Who Are The Orange Lanterns, DC’s Most Twisted Power Rings?

Commanding the green-tinged energy of willpower, the Green Lantern Corps aren’t the only space-faring force to be reckoned with as they protect the universe from enemies both seen and unseen. Coupled with other Green Lantern allies such as the loving (but kinda overbearing) Star Sapphires, or the hopeful (but kinda offensively useless) Blue Lanterns, the Green Lanterns do their best to keep the galaxy safe when all odds are stacked against them. But other forces of evil, such as the greedy and conniving Orange Lanterns, constantly do their best to throw a proverbial wrench into their plans, making their jobs that much harder in the long run.

And while other evil Corps such as the fear-mongering psychopaths known as the Sinestro Corps might be the most formidable opponents of Green Lantern Hal Jordan and his colleagues, it’s the Orange Lanterns who are the most twisted. With a singular power ring held by their leader and only “real” member of the Corps, the Orange Lanterns are an evil bunch of villains with an abnormal power set that is as unique as it is messed up.

Introduced into the greater Green Lantern mythos in Green Lantern #25 by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver and then further stepping into the spotlight later on in Green Lantern #39 by Johns and Philip Tan that directly preceded the arrival of the Black Lanterns and the coming of the Blackest Night, the Orange Lanterns are a different beast when compared to their Emotional Spectrum counterparts. Championing the power of avarice, or greed for all things material, Larfleeze (aka Agent Orange) is technically the only flesh and blood member of a Corps, having taken possession of the dead “souls” of fallen enemies, which are then turned into constructs by the power of the orange ring, a twisted ability that is held by no others.

Being the only true member of his Corps, Larfleeze is also the only being that can harness the power of the orange ring without entirely losing his mind, a feat that is harder than it sounds when the whole point of the ring he wields is to corrupt and influence its user in the most unfortunate of ways. By corroding the mind of its bearer, the power of avarice turns their owner into a sniveling, petty and obsessive being who will stop at nothing to claim what’s theirs, a hang-up that many have failed to tell the tale about, and one that Larfleeze just barely survives himself.

Shouting what is essentially a battle cry of “Mine!” at every turn, Larfleeze has become a twisted version of himself albeit one that might have always been hidden under the surface before the power of the orange ring brought it to light. Throw in the ability to drain a Green Lantern’s energy (an ability that is lost on the elusive Indigo Lanterns, however) and the uncontested drive to always get what he wants, and the power of the orange light becomes a formidable ally for Larfleeze to utilize, even if its power seems to control him more than he likes to let on.

With the added benefit of having an entire army of what are essentially avarice ghosts at your beck and call, the Orange Lanterns are an overwhelming force of evil that is twisted further by the power of a ring that always wants more. So even though Larfleeze might constantly be at the mercy of his own gluttony, the ring he wields does him no favors in making him a better person, and as far as the Green Lantern Corps are concerned, that’s a problem.

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