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Benny (ベニー Benī) is a proficient computer hacker, mechanic and fellow pirate of the Lagoon Company. He was originally a university student in Florida until both the FBI and the mafia chased after him sometime in 1992-1993, with Revy saving him from death.

Appearance[]

Benny is a young adult man of Jewish-American descent.[1] He has a skinny build, a height of 181.5 centimeters (or 5'11"),[2] pale skin, green eyes, and very thin facial hair around his jaw. Additionally, he has long blond hair tied into a ponytail in the back and large bangs, although in Chapter 77 onward he started to let his hair fall back into a short mullet instead of donning the ponytail. He wears thin squarish glasses and almost always wears an orange Hawaiian shirt with a green leaf pattern, as well as tan pants and white sneakers. Although there have been no actual hints of Benny's age, judging from his appearance, Benny could be in his mid 20s to early 30s.

Personality[]

Benny works as the Lagoon Company's mechanic, computer specialist, and researcher, having excellent knowledge and skills pertaining to machines, electronics, and hacking. He also functions as the driver of the Lagoon Company's car, having driven and owned three cars throughout the series, including a red 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner, a red 1965 Pontiac LeMans GTO, and a customized 1963 Pontiac Tempest 326. Additionally, he can also steer the Lagoon Company's PT Boat Black Lagoon when Dutch is not piloting it. Benny also tends to be possessive of his computers and does not let anyone else touch them.

Benny has an easygoing and non-violent personality: he readily admits to Rock that the two of them are not gunfighters in any way, shape, or form,[3] and the two become friends. Unlike Rock, however, Benny is hardened to the job and is willing to turn a blind eye to Revy and Dutch's more morally questionable methods. He is also a realist when it comes to dealing with the injustices of the world and tried to toughen up Rock when he could not bear what happened to other people like Hänsel and Gretel.[4] At one point, Dutch even tells Benny that there is something lurking deep down inside the latter, which can mean that there is a darkness with him that has yet to be seen.[5]

Black Lagoon history[]

He is a former affiliate of a university in Florida where he resided until he got into trouble with the FBI and the mafia, and he would have ended up dead if Revy had not saved him. Since then, he had worked in the Lagoon Company for two years in Roanapur before Rock came along. Dutch frequently refers to Benny as "Benny-Boy." On the Black Lagoon, Benny usually resides in the communications room to conduct research as well as keeping track of nearby ships and those ships' communications and, if necessary, copilot the Black Lagoon.

Black Lagoon[]

Around the beginning of 1995 on a job for Hotel Moscow, Dutch and Revy raided a large ship on where Rock, at the time named Rokurō Okajima and an employee of Asahi Heavy Industrial Co., was separated from his group. Once Dutch punched Rock, the latter confirmed that a particular disk was in his possession. At that point, Benny informed Dutch from inside their boat about a nearby Philippine Navy patrol boat, so Dutch ordered the ship crew to stay put for thirty minutes after he left or he would use the torpedoes on his boat. Rock thought that he would be safe, but Revy decided to take him as a hostage onto the Black Lagoon. At night after Rock's first hardship on the boat, the crew headed to Roanapur and the Black Lagoon docked, with the three crew members deciding to get a drink at the Yellow Flag. Benny told Rock that he could come along until they contacted his company, so he tagged along.[6]

Inside the Yellow Flag, Benny confessed to Rock about his past 2 years ago as a university student in Florida who got chased down by both the FBI and the mafia. Before he could elaborate on the details, Revy interrupted him to say that she saved Benny, starting to tease Rock about not being able to hold his liquor. As Revy and Rock began a drinking contest, Benny awkwardly joked that he thought Rock was not into confrontations given his alleged aversion to them. At the same time that Dutch finished a phone call, mercenaries from Extra Order attacked the bar and started shooting, with Benny taking cover. As Dutch confirmed that Benny was still alive, he and Revy provided cover for him and Rock, and Benny prepared the car so that they could escape to the docks, boarding the Black Lagoon again to escape the onslaught. As daytime arrived, Benny got a call on a secured line (to prevent tracking) from Rock's boss Kageyama, who told the Japanese salaryman about his death being expected by his own company. Soon, the Extra Order Captain crossed the seas in a gunship and found the Black Lagoon, shooting at the PT boat.[7]

Unfortunately for the Lagoon Company, the helicopter managed to trap the boat into a channel, so the crew decided to give up until Rock had a plan to play chicken with the enemy mercenaries. Benny theorized that the Black Lagoon was only a few inches out of water at top speed, so the plan to use a sunken ship as a ramp could possibly work. While Dutch drove the boat to confront the gunship, Benny told Rock and Revy their distance from the helicopter to properly warn them when to get inside. With few meters left, Benny in the communications room yelled for Revy and Rock to get in the boat, and one torpedo successfully hit the gunship, destroying the helicopter and killing its pilots. After the PT boat crashed back into the water from the ramp, Benny told Dutch that he was okay, but they saw that Rock was passed out after yelling an expletive phrase at the gunship. At the drop-off point, Benny and the others stood tiredly and silently as Balalaika picked up the disk. Afterward, Rock decided to quit his job instead of returning to Japan with Kageyama, joining Benny in the Lagoon Company.[8]

Chase for ring-ding ships[]

On Rock's first job, he stood on the stern of the Black Lagoon, calmly shouting into a megaphone to warn a large ship, the St. Joan, to stop or face consequences. When the ship communicated to Benny that they would force their way through if the Black Lagoon did not move, Revy fired an RPG at the ship's bow, then taking the megaphone from Rock to yell at the crew members. Benny then told Dutch that communications opened up, so the Lagoon Company pirated the ship of its goods and headed back to Roanapur.[9]

Back in town, Benny drove the Plymouth Roadrunner in town and got some new equipment, seeing Dutch on the way back and giddily showing him the equipment before heading back. While at port, Dutch got a job from Donnie Yen to pick up a package from the Vietnamese military, so he had Benny drive him, Revy and Rock to the docks so that they could use the Black Lagoon. Meanwhile, after being given the cold-shoulder by Dutch, Chen hired Luak to pursue and kill the Lagoon Company, already having bribed Donnie Yen to give Dutch a faux job.

While sailing on the seas, Benny, in the communications room, detected six vessels pursuing from behind, but Dutch did not think that they could be naval ships looking for pirates. Soon, Dutch got a transmission from Luak on the radio, telling him that he would decimate his ship. Seeing the number of ships, Benny worryingly surmised that the fleet must have been the entirety of Luak's fleet. Unfortunately for Luak, Dutch suddenly slowed his boat down, making two enemy boats destroy one another via friendly fire. Revy volunteered to destroy the boats, so Dutch told her to start with the leftmost boat, swerving the Black Lagoon close to it to allow Revy’s rampage. After Revy successfully and easily killed all the enemy pirates and Luak, Benny and co. returned to Roanapur afterward, and Balalaika tortured and murdered Chen for attempting to murder the Lagoon Company. When Benny replied to Dutch that he was mostly free for the remainder of the night, Dutch offered to take him and the others to the Yellow Flag for drinks to make up for Chen's trouble.[10]

Rasta Blasta[]

Shipping a boy named Garcia Lovelace for the Manisarera Cartel, Benny performed his usual duties on the boat until Revy lost her temper and wanted to kill the child for throwing food at her. Rock got Revy out of the room, and Benny watched the embarrassing ordeal. After Rock talked to the boy and learned about his famous background as a child of a South American noble family, Rock talked to the others, including Benny, about his suspicion of the Manisarera Cartel's deal. Once Dutch asked Balalaika to get intel on the cartel and the Lovelace Family, Benny and the others docked at the harbor and visited the Yellow Flag bar and brought the boy with them there to finish the delivery. While at the bar, Benny listened to Garcia mention his maid's strength, and Roberta subsequently arrived and started shooting at the cartel members, shocking Benny upon learning that Garcia's maid was the killer in front of him.[11]

Plymouth night anime

Benny driving his Plymouth Roadrunner to escape Roberta

Benny took cover during the chaos while Roberta dealt with Rock, Revy and the cartel members. Once Revy got knocked unconscious by Roberta, Benny checked on Revy to see that she was alive but had a concussion, so once Roberta was distracted by Garcia's comment about wanting to go with Rock, Benny took Revy with him, and the Lagoon Company escaped using Benny's car. Unfortunately, Roberta soon caught up to them in a stolen car and almost grabbed Dutch out of the passenger window until Roberta's radiator got shot. As Benny drove across Roanapur in a panic, Dutch told him to think of Roberta as an unstoppable killer robot per Rock's comment, so Benny tried to drive through the alleyways. Despite his maneuvers, Roberta caught up to them in another car, crashing onto the Plymouth Roadrunner into a store window. As Benny tried to start the car, Roberta got up and chased the slowed-down car, using a trench knife to hang onto the trunk.[12]

As Roberta hung on the roof and she and Dutch started shooting at each other, Benny was forced to drive to the harbor, where the car crashed into a container at a high speed. Even after the Plymouth got totaled, Roberta was still alive, terrifying Benny. Thankfully for him, Revy woke up from her concussion, so she dueled Roberta until Hotel Moscow's Vysotniki intervened to put a stop to the rampage. Benny watched as Balalaika and Garcia eventually appeased and calmed down Roberta respectively, and Revy and Roberta started a fistfight to settle their fight. As Benny watched, he bet that Roberta was going to win whereas Dutch bet on Revy, but Rock found their bets barbaric and tried to stop the fight to no avail. After the fight ended in a draw, Roberta left with Garcia to Venezuela and Balalaika and her men left the scene. Benny told Rock about Balalaika's ex-Soviet background and her troops' extraordinary discipline and strength, and Dutch poured a bucket of water on Revy to wake her up.[13]

Das Wieder Erstehen Des Adlers[]

In the mid-1990s, a French telecommunications company discovered the wreckage of the U-234 while laying down undersea cable. Later in March 1995, the Lagoon Company got a job from a Spanish antique company dealing in Nazi memorabilia to salvage a painting titled "The Twelve Knights Led by Brunhilda" from the same sunken boat, so Benny and his fellow pirates boarded the Black Lagoon and went to the salvage site. In the hold, Benny had a table in the middle of the room and explained the history of the U-boat and the background of the painting to the Lagoon crew, who saw the pictures of the U-boat members as well as the blueprints of the U-boat for how to enter the ship via the torpedo tubes. Dutch also explained their contractor being a collector of Nazi art as well as the Lagoon Company being hired since several countries were in dispute about the rightful owners of the ocean territory where the U-boat wreckage was.

Dutch radio and Thai Navy flag

After explaining the plan, Rock and Revy donned scuba gear and dived approximately 50 meters below into the sea, finding the U-boat. While Benny and Dutch remained on deck to surveil their surroundings, Benny noticed a large ship, the White Heather, heading their way. He remarked that the ship should not be the cable company since he listened to the company's communications and discovered that they would not be in the area for a few more days. Once Benny hoisted a Thai Navy flag onto the boat, the White Heather radioed the Black Lagoon to ask the latter to respond, with Dutch replying that his boat was PT-377 of the Thai Navy on a mission, in turn asking the White Heather to provide their nationality, ship number and signal code. Seeing that the boat was alone, the White Heather asked Dutch where his mother ship was, to which he stated that the mother ship was a classified military matter, once more requesting the White Heather to provide her information.

With the White Heather not responding, Dutch told Benny that he would go to the control room, asking the latter to keep watch. As Dutch started the engines, Benny with his binoculars saw that the enemy crew was loading TOW missiles, yelling to Dutch to steer the Black Lagoon immediately away. As the Black Lagoon sped away from the salvage site, she barely evaded the two TOW missiles while Benny hung onto a fore deck hatch for dear life.[14] Keeping a far distance from the White Heather, Benny and Dutch could only surveil the White Heather as they saw them send a diving pod into the ocean. Finding out that the enemy sailors were neo-Nazis, Benny remarked that he was Jewish, saying that "fuck the Nazis is a family creed." After Revy and Rock fought the neo-Nazis in the U-boat with the latter group stealing the painting, Benny saw Revy and Rock's tracking beacons activate, making him worry since they did not know that the White Heather had a cache of superior weapons that greatly rivaled Revy's underwater rifle.

Minutes later, Benny and Dutch observed gunfire, which soon ended. Benny was worried that he would have to pick up two bodies, but Dutch told him they would have to go to the site until the White Heather left. Once the enemy ship left, the Black Lagoon sailed to the area and picked up Revy and Rock, who informed Dutch and Benny about the neo-Nazis.[15] Once it was nighttime with the moon gone, Dutch and Revy prepared to disembark the Black Lagoon on a Zodiac raft so that they could stealth near the White Heather and raid the ship. After they left and during the attack on the White Heather, Benny and Rock remained in the bridge, wondering what their crew members were doing. Rock also wondered about Revy's capability for murder, with Benny saying that he noticed that he saw Dutch with nerves of steel earlier and that he and Rock were not capable of picking up a gun and killing people. Upon taking the painting and finding out that Alfred also hired the neo-Nazis to get the painting, Dutch fired a flare into the sky to signal Black Lagoon to pick up the two pirates, so Benny started the boat's engines and steered toward the ship.[3]

Calm down, two men[]

Benny had to finish repairs on the Black Lagoon's engines, so Dutch decided to go to the docks and help him, ordering Revy and Rock to run some errands for the company. At sunset that day, Benny sat on the deck's stern with Dutch coming on deck and saying that the engine gave him some trouble. Benny offered him a can of beer from the cooler, with both men drinking after their hard work.[16]

Bloodsport Fairy tale[]

Spending time with his crew, Benny was at the Lagoon Company office as the four pirates discussed the recent murders of Hotel Moscow members in Roanapur. When Revy stated that Balalaika was possibly going to mobilize her Vysotniki, that information surprised Benny, recalling their toughness gained from being ex-Soviet soldiers. The phone also rang, and Benny picked up the phone to hear that it was Balalaika seeing out Rock for information. As Benny laughed at a magazine that Revy showed him, Rock told Revy to quiet down a bit so he could hear Balalaika. At that moment, the ex-salaryman was shocked upon seeing the magazine cover that Revy was reading, telling the Russian leader that the murderers were likely Romanian.[17]

Much later after Hänsel got killed, Gretel boarded the Black Lagoon as a getaway vehicle out of Roanapur. After Dutch finished a radio call with Balalaika, who wanted to kill both twins, Benny was surprised to notice that the Vietnamese Navy blocked their path to their original drop-off point around Hainan Island. Benny asked Dutch if they could even try, and Dutch reminded him that they only had torpedoes whereas the Vietnamese Navy had missiles, adding that Hotel Moscow's reach meant that they could bribe the corrupt Vietnamese government. Benny recommended that they try to drop Gretel off with "Bighorn Elroy" in Pangkalpinang, which Dutch agreed to do.[4]

Angry Rock grabs Benny

Rock angrily grabs Benny's collar

When the disgusted Rock exited the hold to the deck after Gretel randomly showed him her genitals, Revy told Benny to check on him while she beat the girl for her behavior. On deck, Benny saw Rock crying in anger due to the criminals that turned Gretel into a monster, but Benny nonchalantly told Rock that sometimes it was best to look the other way. Rock grabbed Benny's collar in anger, but Benny reminded him that they could not just adopt the child and that the horrible things done to her could not be simply reversed. In due time, the Black Lagoon arrived at Pangkalpinang, with Elroy greeting the crew at the docks. As Benny saw Gretel disembark and bid Rock goodbye, Elroy shot her in the back of the head, killing her. Elroy explained that Hotel Moscow paid him well, remarking that it would be his last job. Before leaving after the grim affair, Dutch told his crew to get a tarp for covering Gretel's body, but Rock told him that it was not necessary since it would be better for Gretel to look at the sky.[18]

Goat, Jihad, Rock'N Roll[]

Mister Chang came to the Lagoon Company office after fleeing his bombed office after a bad deal with Hezbollah agents in the city, so Benny and Dutch listened to what he had to say. Listening to Chang's words, Benny learned that Chang's men got intelligence documents from a Bulgarian spy relating to a Hezbollah terror plot and failed to negotiate with Hezbollah, so Chang decided that he would give the documents to the CIA instead. Chang elaborated that there would be five teams, including Lagoon Company, leaving Roanapur at the same time to split Hezbollah's forces, and only one team would have the real documents. Unknown to Benny and his fellow pirates, they had the real documents, and Chang told them that delivering the documents to the military base on Basilan Island had a deadline of two days, making Dutch hesitate.

Revy looked out the window to see armed Hezbollah soldiers, shouting "RPG" to warn everyone of the rocket. Benny and the others jumped away from the window, and everyone was more or less unharmed from the explosion. As Chang and Revy teamed up to deal with the Hezbollah raiders, Chang told the Lagoon Company that a Hong Kong Triad escort car was nearby to give them safe passage for the first part of their mission. Benny slowly climbed down the balcony railing whereas Revy and Dutch jumped over, and Chang told them the password as they got into the car, getting to the docks onto the Black Lagoon.[19]

As the Black Lagoon sailed southward on the sea, Benny informed Revy in the cabin that several motorboat ships approached them from the rear. Standing above the starboard turret, Revy told Rock to get her a Remington rifle, so Rock found her one, which she used to shoot at a few ships. Unfortunately for them, the ships suddenly spread out, surrounding the Black Lagoon in a net formation at a far distance. While trying to figure out their plan, Benny informed Dutch that a cargo ship was nearby, which was likely hijacked to serve as a blockade for the Black Lagoon while the net forced them in that direction. Rock recommended that they use the torpedoes, but Revy told him that the torpedoes were not onboard, shocking him.[20]

In the new chaos, Rock formulated a plan involving Semtex explosives, and Dutch and Revy did their part to pull it off, breaking the Hezbollah net and keeping their distance from them.[21] At night, Benny took over the controls for a bit while Dutch met with Rock and Revy on deck to inform them that the latter two would leave on a small Zodiac motorboat with the documents while he and Benny would travel elsewhere to divert the remaining Hezbollah ships, and the two parties separated for the remainder of the mission.[19]

Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise[]

When Rock and Revy went to Japan so that the former could act as an English-Japanese translator for Balalaika, Rock used a payphone to call Benny at the Lagoon Company office. Benny wished him a happy new year and asked him how he was faring in Japan.[22] After an encounter with Chaka, Revy told Rock that she needed her dual Cutlass pistols since Chaka would try to provoke them later, so Rock called Benny about the request at a train station. Benny asked if something was wrong, but Rock told him that it was in case of future trouble. He then advised Benny to use the Bougainvillea Trade Company to ship the weapons, so the latter replied that he would take care of it.[23] In Roanapur, violence increased due to most of Hotel Moscow's forces being out of Roanapur, and Benny heard gunshots on one occasion as he exited his car to see Dutch. As Benny got an alcoholic drink from the fridge, he told Dutch that he was glad that Rock was away since he was not fond of using guns. Putting down his newspaper, Dutch replied that they should be grateful that Rock did not use guns, adding that Rock's bullets would ricochet back at them.[24]

In the anime only, when he returned to Roanapur, Rock sat on the deck of the PT boat looking at the city. Walking up to him, Benny handed him a letter from Balalaika containing a photograph of the deceased Yukio Washimine with a red X over her picture. Also looking at Roanapur, Benny remarked that the city was not too bad of a place. Standing up, Rock agreed and proclaimed that he planned to watch everything that occurred in the city from the twilight.[25]

Greenback Jane[]

When Eda and Revy rescued Jane from several bounty hunters, Rock drove them to the docks to escort Jane out of Roanapur via the Black Lagoon, but Rock informed Eda on the way there that the boat was being used by Benny and Dutch for business. Going inside the Lagoon Company dry dock building, Revy radioed Dutch and asked him and Benny to come back to port and abandon his current delivery, adding that Eda would have the Rip-Off Church compensate for Isaac's goods since saving Jane was a high-paying job. When Dutch agreed, Benny also added that dropping off the cargo that they were going to ship would make their ship travel faster anyway.[5]

As they sped to the docks, Dutch soon saw that the dock house was on fire, angering him. Benny jokingly asked if a nuclear bomb was dropped on Roanapur, with Dutch remarking that he wished that happened since that would mean that he would not be the only person screwed over. As they got close to the docks, Dutch had Benny take over the controls while he climbed above the bridge, ordering Benny to do a U-turn once he got to the docks. At the docks, Dutch fired several smoke rounds from a riot gun at the docks to allow Revy, Eda, Rock and Jane to climb aboard without further pursuit from the bounty hunters. As the Black Lagoon performed a U-turn and left the port, Russell and a few others managed to jump on the stern's deck.

With the gunfights on board continuing, Rock escorted Jane into the galley hatch, eventually leading her into the hold. Once Dutch took control of the boat, Benny went to the hold. While Jane remarked that Rock made her hit her head first when she climbed below the deck, Benny entered the room and greeted Jane, who blushed while introducing herself to him. The three then went into the communications room, wherein Jane discovered that Rock did not bring her laptop with him, resulting in an argument and Benny telling them not to damage his equipment with their yelling. Jane wanted to use Benny's computer, with the latter immediately rejecting her request, but stated that he could hack into her files on her behalf since Eda would be angry about not accessing the money plates.

Jane kissing Benny

Jane kissing Benny after he helped her

Benny grabbed a disk and began hacking into Jane's partner's money plate files, telling her that she would have to pay him if hacking into the website was too easy. Seeing that the site used a GOST, Benny remarked that he could use a buffer overflow, but he preferred elegance and patience while hacking. Running six paths against the GOST, Benny soon successfully hacked into the money plate data, bragging about it and claiming that it gave him a great rush. Benny smiled and turned around to ask Jane what was the reward that she promised, and she immediately kissed him, telling Benny that he looked really cute. While the two made out, Eda, Dutch and Revy finally stopped all the bounty hunters on board, and Jane took the data that Benny downloaded and left Roanapur.[26]

El Baile de la muerte / Roberta's Blood Trail[]

When rumor spread throughout Roanapur about sightings of Roberta, Benny was at the Lagoon Company office when Dutch got a call from Saensak to report any sightings about a mysterious guest in the city. Revy and Rock were at the Yellow Flag when Bao told them that some guys told him that they saw Roberta, making the two think that he was joking. Afterward, they went back to Benny and Dutch to relay what Bao had told them, and Bao called their office number soon after they got back. Dutch answered the phone, hearing an angry Bao demanding to know what Dutch knew. After finishing the call, Dutch told the others about the Roberta situation and that he and Benny would look up some info and meet Revy and Rock later at the Yellow Flag.[27]

After gathering the information, Benny began to drive Dutch to the Yellow Flag in his 1965 Pontiac LeMans GTO, and he told Dutch about Diego Lovelace's murder as well as the Lovelace Family's recent decline and the political party that Diego was affiliated with. As they drove and discussed how Diego likely wanted government protection for Roberta, several cars with machine guns on them passed by, and Dutch remarked that they would likely not be able to get a drink at the Yellow Flag.[28] Upon arriving at the bar, they saw the remains from the destruction caused by Fabiola Iglesias and Gustavo's Colombian henchmen, and Benny took Rock, Revy and Fabiola into the backseat and drove them to Sankan Palace Hotel, where Garcia was staying at.[29]

Inside Garcia's suite, Mister Chang was there talking with the boy, angering Fabiola at first until Garcia assured her that he was not there to harm anyone. Benny then listened to Garcia's information that he got regarding Roberta's recent disappearances as well as her two murders of high-ranking military officers. At the end of the recollection, Garcia said that he wanted to hire Rock specifically despite initially seeking out the Lagoon Company.[30]After the meeting that night, Benny accompanied Rock the next morning as they picked up Garcia and Fabiola in order to begin their search for Roberta. First, Benny and co. visited Bao to learn about his encounter with Roberta, and they learn that Bao directed her to other businesses to buy stuff for "starting a war." After not being able to find the people who could give them clues to the elder maid's whereabouts, at sunset Benny sat at a table with Rock, Garcia Lovelace, and Fabiola Iglesias within the food market.

When Garcia and the younger maid agreed that one could easily kill using a gun, Benny spoke up and told the two children that he applauded their beliefs, but it was not the right attitude to have for Roanapur. Elaborating, Benny then stated that he did not usually give out advice. Upon taking a serious and solemn demeanor, the advice he gave to the young ones was that if they ever had to fire a gun, they should not think nor hesitate and be sure to shoot to kill. This surprised Rock and after Benny got up and walked away from the table, Rock followed him. Rock asked why he would say that and Benny responded that he did not want to see the children get killed, telling them to go to Chang's yacht house afterward. At that point, Benny told Rock that he would not be anymore involved with the search for Roberta since Dutch ordered them not to help the children due to the risks.[31] When the two dropped off Garcia and Fabiola at the yacht house, Benny was amused that Rock tried to help Fabiola into the pool and got thrown in instead. After the soaking wet Rock exited the pool and the young maid called him a pervert, he sat grumpily in the car as Benny drove. Benny smiled and commented on Rock's folly, and seconds later both saw several mafia cars speeding past them. Seeing Rock's curiosity about the cars, Benny informed him that Chang and the other mafia leaders were attending a Council meeting most likely to discuss Roberta's fate.[32]

After Rock struck a deal with Eda to get Grey Fox to use the Black Lagoon to complete their mission up the Mekong River, Rock called Benny at the dry dock, and he picked up. Realizing that it was Rock, Dutch asked for the phone. Before giving the phone to his boss, Benny told Rock that he liked him as a colleague and did not want to lose him. Rock relayed his plan to Dutch, which the boss rejected until finding out that Mister Chang also wanted the job to go through and offered pay to Dutch, so Benny followed his lead.[33]

The night of escorting the troops, Dutch greeted Shane Caxton and welcomed him on board, and Benny told him that he and his men would have to sleep in several rooms in shifts (including the engine room) due to the small spaces. Additionally, Benny and Dutch saw the travel documents that the NSA and the Rip-Off Church forged for them, surprising them due to the numerous amount.[34] In the anime, Benny was irritated and told the U.S. troops not to enter his room or touch his electronics inside, shutting the door.[33] After the Black Lagoon finally arrived in the Golden Triangle region, Major Shane Caxton disembarked the PT boat, but not before telling Benny that Dutch was quite possibly lying about his past as a Vietnam War soldier and that he was still young. Although Benny did not seem to care about Dutch's potential history, Caxton advised him to keep his guard up.

Once the troops disembarked the PT boat to finish their mission, Rock climbed onto the deck and asked Benny if Shane Caxton in particular gave "the gun" to Garcia. Although confused, Benny confirmed that Garcia got the weapon, making Rock pleased. Benny asked why Rock had wondered, and Rock merely grinned and smacked his fist against his own left hand, proclaiming that Chang would lose the "bet."[35] In the anime, Benny also saw Rock laying down on his back after Revy kicked him. He then saw the troops returning, seeing that they had succeeded in capturing Shue Yan while Garcia successfully dissuaded Roberta from seeking revenge.[36]

The Wired Red Wild Card[]

Black Lagoon v10c77

Rock and Benny playing a game of darts

At the Lagoon Company headquarters, Rock and Benny played a game of darts. During the game, Rock remarked that he would never stick his nose into people's business again after the ordeal with Garcia and Roberta. Rock also told Benny that his rib was cracked after Fabiola vengefully shot a fake bullet at him, and Benny tried to comfort him by telling Rock that the people left alive and that he did protect Mister Chang's interests. After Rock struck a dart right in the middle of the dartboard, Benny got a call, agreeing with Rock that it was likely Jane.

When Jane returned to Roanapur, she met up with her now-boyfriend Benny at the Yellow Flag, with Bao feeling uncomfortable about Jane's sexual display of affection toward Benny. Bao told Jane that if she wanted to screw around with Benny, then she could rent one of the rooms above the bar for only $30 for one night, enticing Jane. Benny then warned Jane that if they did rent the room, then Bao would be selling their sex tape across town. Upon hearing this, Jane replied to Bao that he should be paying her if she was going to rent the room, confusing Benny and angering Bao. Rock interrupted them to remind them that they needed to find Jane's assistant Feng Yifei, who would be arriving in the city soon.

Jane remarked that Feng should be fine, but Bao responded that she was naïve for thinking that newcomers to Roanapur would not be spotted easily. When Benny asked for a photo of Feng to learn what she looks like, Jane showed a photo of Feng in a PLA uniform to Bao, Rock and Benny, surprising them. Rock interrupted them to inform them that Feng was outside, and they saw that her stuff got stolen as she was kicked off a motorcycle.[37] At a motel in a room that Benny rented, Feng introduced herself. As they started talking, Sawyer the Cleaner entered the room, terrifying Jane due to her almost-deadly previous encounter with the cleaner.

Benny assured his girlfriend that Sawyer was only there to clean the rest of the room due to the remaining mess. With Feng asking about the smell in the room, Sawyer did not have her voicebox, so she communicated the story (about four bloody murders in the room) by tracing letters onto Rock's back. Benny told Jane that the motels were booked up at that time of year due to Roanapur's sex trade, and he managed to get a room that opened up, which was the bloodied, smelly room. Upon seeing Sawyer's analogy about the melted corpses on the mattress being like melted butter on bread, the others vomited in disgust while Sawyer smiled about the analogy. Afterward, Benny accompanied Jane to a restaurant to inform Feng about her particular job for the Highwaymen to hack into Reinbach A.G.'s avionics data. That night, Jane had sexual intercourse with Benny elsewhere, and Jane told Benny about Feng being a secret PLA agent whose real name was Li Xinlin, saying that she would cut "Miss Peking Duck" loose.[38]

At the Lagoon Company headquarters, Benny and Rock relayed the smelly room to Revy, who was surprised to learn that it was a certain room. As Benny and the others were eating, Revy recalled the incident where Ronnie the Jaws had four Australians murdered and left their corpses in that room where Feng was staying, laughing about the melted corpses to Benny and Rock's disgust. After her story, Dutch told Revy and Rock to visit Ronnie about a recent shipment.[39] In Benny's car, Jane was trying to perform fellatio on Benny as he drove when he awkwardly informed her that her cellphone was ringing. Picking it up, Jane smugly told Feng that she was fired, saying that she knew Feng was a spy due to her hacking methods. Warning Feng that she was her patsy and would likely be hunted down, Jane cut her loose to be a target of the PLA, tossing her cellphone out the window to break it.[40] At the docks, Benny and Jane were packing up several items since Benny had time off and Jane hired the Lagoon Company to ship her around the sea so that she could spend time with Benny. Revy badmouthed Jane's sexual desires, but Benny assured Revy that Jane was a good person despite her notable sexual appetite. Once Jane joked with the angered Revy, she and Benny boarded the Black Lagoon.[41]

While on the fore deck of the boat as Benny was working, Jane deliberately threw herself onto Benny to make out with him, irking Dutch since the captain's view in the bridge could see the two.[42] Sometime later after Feng staved off her assassins with the help of various people, Feng told Rock that she switched the heat off her onto Jane. While having sexual intercourse with Benny on the deck, Jane wanted to have sex again, but Benny remarked that he wanted to take a break. Benny then heard her phone ring, telling her about it. Hearing from a hacker in her group, Jane learned about the sudden funds from Zamid Dhiyab as well as Reinbach's anger toward her, surprising her. Ending the call and Jane learning that it would be a while until she contacted the hackers again and that she could not return to Roanapur or developed nations due to the heat on her, Benny asked her what was the subject of her call. In a fit of rage, Jane grabbed and threw Benny's laptop and broke it, surprising Benny since it was his favorite laptop.[43]

As a result of Jane throwing the laptop and her new predicament, the two lovebirds had an argument that went sour for Benny, so Jane was dropped off elsewhere while Benny returned to Roanapur, seeing Rock and playing another game of darts with him. Benny told Rock about the fight as well as learning that Feng had a role in his Pontiac GTO's destruction. Remarking that it was the worst week for him, Benny nonchalantly told Rock that Feng was a curse on him and asked Rock why he helped her given his previous comment about no longer wanting to help people. Rock replied that Feng told him he should enjoy himself, and Benny and Rock joked back and forth until deciding to go together to the market so that Rock could get something for Revy.[44]

L'homme sombre[]

Black Lagoon v12c105

Eating some food with her fellow pirates at the office, Revy told Benny and co. that Chang told her to inform them of the recent murders of Black men in Roanapur, specifically Black men of big and tall stature. Benny smiled and told Dutch that he fit the picture, with Dutch sarcastically replying that he was wetting his pants thinking about the murderers. When Revy mentioned a specific date, Dutch's eyebrows raised but kept his surprise hidden, and he left the building.[45] After doing some research, Rock talked to Benny and told him to look at the former's computer, showing that several warehouse deals for their company were recently canceled. Benny wondered if Dutch was responsible, and Revy popped in to ask what they were discussing.[46] Benny remarked that it did not seem like something Dutch would do, and Rock articulated that they would need to look into the situation at least to see if they would be harmed.[47]

Later after Rock and Revy captured and conversed with one of the assassins, Le Majeur, they went to see Dutch at the docks and found Benny. Rock asked him where Dutch was, with the captain appearing to tell Rock to mind his own business. Benny listened to them, with Rock responding that he wanted to stop the violence for their sake as well as Roanapur's sake and not peer into Dutch's past, so Dutch agreed to help Rock.[48]

New Girl in the Hood[]

After Le Majeur was taken in by Revy under Hotel Moscow's approval, Dutch decided that he wanted Majeur to pass a test for them. Accordingly, Benny boarded the Black Lagoon so that they could steer into the bay to have Majeur swim to the Buddha statue and back. On the way, Dutch joked to Benny about the irony of allowing someone who tried to kill him into their group, and in the communications room Benny responded that he was surprised too but added that she did win in the end and deserved a chance to be free of her constraints.[49]

Light novel history[]

Shaitane Badi[]

In the first official light novel Shaitane Badi, the Lagoon Company had to ditch a job since their client got caught in a sting operation, but in Indonesia they got a job from a redheaded woman named Jane. Although suspicious about the details surrounding the job, Dutch agreed to the job and the high pay offered. On the Black Lagoon, Jane had an assault team go on the ship (without her) to use as stealth transportation to attack an oil tanker called the Zaltzman. When Dutch called for one of the mercenaries, Stan, Benny saw from Rock's hand gesture that Stan was on heroin. Not wanting to speak to Stan or any of the mercenaries, Benny quickly darted into the communications room so that Rock would have to talk with Stan and the pirates whom Revy was watching. Once the mercenaries disembarked, Benny commented to Dutch that there was also a ninja among the clients. Soon, Benny noticed a blip on his radar detector and informed his crew that its speed meant that it was likely a helicopter, so Rock grabbed his binoculars and confirmed his guess.

When Stan radioed to Black Lagoon to stand by and not interfere, Benny became more suspicious about the job in addition to the helicopter landing on the tanker. At that point, Mister Chang radioed to the PT boat to ask them if they meant to aid the mercenaries, shocking everyone including Benny. Dutch ran into the communications room and snatched the radio from Benny's hand, trying to clarify that they had no idea that the tanker belonged to the Triad. As Revy began to attack the mercenaries, Benny remarked in the bridge that she was their last hope to save Chang and ease relations. Accordingly, Benny headed back to his room to stand by when he noticed a silhouette revealing itself by the wall, yelling at Dutch to warn him. Reacting fast, Dutch dodged Shadow Falcon's attacks but the ninja started trashing the steering controls. The captain frantically ordered Benny to get as many grenades as he could from the armory, so Benny ran there and got a box of them. Running onto deck with the box of explosives, Benny yelled to Dutch, who grabbed a few grenades and tossed them into the ocean as Falcon jumped off the boat. Once the explosion ceased, Benny and the others saw cloth and a red color in the water, thinking that Falcon had gotten killed.

As Dutch and Rock were baffled, Benny heard another ship engine and saw a nearby watercraft, indicating that their former clients had a backup getaway plan. Heading back below deck on Dutch's orders, Benny got his camera equipment so that he could take photographs of the enemy ship to investigate later. In due time that night, Revy and Chang killed some of the mercenaries but let Stan, Jake and two others flee the scene.[50] After the attack ended, Benny managed to repair the damage to the PT boat an hour later, so the Lagoon Company and Chang with his men began to head back to Roanapur. Below deck, Dutch asked Chang about any clues that would reveal the mercenaries' identities. While Chang indicated that he wanted the Lagoon Company to make it up to him by hunting down the mercenaries, Benny interrupted to inform them that he had a clue via a photograph of the getaway ship. Examining it, Rock saw that the Cyrillic script said "Нефрит", the Russian word for jade. Chang realized that it was a boat owned by Hotel Moscow, and soon all of them docked in Roanapur.

The coming afternoon, Benny was once again doing repairs on Black Lagoon since he wanted to stay behind rather than talk with Roanapur's denizens. Revy then called for him since Dutch wanted them to meet up for lunch, and Benny realized that he was pretty hungry. Gathering up his tools, Benny exited the engine room and thought that there was someone in the room, but he brushed it off. Unknown to him, Shadow Falcon had managed to be invisible and stay hidden from everyone's vision.[51] Later at the Lagoon Company office, Benny ate pizza with his crew when Rock remembered that he had a clue. Pulling out Jake's business card, Rock noticed there was a URL on there, so Dutch advised Benny to access the website. Scrolling down the blog, Benny noted to everyone that it was a journal of Jake's killings, adding that Jake was more or less anonymous since his face was not on the website. When Rock wondered why Jake tried giving his business card to Revy, Benny surmised that he probably expected her to see his website.

Checking out the links on the website, Benny saw that they led to advertisements for firearms. Also observing the guestbook, Benny and the others saw the various comments about the guns and Jake, soon seeing that Jake made a blog post about his fight with Revy. Enraged at Jake's mockery and photoshopping of her, Revy shot Benny's computer monitor once, terrifying him. As Revy began angrily chuckling to herself, she got an idea when Chang called the office to order Revy to kill the mercenaries at their hideout.[52] The next day after the failed raid on the abandoned factory, Revy reconvened with Benny, who had an idea to mess with Jake. Because Revy promised to buy a new monitor for Benny, he decided to hack Jake's website and pose as him, making Jake's fans think that he was an unattractive old man who had an unsexy personality. To trick Jake's fans, Revy made a plastic replica of Jake's customized gun so that it seemed like the old man was truly Jake. Benny added that he would touch up the photographs to make the gun look realer, but he quickly warned Revy not to smoke any cigarettes since she had just used paint thinner to carve the replica. Accordingly that night, Revy performed at Jackpot Pigeons in an S&M show while Benny got the pictures and put them onto Jake's website.[53]

Once the website got changed and Jake got locked out, Jake himself was distraught at the internet thinking he was a different person. Afterward, Jake and "Jane" (Tatiana Yakovleva) were both eventually murdered.[54] Although they had proven their trustworthiness to Chang, the Triad leader still wanted them to do another pirating job. On the way to attack the smuggling ship, Benny found it on his radar in the communications room and informed Dutch. To their surprise, Benny warned the pirates about another ship speeding toward them, clarifying that it was not a government patrol boat. The crew was even more surprised that the second ship belonged to Catherine Morgan, the sister of Caroline Morgan, whom Jake killed. Annoyed by Catherine's false accusation that she killed Caroline, Revy decided to pick a fight with Morgan's ship.[55]

Ballad of the Sinful Wizard[]

In the second light novel Ballad of the Sinful Wizard, Benny was at the office when Mister Chang visited the Lagoon Company. As the Triad leader spoke with Dutch and Rock about Budaibang's presence in the city because the Fujianese crime syndicate wanted to find Tricia O'Sullivan, Benny kept to his computer as the conversation continued. Once Chang left, Rock and Revy themselves departed to look for Lotton since he was the last person known to be seen with Tricia. Slightly curious about the situation, Benny asked Dutch if he was off-put by the CIA's alleged presence. As Dutch was set aback, Benny then jokingly asked if Dutch had something to hide beyond his alleged wartime service for the United States in the Vietnam War. Slightly annoyed by his question, Dutch in turn asked Benny why he cared given that he also had a background to hide given his history with the FBI and the mafia. Agreeing with his answer, Benny apologized and went back to typing on his computer.[56]

About a day later, Benny sailed with Dutch on the Black Lagoon to Pangkalpinang to get a custom pillow for Lotton. This was because Lotton agreed to help the Lagoon Company trick the person after Tricia on the condition that he would receive a replacement pillow for Shenhua's pillow that he damaged.[57] After the whole ordeal in Roanapur, Benny successfully brought the pillow back to town, and Rock personally delivered it to Lotton.[58]

Gore Gore Girl history[]

Volume 3[]

In volume 3 of Dismemberment Galore! The Gore Gore Girl, Benny relaxed with the rest of the Lagoon Company at the beach, and he still stuck to his laptop. Once the burgers were done cooking, Benny tried one of the "Kobe beef" burgers that unknown to him actually contained human meat. Rock returned to see him and the others enjoy the burgers, frightening and disgusting him.[59] Later at the Lagoon Company office, Benny asked Rock if he cleaned up the old pile of clothes in the Black Lagoon, and the latter confirmed. Rock elaborated that Sawyer the Cleaner took care of it and Benny asked him about the details. Rock then replied that there was an unfamiliar box in the Black Lagoon's hold which meant that someone broke into the boat to place it there, but it was only full of clothes and not explosives like he expected. Sweating, he remarked to Benny that he felt sick.[60]

Volume 8[]

Going to the beach with his fellow pirates, Benny stuck to using his computer while Revy and Rock salivated at the lobster being cooked for them.[61]

Trivia[]

  • Benny is the only Lagoon Company member to have his name in an episode title.
  • In the first popularity contest released during the May/June 2008 issue of Monthly Sunday Gene-X, Benny ranked 20th (tying with Garcia Lovelace, Maki, and Tsugio Bando) with an unspecified number of votes.[62]
  • In a popularity contest released during the 10th manga collection release, Benny ranked 31st with 23 votes.[63]
  • In a popularity contest released during the 12th manga collection release, Benny ranked 27th with 77 votes.[64]
  • Benny's question to Rock in episode 26 about how much can one's heart could take when every death was like a plate of armor wearing one down could be a clue to Benny's past.

References[]

  1. Chapter 06: Das Wieder Erstehen Des Adlers Part 2
  2. His height is shown on the anime character settei; see the "Other" section on Benny/Image Gallery.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Episode 06: Moonlit Hunting Grounds
  4. 4.0 4.1 Chapter 15: Bloodsport Fairy tale Part 5
  5. 5.0 5.1 Episode 17: The Roanapur Freakshow Circus
  6. Chapter 00: Black Lagoon
  7. Episode 01: The Black Lagoon
  8. Episode 02: Mangrove Heaven
  9. Chapter 01: Chase for ring-ding ships
  10. Episode 03: Ring-Ding Ship Chase
  11. Chapter 02: Rasta Blasta Part 1
  12. Episode 09: Maid to Kill
  13. Episode 10: The Unstoppable Chambermaid
  14. Episode 04: Die Rückkehr des Adlers
  15. Episode 05: Eagle Hunting and Hunting Eagles
  16. Episode 07: Calm Down, Two Men
  17. Chapter 12: Bloodsport Fairy tale Part 2
  18. Episode 15: Swan Song at Dawn
  19. 19.0 19.1 Episode 11: Lock'n Load Revolution
  20. Chapter 17: Goat, Jihad, Rock'N Roll Part 2
  21. Chapter 18: Goat, Jihad, Rock'N Roll Part 3
  22. Episode 19: Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise
  23. Episode 20: The Succession
  24. Episode 23: Snow White's Payback
  25. Episode 24: The Gunslingers
  26. Episode 18: Mr. Benny's Good Fortune
  27. Chapter 45: El Baile de la muerte Part 2
  28. Chapter 47: El Baile de la muerte Part 4
  29. Chapter 48: El Baile de la muerte Part 5
  30. Episode 25: Collateral Massacre
  31. Chapter 52: El Baile de la muerte Part 9
  32. Chapter 53: El Baile de la muerte Part 10
  33. 33.0 33.1 Episode 28: Oversaturation Kill Box
  34. Chapter 72: El Baile de la muerte Part 29
  35. Chapter 74: El Baile de la muerte Part 31
  36. Episode 29: Codename Paradise, Status MIA
  37. Chapter 77: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 1
  38. Chapter 78: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 2
  39. Chapter 79: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 3
  40. Chapter 80: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 4
  41. Chapter 81: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 5
  42. Chapter 86: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 10
  43. Chapter 100: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 24
  44. Chapter 101: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 25
  45. Chapter 103: L'homme sombre Part 2
  46. Chapter 104: L'homme sombre Part 3
  47. Chapter 105: L'homme sombre Part 4
  48. Chapter 109: L'homme sombre Part 8
  49. Chapter 115: New Girl in the Hood Part 2
  50. Black Lagoon: Shaitane Badi (Chapter 1)
  51. Black Lagoon: Shaitane Badi (Chapter 2)
  52. Black Lagoon: Shaitane Badi (Chapter 3)
  53. Black Lagoon: Shaitane Badi (Chapter 4)
  54. Black Lagoon: Shaitane Badi (Chapter 5)
  55. Black Lagoon: Shaitane Badi (Epilogue)
  56. Black Lagoon 2: Ballad of the Sinful Wizard (Lagoon Company: Dutch)
  57. Black Lagoon 2: Ballad of the Sinful Wizard (A Certain Wizard: 4)
  58. Black Lagoon 2: Ballad of the Sinful Wizard (Epilogue — Frederica Sawyer: 2)
  59. Gore Gore Girl Chapter 15: DELICATESSEN
  60. Gore Gore Girl Chapter 16: Dressed to Kill
  61. Gore Gore Girl Chapter 50: WASABI
  62. https://sundaygx.com/blacklagoon/contest/
  63. http://sundaygx.info/blacklagoon_contest/
  64. http://sundaygx.info/blacklagoon_contest_12/
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