Lackadaisy Isn't Slacking on DEATH BATTLE!

          

Rocky, Freckle, and Ivy, the Rumrunners of Lackadaisy

Lackadaisy was created by Tracy Butler it can be read on its own website or Webtoon

UPDATE

As of August of 2023, the Lackadaisy webseries is funded! Once more episodes are released, I shall update the respect thread with feats from the webseries

Welcome back to the blog! This time I’m here to focus on a title that’s become quite recognizable lately. Lackadaisy! Unlike the previous blogs, I’ll be focusing on a trio of characters. I should also clarify that this blog will only cover the feats included in the webcomic. The pilot is separate from the webcomic’s canon. However, if any more animated content is created for the franchise, I just might include feats from it but label them as separate. Several webcomics exist that have been rebooted or recreated for a new medium, and changes are made in them, so maybe we’ll see the day I cover a series like that. Special thanks to RedHeadedElf for helping me out with this blog post!

Background

“Now, have I got this figured out correctly? Squeaky-shrieks, you’re the smuggler? Tiny-tot over there is the muscle? And THAT'S this evening’s mastermind?”

The year is 1920 in St. Louis, Missouri. National Prohibition on drinking was established, making consuming and selling alcohol illegal. In response to this constitutional law, rising underground groups made bank off of smuggling and selling illegal liquor. Among these groups is the Lackadaisy Crew, which has seen better days.

Lackadaisy used to be a bustling group led by Atlas May. On the surface, he was running the quaint restaurant Little Daisy Café. Underneath the building however is where the true fun was. Under the café were limestone caves that led to the Lackadaisy Speakeasy, a bootlegging bar that was once prosperous and flourishing. It took a nosedive in 1926 when Atlas was murdered and Lackadaisy’s ownership was transferred to his wife Mitzi, whom some suspect to be his murderer. After a year, the group is a shell of its former self, only scraping by with the little help it can get. Thankfully, Mitzi has a trio of rumrunners she can trust to help keep her establishment afloat.

Rocky Rickaby is the screwball brains of the operation. He’s a theatrical and poetic drifter who performs in Lackadaisy’s jazz band when he isn’t doing odd jobs for Mitzi. He may be witless and bothersome, but he’s a dangerous wildcard. No one can tell the inner machinations of his psyche and that makes him a highly unpredictable individual. Hardly anyone tolerates his antics besides surprisingly Mitzi, who seems to enjoy his frivolities during appropriate moments. When he’s teamed up with Calvin or Ivy, he’s usually the one coming up with ridiculous plans that work out for him more often than one would expect.

Then there’s Calvin “Freckle” McMurray, the soft spoken muscle of the group. He’s Rocky’s quiet and anxious cousin who often acts as the voice of reason. He still lives with his mother and has to lie to her about the scummy work he’s been roped into. He may be skittish, but he follows Rocky around like a lost puppy and never leaves his side. Originally, he wanted to be a police officer due to his sense of justice and wanting to help others but was rejected due to his… issue with guns. Still needing a job, he took Rocky up on his offer to join Lackadaisy under the guise of “being a vigilante.” He’s a newer addition to the Lackadaisy crew after he proved that he’s shockingly capable when given a gun. Once he starts shooting and cackles maniacally, it’s like he’s an entirely different cat. 

Last but certainly not least, Ivy Pepper is the shrewd smuggler. She’s the smartest and most empathetic out of the three. She’s been involved in Lackadaisy for a while as a cashier and helping manage the cafe front, but now she’s starting to go on missions with the boys. Not only is she a thriving college student, but she was raised by a family of criminals, so she has equal book and street smarts to aid her. She’s a responsible go-getter who makes sure everyone is doing their job well. She is frequently annoyed by Rocky, but she’s taken a great liking to Freckle. In fact, she’s claimed him as her boyfriend (how much of this Freckle reciprocates is unknown). 

Together, they make an endearing trio of alcohol thieves! However, their escapades aren’t a walk in the park. They often have to deal with rival gangs who operate on their own agendas. From moonshining pig farmers, to morticians that don’t realize they’re on the same side as the rumrunners, to members of Lackadaisy’s biggest rival: the Marigold Gang.

It’s dangerous and shady work, but you can always count on Rocky, Freckle, and Ivy to get the job done.

Equipment

Rocky

Car

Who knows how he got his claws on a jalopy like that. Knowing him, I'd be skeptical about where he obtained it

Molotov Cocktails

Need to start a quick and easy fire? Look no further than the most suitably flammable drink (unsafe for consumption)

Claws

Assumedly all cats in Lackadaisy bear claws, but Rocky's the only one in the trio that's ever used them

Cards

It's expected for Rocky to have random thingamajigs on hand. He doesn't use cards combatively (at least outside of using them for card games), but he does use them to determine Freckle's lucky number.

Freckle

Molotov Cocktails

Dang it, I thought I said molotov cocktails aren't safe!

Toolkit

Before he was whisked away into a life of crime, Freckle was a handyman. From furniture to sinks, he should have a tool that does the trick

Flivver

It may be an old fashioned car, but it's got charm to it

Peashooter

It's a tiny gun, but it can be deadly in the right hands

Tommy Gun

He may not look like a mobster, but when in this line of work, it's handy to have a gun with rapid firepower

Ivy

Pistol

A pistol she stole from the morticians that she threatened them with, and was later lent it again once they became friends

Abilities

Rocky

Manipulation

Rocky may have a few screws loose, but he knows how to make people bend to him. Even when his reputation is in shambles, he has such a way with words that can draw people in. He still gets his shit kicked in, but he almost always has the last laugh. He's even tried to manipulate people close to him, like when he tried to sabotage Mitzi and Wick's relationship out of fear of being replaced and tossed aside.

Strategist

Rocky's usually the one coming up with wild plans to accomplish the crew's work. They're often outlandish, risky, and don't consider consequences afterwards, like when he plotted his vengeance against the pig farmers by sneaking in and scorching their farm. He often sprinkles in his spontaneity into the mix to keep his plans a bit unpredictable (to the detriment of his allies).

Freckle

Gun Mastery

For how meek he seems, Freckle has a keen talent for marksmanship. Regardless of what kind of gun he wields, he's able to use them exceptionally well.

Berserk Mode

Once he picks up a gun, Freckle can't help but cackle… a lot. He becomes much more aggressive, but still retains precision and finesse which is especially seen in…

Stealth Mastery and Agility

Even when he's cackling like a maniac, he's able to get the drop on people by hiding in unconventional spaces—usually taking a high ground above his opponent—before firing at them. This often demonstrates his heightened agility, able to climb into and hop off of these hiding places with ease.

Handyman Skills

When he isn't shooting down mooks, his he focuses his energy into fixing things. Whether it's being a plumber or carpenter, he has a knack for fixing stuff.

Ivy

Observational

Ivy has finely attuned ears, eyes, and whiskers that help her pick up on things people would normally disregard. She's easily the most attentive and perceptive of the trio

Marksmanship

While it's rare to see Ivy using a gun, she's definitely picked up on how to use them due to being raised amongst criminals

Manipulation

Unlike suspicious scamps like Rocky, Ivy is much more skilled at manipulating others into getting what she wants. She has a naturally charming and innocent aura that she plays up to win cats' favor

Techniques

N/A

Feats

Overall

• Rocky freed himself from having his tie nailed down to train tracks with his arms tied behind his back. He did so by maneuvering his body around to shimmy out of it. He managed to escape just as the train was coming by, blocking him from being shot at by the Pig Farmers
• Ivy knows how to roughen people the right way to get what she wants. Like when she threatened to bend Viktor’s fingers the “wrong way” and forcing the air out of his lungs so he’d listen to her
• Rocky got his revenge against the Pig Farmers that tied him to the train tracks with Freckle’s help by burning down their farm
• Freckle helped drive a car while sitting in the passenger seat
• Ivy was able to convince Bobby and Abelard that they were on the same side as them and didn’t need to resort to violence… by threatening violence with a gun she stole from them
• Rocky and Freckle were able to drive away the Marigold thugs Wes and Fish

Strength

Rocky

• Made a car speed through a house’s wall
• Set a barn on fire by driving a burning truck through it. The barn collapsed, only  the infrastructure remains. According to one of the pig farmers, the barn exploded

Freckle

• He set three cars on fire, causing one to fall apart
• Shot a pig farmer in the head

Ivy

• Smacked dup Rocky with magazines
• Shot the lights out of a car

Speed

Rocky

• Consistently dodges shotgun blasts
• Outran a hearse with Ivy (albeit it was slowed down by wheat fields)

Freckle

• Dodged a shotgun blast
• Fought Wes, who could dodge bullets

Ivy

• She narrowly avoided being shot by moving the shotgun pointed at her out of the way
• Outran a hearse with Rocky (albeit it was slowed down by wheat fields)

Durability

Rocky

• Was punched in the face
• Rammed into a wall and thrown onto the ground
• Pushed down a flight of stairs
• Punched in the face by Lackadaisy veteran Viktor, who’s strong enough to crack windows just by slamming them shut (even when he's injured)
• Was hit by a hearse, giving him a serious head injury. The car’s movement was slowed down thanks to driving through a field

Freckle

• Fell off the hood of Rocky’s car after he rammed it into another car

Ivy

• Her foot was hit by a hearse. Its movement was slowed down thanks to it moving through a field

Weaknesses

Rocky

• He frequently gets on a lot of peoples’ nerves. His allies aren’t excluded.
• Rocky can be preeeetty screwy. As an infamous wild card, he frequently goes off script and does his own thing. That can play out surprisingly well, or disastrous for his pals.
• Rocky isn’t equipped for shooting

Freckle

• While it’s usually a great thing when Freckle decides to pick up a gun, he can become pretty chaotic and unpredictable. Like Rocky, that’s a double-edged sword
• Once he puts his gun down, he’s back to his skittish self

Ivy

• Ivy’s convincing skills aren’t always useful in combat scenarios, but she has used them to wiggle her way out of fights before

Matchup Potential

Lackadaisy vs I.M.P. (Lackadaisy vs Helluva Boss)

(thumbnail by Vibe Check)

Vibe Check

Ever since the short film for Lackadaisy released, I've many comparisons between the bootlegger trio and the Immediate Murder Professionals from Helluva Boss. At a glance it makes a lot of sense. Both are trios of criminal groups consisting of a charismatic wackjob of a leader (Rocky and Blitzø) and a couple consisting of a sensitive voice of reason who's great with weapons (Freckle and Moxxie), and a peppy go-getter that's highly territorial of their lover (Ivy and Millie).

Of course the main appeal of the fight would be seeing how the teams banter against each other. I'd especially be interested in seeing Blitzø put up with Rocky's nonsense. Fight potential would be a low scale but bombastic fight with all six characters showcasing their own strengths and capabilities. I could see this being done in either sprites and hand-drawn. Hand-drawn would be preferred, but I doubt Death Battle would have the budget to pull off an animation that's as fluid and detailed as both series'.

Of course, I gotta give the win to I.M.P. Even if the feats from the animated short were included, the imps have way more feats they've performed on a higher level, and have far greater weaponry.

While I do enjoy this matchup, I do think that one pairing between the teams has enough substance to be its own fight…

Freckle vs Moxxie (Lackadaisy vs Helluva Boss)

(thumbnail by SunOreo)

Vibe Check

Unless the animated version of Lackadaisy receives more episodes, I can't see myself wanting matchups for Rocky or Ivy individually since they admittedly don't have much potential for a VS show. Both aren't bad characters, I just don't think they offer enough on their own to warrant having solo episodes.

Freckle is the exception to this, due to his more combat-ready arsenal and berserk fighting style. And given how I just summarized the comparisons between Freckle and Moxxie, I think a fight just involving both would be great. While Moxxie is a lot more nervous and shouty normally, he's usually much more serious and professional when holding a weapon. Thus, the episode could get a lot of mileage out of the characters' frequently switching personalities. It could really make for entertaining banter, especially with Moxxie's vulgar quips coupled with Freckles' reserved comments on the situation.

The stylized low scale fight potential and verdict apply to this one too.

RedHeadedElf

Separate from the team matchup, this is probably the best individual pairing for Lackadaisy vs I.M.P. Both Moxxie and Freckle are the skittish voices of reason who are constantly done with their leader's shit, and are excellent with guns despite their more timid nature. One of my favorite parts of this matchup is how the tone can shift with their personalities throughout the fight, which has some neat contrasts in of itself. Traditionally, both are incredibly timid and non-confrontational. This would make the dynamic less hand to hand, and more of them using the environment and, of course, guns. Whenever these two have guns in their hands, their personalities change rather drastically. Moxxie becomes a lot more calm and confident while Freckle turns into a maniac. I think it could be really fun to see these two personality changes interact, especially in contrast to their almost identical personalities without a gun. I also love the more grounded, low stakes scale of the fight as it perfectly captures Lackadaisy’s general vibe and Moxxie’s as a character. I really love this matchup for the fun theme, really unique character interactions, fun dynamic, and just overall vibes.

NEXT TIME ON WCAB… whenever I feel like it