Come on, who wants to catch a wave? You don't have to take off your pants, just take off your shirts.Markey412 to T.J. and Karen, revealing indirectly that he is in fact a pedophile.
Hey, you guys can come back anytime you want. Just don't forget our little agreement: not to tell your parents. You don't want them mad at you for buying bootleg games.Markey412's final lines.
Marky412 is a one-time character on the 1997-1999 Disney sitcom Smart Guy. He serves as the main antagonist of the second season episode Strangers on the Net. He is an ex-con and pedophile who initially acted as a "friend" to the show's protagonist T.J. Henderson before revealing his true colors.
He is portrayed by Jim Fyfe.
History
After T.J.'s dad refused to buy a new game titled Starship Doctor costing $55, he asks his friend Karen for advise on how to save up enough money to buy the game. Karen directs him to a friend she met online named Marky412, who sells a bootleg copy of the game for only $20. T.J., while initially skeptical on buying an illegal copy of the game, ultimately agrees after Karen calls him a "wuss". While chatting, Marky412 reveals that he has a copy of "Starship Doctor" they were looking for, as well as plenty of other games Karen and T.J. also want. They agree to bring the money to buy the games and are to meet him at Dawgburger.
After getting the money to buy the games by "fixing" Marcus's new car, T.J and Karen travel to Dawgburger to find Marky412. He appears suddenly, raising both kids eyebrows over the fact that he not a kid, rather a full-grown man. T.J. is skeptical, wondering why an adult was in the kids chatroom, but soon forgets about it after Marky412 shows them the three games they agreed to buy. When T.J. states that he can't wait to show his dad the new games, Marky412 stops him, asking him not tell his dad about anything, pointing out that the games are bootleg copies and thus technically illegal. T.J. agrees, with Marky412 telling him if they ever what to buy more games to send him a message on the chatroom.
The next day, Marky412 sends T.J. a message asking him if he likes the new games. T.J. replies that he loves them, only to learn that Marky412 has two more new games available. T.J. agrees to buy them and tells Marky412 to meet him at Dawgburger again, however this time Marky412 tells him he is unable to meet him there, as he has to stay home working on a new game his is making. He instead invites T.J. and Karen to his house to see the new game, which they agree to do in secret whilst obtaining more money from Marcus.
Upon T.J. and Karen's arrival, Marky412 shows them the new game he's working on: a virtual-reality surfing game called Surf City, using a camera to capture one's image to imitate in-game movements. He allows T.J. and Karen to try out the game, telling them that they will be the first one to play it.
Everything goes fine at first, but then everything changes when Marky412 states there is a huge problem: the fact that T.J. and Karen are wearing their normal clothes while surfing. Marky412 claims it ruins the reality of the game, and suggests that they should instead be wearing swimsuits. T.J. politely declines, noting jokingly that the D.C. in Washington D.C. stands for "Darn Cold". Marky412 then suggests instead that they instead wear only their underwear, saying it's the same as "jams" and suggests giving it a try. T.J. and Karen, feeling uncomfortable about the idea decline with that suggestion. Marky412 fakes understanding, and instead mentions how he had a few friends who were also uncomfortable with the idea but later loosened up, whilst showing them a binder containing pictures of them. In the pictures, Marky412 shows them a girl named Melissa, who was roughly the two kids' age and like them was nervous with the idea of undressing to please him; however overtime Marky412 claims that she started to become more comfortable with the idea and eventually began surfing with her shirt off. Realizing that Marky412 wasn't telling them the truth about them being the first to try out the game, T.J. points out this disturbing inconsistency, which Marky412 then hesitantly plays down, claiming instead that they are the first tryout "this version" whilst lying out having to fix it overtime to fix bugs. He once again persuades the kids to take off their shirts, to which T.J. (realizing that he is in fact a pedophile) then states that they have to go. Marky412 then suggests instead to help them with get past level 6 of Ultra Blaster 4, claiming a smart kid like [T.J.] would be able to figure out the problem. T.J. openly refuses, saying he has to get home with dinner. Karen initially attempts to stay, but T.J. persuades her to leave, which she relents to after having a short argument with him over why she has to go. As they leave, Marky412 stops them, reminding the two not to tell their parents about him or the fact that he is selling them bootleg games, which T.J. fakes agreeing to.
When T.J. arrives home, his dad begins to notice him acting strange. After confronting him about what's going on, T.J. confesses about Marky412 selling him and Karen bootleg games, at first Floyd is upset at T.J. for doing that, but when T.J. reveals that he was actually an adult in the kid's chatroom, Floyd becomes deeply concerned. T.J. tells him the full story, which prompts Floyd to call the police, all of which is done off-screen.
Detective Shevlen arrives at the Henderson's home and after calling the station, she reveals that the man T.J. knew as Marky412 was actually an ex-con who had served time in prison for a similar incident previously. She reveals that he was currently on parole and that by simply talking to T.J. and Karen was in violation of that. She then states that he has since been arrested and is in custody with no bail posted. Floyd is relieved to hear the news and assures T.J. that thanks to him he will not be able to harm him or anyone else again. The family and Detective Shelter praise T.J. calling him a hero. However, T.J. still feels very upset about what had happened.
Later that night, T.J. wakes up and talks to Floyd about the incident. Floyd lectures T.J. that while he talked to Marky412 before he got to know him was not okay, noting that he didn’t act like a stranger doesn't mean he is one; nonetheless he commends him for realizing that something was wrong and leaving when he had the chance. He finishes his conversation by reminding him that whenever he has a problem, he can always tell him anytime.
Trivia
- It is possible that Marky412's prior arrest involved the girl Melissa, whom he mentioned to T.J. and Karen.
