Character Issues - "I am not Gonzo or Uncle Scrooge! I am Larfleeze!"

Larfleeze - Agent Orange, Bears a Striking Resemblance between Gonzo & Uncle Scrooge

The event of all massive events for this year is of course, DC's The Blackest Night. Inhabitants of Geek-dom know the story quite well. I'm sure some of you've made a sizable dent in your wallet with the numerous cross-overs and tie-ins (some are ragin' like the Red Lantern Atrocitus because a number of those crossover/tie-in books could of been left on the shelf). Ahh but back to the point. I'll give you the quick 10-cent version - deceased superheroes, super villains, family members, pets, or any person/thing related to the living are resurrected by Black Rings and are out to destroy all emotion and life in the DC Universe. In a nut shell, anybody who was dead had their feelings hurt in one way or another by the living. They are butt-hurt and want revenge.
To make it even-Steven, delegates of the Black Lanterns want to pull the hearts out of the chest of the living and chomp on it like a piece of fried chicken. Bygones.  As you can imagine, there are dark and grim overtones throughout the The Blackest Night. Drama on top of drama for virtually all the characters of DC. Except for one. Larfleeze, the sole bearer of the Orange light of avarice. Agent Orange is surprisingly one of my favorite characters of the Rainbow Lantern Coalition. 

He brings some needed comic relief to the whole sky is falling scene.

He has developed into a the scene stealer of the page with his out of touch mindset and off the wall comments and one-liners. His only emotion is extreme greed & material gain even though people are dying left and right. He is the symbol of gluttony with total disregard of his surroundings. He just wants one of his own, no matter what it is.

Even the other characters of the colored lanterns realize how amusingly ridiculous Larfleeze is with their sarcastic responses to and about him.

He is not without some redeeming qualities though. He eventually joins the Rainbow Rodeo team of Hal Jordon, Sinestro, Carol Ferris, Indigo 1, Saint Walker, Atrocitus, and Guardian's Ganthent and Sayd to battle the Black Lanterns. Of course, Larfleeze had one condition. That he be given his own Guardian, in which Sayd agreed to do once the Blackest Night is over. Oh Agent Orange, you greedy animal.

The crown-creator-prince of DC, Geoff Johns, devised the holder of the Orange Lantern along with the funny dialogue & quips surrounding this character.

The way Johns came up with the name Larfleeze is by combining the words "lard" and "sleaze" - even his name origin is hilarious.

Now, a comic foil to an epic fantasy drama is nothing new.


Some might draw some comparisons to Gollum (my precious) or Jar Jar Binks. Gollum (one of the greatest fantasy villains) I get but Jar Jar? Double Jar Binks was created solely to attract children to the Stars Wars I. Larfleeze is definitely not kid friendly.

Agent Orange would pimp-slap the Jar Jar out of Binks with his Gonzo-like nose.

Editor's Note:  Be sure to pickup the Green Lantern Christmas Special on stands 12/22/2010!!!  Larfleeze vs. Santa!!! 

This post was written by:
chessie