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Quote1 May I have your attention? There's been a misunderstanding which I would like to correct. I am not Eduardo. I am Lasombra! And you are now my prisoners. (Arnold: NO!) And you will remain my prisoners until this football headed boy shows me where to find the Corazon! Quote2
Lasombra revealing his true identity in "Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie"[src]

Lasombra is the main antagonist of the Nickelodeon animated Hey Arnold! franchise, serving as one of the two main antagonists (alongside Big Bob Pataki) of the animated series Hey Arnold! and the main antagonist of the 2017 TV film Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie.

He was Arnold's overall and main arch-nemesis and his worst enemy.

Personality[]

Lasombra was a greedy, sadistic, wrathful pirate who stopped at nothing to get what he wanted. While the entire river pirate crew had no problem threatening a group of 10-year-olds with machetes, Lasombra himself was a step above the others, as he had no problem letting his own men get killed, was willing to let grade-school children die, and even laughing at it. He openly enjoys being evil, even calling himself a villain.

Lasombra was quite intelligent, manipulative, and a quick thinker. He quickly gained Arnold's trust by convincingly posing as Eduardo, played off the real Eduardo's attempt to rescue the class as an attack by river pirates, and made the rest of the class turn on Arnold. He even predicted from the very beginning that Arnold would escape his lair, so he planted a tracker on the amulet he gave to the boy. Lasombra also proved to be extremely resilient on his goals, even fighting off the effects of a deadly poison dart.

He's by far the most evil character in the entire Hey Arnold! franchise. Lasombra's behavior could also classify him as a sociopath. He is the only one to be vile enough to be pure evil if it weren't for his sense of humor.

Appearance[]

Lasombra was a Central American man with dark brownish-grey hair, and with facial features and body proportions very similar to Eduardo's, allowing him to impersonate him easily. However, he seems to be several years older than Eduardo, as his face shows signs of age, and he has a bald spot.

During his theft of the Corazón over a decade ago, and in a picture on a newspaper in Arnold's room, Lasombra wore a black cloak over his upper body, and covered his face with a red cloth and a yellow skull mask. Lasombra most likely used this outfit during his thefts to avoid his face being recognized. It's also quite likely that the name "Lasombra" is derived from his appearance in this disguise. ("Lasombra" comes from "La Sombra", which is Spanish for "The Shadow".)

His regular attire is an aquamarine guayabera, pointed boots, dark blue pants, a white hat, and a machete on his back.

Biography[]

Lasombra was a river pirate, poacher and treasure hunter in the jungles of San Lorenzo. As seen in the episode "The Journal", he stole a sacred relic from the Green-Eyed People called the Corazón. However, Miles and Stella recovered it to pay back the Green-Eyes for previously saving their lives. He vowed to get the Corazón back if it was the last thing he ever did.

In Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie, Lasombra returns as the main villain.

He is first seen watching Arnold from his computer screen and recognizing him by his football-shaped head, he chuckles evilly to himself, realizing that his plan is working.

He is next seen on his ferry boat on the docks of San Lorenzo, disguised as Eduardo and pretending to be him by quickly recognizing Arnold. He invites Arnold and company aboard his boat and introduces them to his crew, one of which Olga falls in love with, much to the irritation of Helga Pataki. Once they sail down the river, Lasombra/Eduardo sees Arnold's necklace glow and confirms him to be chosen by the Green-Eyed People, according to the ancient prophecy. He proposes they find the Green-Eyed People and find out the answer to Miles and Stella' s disappearance.

He then talks with Arnold about the threat of Lasombra, and that he was not happy that Miles and Stella stole the Corazon from him. When Arnold says they are in danger, Lasombra/Eduardo says that while they could turn around and head back to safety, they could also continue ahead and maybe find out about his parents. He then tells Arnold not to tell the others, under fear that they would get worried.

Later that night, while keeping lookout, Lasombra/Eduardo is smelled by Abner, Arnold's pig. Abner doesn't smell anything good and tried to warn Arnold, but to no avail, deciding to leave the ship so that he could warn Arnold's grandparents. Arnold then tells Lasombra/Eduardo that a ship is following them, which turn out to be river pirates. He makes Arnold believe that Lasombra is attacking them, and orders Arnold to stay down while he fights the pirates off and to forget about his friends. He then steers the ferryboat into dangerous rapids, confident that the pirates would not follow them through there. He succeeds in outrunning the pirates, at the cost of wrecking the ferryboat on some rocks.

The next morning, the wrecked ferryboat explodes, leaving Arnold, Lasombra/Eduardo, and the entire class "literally up the creek without a stinkin' paddle", according to Helga. He assures them that he will lead them through the jungle to his hideout.

When asked by Helga who attacked them and why, Lasombra/Eduardo explains to the group of the river pirates threat, and their and Lasombra's vendetta against Arnold. Sid then asked why Lasombra is after Arnold, to which Lasombra/Eduardo says it is only Arnold's business and leads the group into the jungle.

Lasombra/Eduardo leads the group to his hideout. He then reveals to them, via taking off his fake mustache, that he is not Eduardo, but actually Lasombra. He then proceeds to take everyone prisoner and reveals that he was the one who arranged the class trip to San Lorenzo to lure Arnold there. He then reveals to everyone that he and Arnold had a deal, that they would go look for the Green-Eyed People, much to everyone's shock and anger. He then has his men lock the group and Arnold away.

Later that night, Arnold, with the help of Gerald and Helga, who realizes Arnold is innocent upon hearing Arnold cry for his parents and convinces Arnold's friends and Gerald to give Arnold another chance, sneak past a guard and escape. Lasombra isn't angered, however, as he put a tracking device on Arnold so he could lead him to the Green-Eyed People, knowing they would show themselves in his presence.

As Lasombra and some of his men pursue Arnold, he lets them die as a result of booby traps, intent on catching Arnold.

A short while later, Lasombra arrives at the village of the Green-Eyed People, and spots the Corazón with greedy eyes. He then reveals the tracking device on Arnold's necklace, using the Green-Eyed People's own treasure against them in the process. He then shows surprise that the only Green-Eyed People awake are children, and decides to take the treasures in the kingdom, and bring people there to sell it to them. He is then attacked by the Green-Eyed children, Gerald, Helga, and Arnold. He then breaks out, grabs Arnold, and flees the scene.

He then leaves Helga and Gerald to die hanging from a broken bridge, and forces Arnold to open the Corazón's box, or else they'll die, to which Arnold complies. Once the Corazón opens, Lasombra pushes Arnold aside and tries to take it.

But before he can even touch it, the box shoots Lasombra in the forehead with a poisonous dart, causing him to fall off the cliff and into the canyon. Lasombra later climbs back up, his skin green from the poison. He then finds the real Eduardo and mocks his mustache. He then attacks Eduardo, trying to stab him with the dart from his head, but Arnold, Gerald, and Helga thankfully stop him. But in the struggle, the Corazón is knocked down and rolls off the edge of the cliff.

Furious at losing the Corazón again, Lasombra grabs Arnold by the shirt, and orders him to go and get it back. Before he can let Arnold go, the poison of the dart finally takes effect, resulting in him staggering back. Before he falls, however, he grabs Arnold's amulet, and falls into the canyon to his death, ending his evil reign in San Lorenzo once and for all. As he falls, Eduardo notes that he died the way he lived, full of poison.

Appears in[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Lasomba turned out to be the Greater-Scope Villain of the entire Hey Arnold! franchise as he was responsible for the disappearance of Arnold's parents.
  • Lasombra's voice actor in "The Journal" and the test animation for The Jungle Movie was never credited, causing some confusion as to who voiced him. A number of sources over the years claimed that Brian Doyle-Murray (who's best-known voiceover work includes voicing the Flying Dutchman in Spongebob Squarepants and Captain K'nuckles in The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack) voiced him. However, this is extremely unlikely, considering that he sounds completely different and only has one line. A more likely presumption on who voiced Lasombra is Carlos Alazraqui, who also voiced Eduardo, due to some recognizable inflections.
La Sombra

Lasombra in concept sketches for the original project

  • Lasombra received a redesign for the rebooted version of The Jungle Movie. In the original film's concept art, Lasombra was an old man with white hair. For the produced film, he was redesigned to look slightly younger (his hair is a dark brown/gray instead of white), to resemble Eduardo more closely so he could convincingly pass off as him, and to somewhat resemble his voice actor, Alfred Molina. Both designs of Lasombra wore the same outfit, with only very minor differences.
  • In a leaked storyboard sequence from the original Jungle Movie, Lasombra is portrayed to be a character fluctuating between an approachable, yet volatile personality. He is seen trying to convince Arnold, unsuccessfully, to reveal the location of the Corazón. However, after saying he knows nothing of its whereabouts, Lasombra locks Arnold in a store cupboard and threatens to harm his friends.
  • Lasombra is considered the true archenemy of Arnold Shortman. But more importantly, he is also an extreme threat to him, his friends (Gerald, Helga, Phoebe, Harold, Stinky, Sid, Eugene, Rhonda, Nadine, Curly, Brainy, Mr. Simmons, Olga, Abner and Eduardo), his family, and the Green Eyed People.
  • Lasombra is the first and only character to die onscreen.

Gallery[]

Quotes[]

  • "I'll get the Corazón back if it's the last thing I ever do!"
  • "Easy, see? Eduardo, LaSombra! Eduardo.. LaSombra! Abraham Lincoln, Frida Kahlo, easy."
  • "You kids don't understand capitalism!"
  • "So, you finally got us Eduardo, you call that a mustache!?"
  • "Always so presumptuous. They're not safe yet!"
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