or being able to leap amazing distances, or walk on the surface of water or snow. …Hah’ah, y’think I could have all of them? S’hard to pick just one.

3.) You have one choice. That choice will result in either the end of the world or it will save it. Which way would you go?

Save it, of course! What kind of person’d choose to end a world? Hah’I mean, even if you were the kind of person that’d want the world to end, that’d probably be the end of you too.

THIRD PERSON:

"Yeah, but Chris and I, we're creature adventurers. We're supposed to watch each others' backs out there..."

Martin had been out searching for hours. Of course, it hadn't felt like hours though. Well, at times it did. Other times it felt more like he'd only been searching for mere minutes. And then, at times, it felt like he'd been searching for days. Which of course was impossible because he'd only lost Chris this morning, but your perception of time did odd things when you're low on sleep.

...And hooked up to an artificial pair of bee antennae.

Unfortunately, he'd had no luck with Aviva's invention despite his best efforts. He'd followed pollen smells and an assortment of pollinators all over the forest throughout the night but still no sign of his miniaturized little brother and no signal over his creature pod. Needless to say, his mood and his energy levels were badly starting to flag as he trudged his way back to the Tortuga just as the sun was starting to rise.

Maybe the crew had figured out another way to find Chris while he'd been out. He was getting low on ideas, and sitting around and plotting his next move was feeling even less appealing than it usually did. How could he possibly sit still, knowing his brother was lost somewhere out in the forest, at around the size of an ant? ...And had been lost out there all night, with all manner of nocturnal creatures about? It didn't help that his brother had an odd knack for attracting predators...

He grimaced a little and then sighed as he arrived at their campsite.

...And then stopped.

The starts of a framework for a large...something had been constructed outside. Koki was welding metal pieces together while Aviva supervised. And if Martin wasn't mistaken, the entire piece looked vaguely flower-like.

His mood suddenly swung back upwards, his expression brightening to an almost too wide grin. Whatever Aviva, Koki, and Jimmy had come up with, it sure looked impressive. And he had every faith in them that they'd help him find Chris again.

And he would find Chris. He'd keep searching for him until he did. There was no doubt in his mind about that.

Mun Name: Mew, Manta, or Twizz is fine. :)
Journal: mewberries151
Contact Info: mewberries151@hotmail.com
Other Characters: Kat

Name: Martin Kratt
From: Wild Kratts
Appearance: Normal outfit (He's the fellow in blue.) And with the creature power suit unactivated. The creature power suit will be on him when he arrives in the city, in its dormant state.


Age: Adult. 5 years older than brother Chris.
Gender: Male
Personality: Martin, despite being the older brother, is arguably the more exuberant of the two in most situations. As a zoologist and creature explorer, he gets excited at the prospect of watching the animals he loves in action and seeing them use their amazing abilities. And getting to nickname them. That's always fun.

He can treat things seriously though, not the least example of which is when an animal or its habitat is being threatened. His approach to problems is often trial and error: Do something, see if it works, and if it doesn't try something else. This is in contrast to his brother Chris's more analytic approach, and it can get him into trouble sometimes, even if it arguably can also buy Chris the time he needs to do things the more careful way.

Martin is fairly good at improvising as seen in "Honey Seekers" where he uses his small Honey Guide bird form (that most might see as useless) to defeat a much larger foe as well as rescue Chris and his friend, Aviva. He can also be pretty crafty when it comes to out-smarting villains in general, as seen in "Flight of the Draco" where he fools fashion villain Donita into thinking he's going to go along with her animal fashion show.

In general, Martin is pretty easy going, prone to bouts of silly humor, and generally just a nice, likable guy.

Backstory: (Standby for some headcanon here and there.)

Martin's early years are a tad lacking in details, although from a brief flashback in canon, it can be gathered that he grew up with his younger brother Chris in your average suburban neighborhood. Even at a young age, Martin apparently had a love of animals as seen in a flashback to his childhood where he and Chris confront a future villain about his mistreatment of animals. It's possible that as the older brother, Martin's fascination with creatures carried over into Chris, although it's just as easy to assume these two had an appreciation of animals at conception birth.

At any rate, this interest followed him into adulthood as he studied zoology and eventually he turned his passion for the animal kingdom into a career as he worked in nature conservation. He'd be joined later by his brother Chris, and the two of them would journey around the continent, studying animals and ecosystems together. At some point during their treks they met the computer scientist, Aviva, who also had an interest in studying nature. She soon developed the Tortuga (a huge flying, tortoise-shaped ship)and, along with teammates Koki and Jimmy Z, asked the Kratt brothers to join her in traveling the world. It was in this way that Martin and Chris began their planet-wide animal adventures, journeying from place to place to discover more about animals and their environments as well as help Aviva develop her amazing Creature Power Suits, that allowed the wearers to almost literally "be the creatures" they were studying.

With the Creature Power suit, Martin was able to experience the lifestyles and abilities of his beloved animals first hand. Notable transformations of his include a Peregrine Falcon, a Largemouth Bass, a Monarch Butterfly, but he has many more creature forms beyond those. It seems that occasionally the instincts of the animal whose power Martin has activated can get the better of him (particularly when it comes to food instincts) but what's life without a few surprises?

Throughout their adventures the Kratt brothers and the rest of the Tortuga crew have encountered an assortment of bad guys who would much rather use animals for profit or harm them for kicks, but Martin, along with his brother Chris, are always able to undo their plans and save the animals in time. Every once in awhile it's the brothers themselves who have inadvertently caused trouble for the animals (they're only human after all) but they always find a way to set things right again.

I'm taking Martin post any and all episodes of Wild Kratts so any important canon will be added as needed, and this avails him potential access to any past and future creature power disks. (...The episodes are aired out of order anyway so this shouldn't be a huge problem. XD )

Moral Standing: Neutral Good.

Dreams: A world where animals and humans exist harmoniously together. Finding the perfect nickname for his latest creature pal.

Fears: Losing a species to extinction and/or not being able to conserve the natural habitat of an animal. The "Creature of the Week" getting eaten/poached/vanishing somehow before he gets to nickname it.

Extra: Martin Kratt is technically a real person, however his animated counterpart in Wild Kratts has had fictional adventures and comes from a world with technology just a jump ahead of our own, which I feel differentiates him enough to qualify as a cartoon. Nevermind that both he and Chris have been shown to have some toon-like qualities in the show, the least of which is typical "Toon" invulnerability to certain impacts and falls that would probably injure a real person.

As mentioned above, Martin will be bringing his Creature Power Suit with him (and will share bringing the Tortuga with Chris, see the Location section below). The suit allows him to take on the features (and sometimes the instincts) of an animal when the proper power disk is loaded into it. Each power disk contains the DNA and information of a particular animal and when inserted into the power suit activate that creature power. In most circumstances, the animal related to the creature power must be present for the activation to be successful. However, because it has also been shown in canon that the transformations can be triggered by voice or methods other than the disk (and because actual animals are few and far between in the city), while Martin is in-game he will be able to activate creature powers he has had in canon with the use of the disks alone (his canon pre-made power disks will be coming with him via the Tortuga). In the event he acquires any new Creature Powers in the city though, he will require the proper DNA via touch as well as the disk.

Martin will also be bringing his Creature Pod with him. The Creature Pod is a small, smartphone-like device that can be carried independently as well as fit into the glove of Martin's power suit around the wrist. It has data gathering features for field work, and can access a large archive of animal-related information and project this information in video form via a holographic-like screen. Additionally, the Creature Pod has been shown to be able to scan harmlessly through eggshell walls (and possibly actual walls).

Also, you could say that Martin is the "more accomplished" driver of the two brothers. But he can still be pretty reckless (see the beginning of "Aardvark Town" where he thought jumping the jeep over a wide body of water was a grand idea).

Character Location: The other half of the Tortuga

Samples:
Some choice scenes with Martin.

This is how he got his username.
Showing how Martin and Chris have different approaches to solving problems.
And how Martin handles losing a friend (warning: bring tissues).

And a playlist of full episodes of Wild Kratts available on Youtube.

Writing Sample:
Musebox Post
Dear Mun Post