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Michael Douglas's character in the film Wall Street, Gordon Gekko, is remembered for his famous line, "greed is good." Thing is, he never said it: like Darth Vader's "Luke, I am your father," the quote as it's popularly known is incorrect. Not that this has anything to do with today's review; although in this case, greed is at least popular.
The Orange Lantern Corps is a corps controlled
by one. Larfleeze is the only living member who has absolute possession of the Orange Light of Avarice. The Orange Battery of Power fuels an insatiable greed to hoard the power for himself. Any who dare try to take the power for themselves find only death, their essence transformed into a new Orange Lantern. The slain - and slavish - Glomulus accompanies Larfleeze.
Larfleeze (who was originally known only as "Agent Orange," a name oh-so-precious that it could have come straight out of the Captain Planet series bible) is unquestionably the breakout star of Blackest Night and its attendant build-up. He should be a frightening figure, another monstrous figure who wants to steal your life and make you his slave forever. Hell, that's what Christianity is all based around: fear of Satan gaining eternal dominion over you in the afterlife. But Larfleeze? People find him cute!
The figure is a new mold, naturally, with quite odd proportions. His arms are long enough that his hands dip down below his knees, which,
if you stand up and try it, you'll find is quite a difficult thing to do. He may have two arms and two legs, but he's certainly not merely a human with a silly forehead. The details of his costume are are raised elements, from the small wrinkles on his ankles to the distinct piping on his collar. The banded forearms, the stripes high on the sleeves... it's all sculpted. Even his Corps symbol gets the treatment: it's seen on his chest and on both
shoulders, and in every instance the details are all raised, not just painted on.
Orange Lantern has a wildly inhuman head, as well. Even a bloke like Atrocitus is still mainly humanoid, with the placement of his facial features and all - but Larfleeze looks like a Bothan. If you're not a huge enough Star Wars nerd to know what that means, he looks like a great shaggy horse of some fashion, though he's got small pointed ears, three horns on the top of his head
and several large tusks jutting out of his cheeks.
In keeping with the theme of greed, Larfleeze seems to have stolen all the articulation for himself. He not only has the usual DC Direct assortment - balljointed neck and shoulders, hinged elbows and knees, and swivel wrists and hips - but also the rare addition of swivel biceps! No waist, of course, but the extra arm joints do allow you to have him clutching desperately at his own power battery (as is his wont). He does include the power battery, though Orange is the only Corps that hasn't had its oath revealed - it is not, as many fans assume, "Mine!" Geoff Johns has written one, and even said it's his favorite, but it's not shown up in print yet.
Like all the GL/BK figures, Larfleeze comes with a circular base to keep him standing. It's molded in translucent orange plastic, and has a white image of the Orange Lantern symbol on the surface. The symbol is very simple, a circle with lines pointing inward and a V-shape on top that makes it look like a little cartoon devil. There's a single peg to fit into Larffy's right foot.
Since the Orange Lantern Corps is just one guy
an army of ring constructs, the set includes Glomulus, one of those energy-based minions. Originally from Sector 2826, Glomulus was kept in a cage and only allowed out to eat food that fell on the floor. When he got a taste for blood, he ate everyone in the place.
Shaped like some kind of outer space potato man, Glomulus is cast from trans orange plastic, with a darker, solid orange painted on for his clothes, and white for his teeth. He has four thin arms and three stumpy legs, and swivel joints for all of them. This is a cool little extra, standing 2½" tall, and while he wouldn't have been missed if he were absent, his inclusion is a treat.
-- 04/08/10
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