The Good: Good sculpt, Decent Accessory, Generally good coloring, Amazing balance, Great articulation, Collector's value!
The Bad: Nothing that I can find!
The Basics: Larfleeze The Orange Lantern might be expensive, but DC Direct got the figure right the first time and the Blackest Night figure remains well worth hunting down!
Every now and then, there comes a toy that I hunt for years and years that I begin to worry cannot possibly live up to the hype. After all, when one spends so long actually wanting something, it is hard to even meet expectations when that object is obtained. It is appropriate that I spent years coveting the Blackest Night Larfleeze the Orange Lantern action figure from DC Direct as the Orange Lantern is powered by the force of his own greed. Now that I have obtained this very hard to find action figure, the real thrill has to be in the fact that it is a truly perfect toy!
For those unfamiliar with him, Larfleeze is the leader of the Orange Lanterns during the Blackest Night. First introduced in Green Lantern: Agent Orange (reviewed here!), Larfleeze is discovered on a forbidden planet utilizing the power of the Orange Ring. Later, it becomes clear that the alien is under the influence of the Orange Lantern and because it is fueled by greed, there is only one Orange Lantern!
It is Larfleeze in his iconic Orange Lantern costume that is the subject of the DC Direct action figure of the character.
Basics
The Larfleeze figure is a dynamic-looking sculpt and outside his packaging, this figure looks awesome from all angles. While the character is colored in monotones for his costume, his long hands and head are all well-sculpted and immaculately colored for surprisingly deep depth and shading. The covetous alien stands 7 3/8" tall to the top of the figure's head. The Blackest Night Larfleeze figure is available only from DC Direct, though Mattel has since made a less cool-looking version of the character.
This toy is an incredible sculpt, especially when one considers this is a very obscure character, based on a two-dimensional source material. Larfleeze looks like he is growling, his mouth open slightly and his fingers stretched out as if to grab things. His hands are sculpted with his right hand reaching and his right hand with the fingers slightly curled, to hold things like the orange lantern that he comes with. Larfleeze is tall, very thin, and fast-looking, appearing like a runner or theif who could squeeze in anywhere. On his right hand, Larfleeze has very long fingers and the faint Orange Ring and the figure includes such molded details as his sharp fingernails and knuckles. Larfleeze’s teeth are sculpted to be tiny, pointed and realistically deadly in their appearance. Larfleeze also has two sets of horns on either side of his jaw that give him a distinctive look. His head also has spines that look very cool and his eyes are blank.
Larfleeze's costume is a very simple Orange Lantern uniform and on the surface, this metallic orange and black outfit looks exceptional. The white Orange Lantern symbol painted on the front of his chest looks fitting and the metallic coloring to the Orange Lantern outfit makes Larfleeze look powerful. The textured ridges on the character's head make Larfleeze look furry and that texture is accented by awesome coloring in the little etches for his "fur!"
Accessories
Larfleeze, sole greedy Orange Lanterns that he is, comes with only three accessories. He has his stand, Glomulus and his Orange Lantern. The stand is an orange and white disk with the Orange Lantern logo. It is 3 3/4" in diameter and 1/4” tall and it has a single peg which plugs into the hole in Larfleeze's right foot. He is completely stable, both on and off his base.
Glomulus is the primary construct of Larfleeze's Orange Ring. Using the power of greed, Larfleeze has created a three-legged, four armed creature with a wide mouth to carry out his will. Glomulus stands on his own and has arms articulated at the shoulders that allow him to look like he is reaching out in several directions for all sorts of things he might deliver to Larfleeze. Like the base, Glomulus is cast in translucent plastic, which makes him look - appropriately - like a Lantern construct!
Larfleeze also comes with a Orange Lantern battery, which is molded to be in the same scale as the figure. His four-pointed battery is 1 3/4” tall and 1 1/4" wide and deep. It looks like a classic lantern with cylindrical ends and is molded in the same bright metallic orange as the Larfleeze figure.
Playability
The DC Direct figures were designed more for display than play, but Larfleeze is wonderful on both fronts. First, he has great poor balance, especially when he is flatfooted. Because he lacks a hinge joint on the ankle, when off the stand, Larfleeze must be posed flatfooted. On the stand, Larfleeze may be posed in more dynamic poses, so long as the right foot is placed on the stand's peg.
Larfleeze comes with fifteen points of articulation and the only part not articulated to offer full poseability is his waist or bust. Larfleeze has joints at the knees, groin socket, shoulders, biceps, elbows, wrists, and head. The shoulders are proper ball and socket joints, while the elbows and knees are both hinge joints. The head is on a simple swivel joint, which allows him only to look left to right! As well, Larfleeze is perfextly able to hold his Orange Lantern in his left hand!
Collectibility
Larfleeze is part of the DC Direct Blackest Night Series 3 line which was fairly rare as it was usually only distributed through comic book shops. Larfleeze is one of the many villains in the Blackest Night line, but considering most of the figures in the line are undead versions of popular DC Universe characters, Larfleeze is one of the few original characters. The Larfleeze figure is unique to this series and is of the same stature of characters like the Red Lantern Atrocitus or the Blue Lantern Saint Walker. Larfleeze has, for the most part, held his value over the years, after his initial explosion in the secondary market. For years, he has been virtually impossible to find for less than $100, so he is a steal for collectors when he can be found for less!
Overview
Larfleeze is an impressive character and the more exposure and popularity the character gets, the more likely it will be that the Blackest Night Orange Lantern Larfleeze character will maintain, if not continue to appreciate, its value in the secondary market. It is a worthy figure of being sought after as DC Direct did a truly amazing job with creating the figure and its awesome accessory!
For other figures based on leaders of Ring Corps’s, please check out my reviews of:
Justice Series 3 Green Lantern Hal Jordan
Blackest Night Series 1 Red Lantern Atrocitus
Blackest Night Series 1 Saint Walker
Blackest Night Series 2 Indigo-1
Blackest Night Series 3 Star Sapphire
Blackest Night Series 5 Nekron
Justice Sinestro
10/10
For other toy reviews, please check out my index page!
© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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