“What is Character of the Month? I want to be Character of the Month! MINE!”
The Orange Lantern Larfleeze may be a relatively new character to comics, but he has more than earned the right to be our latest Comic Booked Character of the Month. Tis the season of giving, or taking in Larfleeze’s case. No one knows greed better than Larfleeze, with his seemingly patented catchphrase of ‘MINE’. Though he has primarily been featured throughout various ‘Green Lantern’ series, Larfleeze will star in his own Christmas special one-shot which hits stands at the tail end of this month on December 22nd.
Larfleeze is the sole surviving member of the Orange Lantern Corps (save for Lex Luthor, who was briefly an honorary recruit), which is powered by greed and avarice. Created by writer Geoff Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver, Larfleeze first appeared in ‘Green Lantern’ #24 way back in 2007. He is most renowned for his large role in DC Comic’s epic ‘Blackest Night’ event in 2009. While at Comic-Con International 2009, writer and creator Geoff Johns commented that Larfleeze was one of his favorite characters to write because of how “out of touch” he is. Beyond greed, emotions have no value to Larfleeze at all. Since he burst onto the scene, Larfleeze has steadily grown in popularity; quickly becoming a new favorite amongst fans.
The History of Larfleeze
Billions of years ago, a small group of thieves lead by Larfleeze stole a substantial amount of treasure, relics and artifacts from the planet Maltus for a mysterious buyer. Among these treasures was a box containing Parallax and a section of an ancient map that had originally belonged to Krona. While escaping the Maltus, one of Larfleeze’s team was captured by The Manhunters while the other four escaped with both the box and the map. After studying the map, the team traveled to Okaara in The Vega System, where they discovered the Orange Lantern Central Power Battery in an ancient underground palace.
Becoming overwhelmed by the Central Power Battery‘s influence, Larfleeze and the two other surviving members of his team began frantically fighting for control of it. While they fought amongst themselves, The Guardians of the Universe and an army of Manhunters arrived upon Okaara to try and retrieve the box containing Parallax. However, because of it’s proximity to Larfleeze and the others, The Guardians could not get within reaching distance of the box.
The Guardians offered a deal to the Larfleeze and the other surviving member of his team, Blooch, after explaining that they were not after the Orange Power Battery. In exchange for the Parallax entity, The Guardians would give control of the Orange Light of Avarice as well as the entire Vega System to whoever survived the struggle for the Orange Lantern. In the end, Larfleeze emerged victorious over his former friend Blooch, Parallax was returned to the Guardians, and Larfleeze became Agent Orange.
As part of the deal, The Guardians promised that neither they nor anyone affiliated with them would ever come back to the Vega system, so long as Larfleeze did not allow The Orange Light to shine beyond that systems reach. Others, however, would still come looking for the Orange Light of Avarice. Over the course of billions of years, Larfleeze murdered countless people that happened upon the Vega system; claiming their souls as slaves to his will. Larfleeze occasionally overlooked a couple of trespasses made by The Green Lantern Corps simply because they were just trying to capture members of The Spider Guild and The Sinestro Corps. Then The Controllers came.
The Controllers were a race who split off from the Guardians long ago, and they had come looking for the Orange Light of Avarice. Unfortunately for them, they did so during Larfleeze’s feasting time. Infuriated, Larfleeze slaughtered them all and claimed their souls. Later, while a Green Lantern named Stel was pursuing a Sinestro Corps soldier into The Vega System, Larfleeze summoned the soul of Blume, a massive creature whom he had previously taken control. Blume devoured the Sinestro Corps Lantern and then turned it’s attention to Stel.
Under orders from Larfleeze, Blume tore off all of Stel’s limbs and branded him with the symbol of the Orange Light of Avarice. When Stel’s body was brought back to The Guardians of the Universe for examination, they were shocked to see the symbol. Without warning, a pillar of orange flames burst forth and created an energy construct of Larfleeze which would allow him to communicate with The Guardians.
Larfleeze was furious with them and began blaming them for The Controllers’ actions as well as taking his feasting time away from him. He then started making demands but his transmission was cut short by Scar, who declared that the next law to be placed in The Book of Oa would be that The Vega System is no longer off-limits to the Guardians of the Universe. The other Guardians agreed, sending a massive army of Green Lanterns into the Vega system where they apprehended many of the criminals who had been using it as a safe haven from the Green Lantern Corps reach. The Guardians and the Green Lanterns then made their way to Okaara, where Larfleeze unleashed the souls of his victims against them.
A vicious fight broke out and, as the Guardians and the Green Lanterns attempted to fend off the attacking energy beings. As the fight continued Hal Jordan got separated from his allies and fell down a large chasm where Larfleeze just so happened to be waiting for him. When Larfleeze sensed the presence of the Blue Lantern Ring on Hal’s finger, he became intoxicated by the power it was emitting. Larfleeze made himself known to Hal and demanded that Hal surrender the Blue Lantern Ring to him immediately.
Larfleeze asked what the Blue Lantern Ring was “full” of and the ring asked what Larfleeze hoped for. Larfleeze responded, with the symbol of the Blue Lantern Corps glowing in his eyes, that he desired a great many things and that what he hoped for was the Blue Lantern Ring. Because Hope is a selfless emotion, and Larfleeze was a being controlled by Greed, it rejected Larfleeze and shocked him with a burst of it’s energy; preventing Larfleeze from removing it. This gave Hal the chance to get the one-up on Larfleeze but only for a moment. Larfleeze proved to be too powerful for even Hal in his current state to handle and was promptly swatted aside. Hal did not refuse to give up however and the two came to a standstill.
Hal offered a trade. The Blue Lantern Power Ring in return for the tale of how Larfleeze came to be Agent Orange. Larfleeze told him the story and, when he tried to take the Ring from Hal, the ring once again rejected him. Larfleeze declared that Hal was a “welsher” and had had enough with his bartering. Hal desperately pleaded for Larfleeze to retain patience while he tried to get it off but Larfleeze, not wanting to wait, formed a large energy construct in the shape of a massive sword and sliced Hal’s right arm off and took the Blue Ring for himself. As he did it welcomed Larfleeze to The Blue Lantern Corps.
However…Larfleeze quickly learned that the Blue Lantern Power Ring had tricked him by using his own hope of obtaining it against him. This sent Larfleeze into a rage but gave Hal the distraction he needed to press onward with his attack against Larfleeze. As the two continued to fight, the Guardians of The Universe as well as the rest of the Green Lanterns came to Hal’s aid.
Hal took advantage of the situation to snatch The Orange Lantern Central Power Battery from Larfleeze’s hands which almost resulted in him becoming the new Agent Orange until Larfleeze quickly snatched it back out of Hal’s hands.
Infuriated, Larfleeze grew to massive proportions and attacked the Guardians and the Green Lanterns without mercy. As the fight raged on, Hal was pestered once more by the Blue Power Ring asking him what he hoped for. When Hal said that if “they” got out of the situation alive then he hoped the Blue Lantern Power Ring would stop asking him that question. The ring registered Hal’s sincerity and unleashed it’s full power upon Larfleeze.
It then separated itself from Hal and departed in search of it’s new wielder, which infuriated Larfleeze further. Just as he was about to attack once more, the Guardians of the Universe proposed the idea of forming another treaty. The Guardians asked him what he wanted in order to bring an end to the conflict. Larfleeze whispered to the Guardians that he wanted to know where he could locate and obtain a Blue Lantern Power Ring and that if they told him what he wanted to know he would not cause the Guardians of the Universe anymore trouble. The Guardians of the Universe agreed and hours after they departed from Okaara, Larfleeze’s minions secretly made their way to Odym where they launched an all-out assault on the Blue Lantern Corps.
While the battle for the blue light raged, Blackest Night kicked in and, as prophesied, the dead began to rise across the universe as Black Lanterns. While monitoring the battle with Ganthet from his hiding place on Okaara, Larfleeze was confronted by the animated corpses of the people his light devoured. Unable to defeat them, Larfleeze was saved by the intervention of the Red Lantern Atrocitus. But Atrocitus’ intentions were far from altruistic as he attacked Larfleeze and demanded that the glutton hand over the orange battery to him.
Larfleeze was saved once again by the arrival of Hal Jordan, Sinestro, Carol Ferris, Indigo-1, Saint Walker, Ganthet, and Sayd, who recruited Larfleeze and Atrocitus to their group in order to battle the black lanterns. Larfleeze agreed, but on one condition: That he be given a Guardian. Knowing that victory over the black lanterns is not possible without the orange light, Sayd promised him that, after Blackest Night is over, she would forever pledge her servitude to Larfleeze.
Larfleeze joins their group and goes to Earth to fight the black lanterns, and their master, Nekron. Not being able to destroy the lord of the unliving by themselves, the lanterns need back up. To this end, Ganthet activates a protocol in each of their rings, designating a 24 hour deputy lantern. Larfleeze’s ring chooses Lex Luthor.
This backfires as Lex is consumed by the orange light and tries to take Larfleeze’s battery, along with everything else he sees. In the end, Larfleeze is able to overpower him and assert his dominance as the one and only Agent Orange. At the end of the conflict Larfleeze tosses Lex back to Hal and the other lanterns, telling them that he is of Earth so they will figure out how to punish him. Carol laughed at this and commented that Larfleeze just did what they thought he would never do, actually gave something to someone.
Following the end of Blackest Night Larfleeze has entered a truce with the other corps, but before he returns to his home something is still bugging him. He tracks down Lex Luthor, who is shown free of his ring but still obsessed with having one. Larfleeze, with Sayd in tow, attacks him once more and tells him he still hungers and that Lex’s comments about the greed of humans has peaked his curiosity. He asks Lex a simple question: What is the most valuable thing on Earth? Lex answers that it’s power, which Larfleeze says he has plenty of and there must be something else, to which Lex’s answers, “Land.”
Due to Lex’s response, Larfleeze starts to live on Earth and begins ransacking local towns of everything he can get until it looks like he’s living on a garbage dump. Hal comes in and asks him why he’s still living here, to which Larfleeze comments he has discovered what he truly needs to find in the universe and its right here on Earth, someone who will bring him everything he has ever wanted. That someone, is Santa Clause.
While Hal is trying to convince him that Santa Clause isn’t real and ask him how he captured the Orange Entity inside his lantern, Hector Hammond arrives and attacks them. He uses his powers to steal Larfleeze’s lantern. When Larfleeze tries to grab it back, Hector eats it, thus freeing the entity which takes over Hector’s body and makes him one with it. Larfleeze replies that the way he locked up the Orange Entity was much harder than he let on, implying that with Hector now in tow it was going to be even more difficult. However the battle is interrupted by Hector fleeing the scene to go find Carol, the one thing he really wants. Hal says he has to leave to find her in Las Vegas, but Larfleeze insist on tagging along and he isn’t taking no for an answer.
Once they arrive in Vegas Larfleeze realizes he’s finally found where he really belongs, a city dedicated to greed and even brags about “All You Can Eat Buffets.” However his meal is interrupted by the Predator breaking in, having taken over the body of a stalker. Larfleeze attacks him but is showed images of his family and of his history. Carol is able to tame the Predator and she, along with Hal and Larfleeze are brought to the Star Sapphire’s home world Zamaron where Carol is made the new Zamaron Queen, which Larfleeze wants to be.
Powers and Abilities
Agent Orange exclusively wields the orange light of avarice using his orange power ring and power battery. Some of his basic abilities are shared with other Corps: flight, aura projection, and the ability to create constructs made from orange light. However, the most notable and unique aspect of Larfleeze’s abilities is his power to steal the identities of those he kills. After these individuals have died, an orange light construct resembling them rises from their body, adding a new member to his Orange Lanterns. The Orange Lanterns are able to steal the identities of others for Larfleeze in the same way. The orange light also has the power to absorb green light constructs. Conversely, it is depicted as being unable to absorb blue or violet light constructs.
Larfleeze’s power is amplified by being in constant contact with his power battery. As a result of this, he can maintain an entire corps of constructs, even when separated from it. However, Larfleeze is burdened with insatiable hunger that is never quelled as a side-effect of wielding the orange light (which can be nullified while in the presence of a Blue Lantern).
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