Gossamer

Gossamer is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons.

Appearance
The character is a hairy red monster. His rectangular body is perched on two giant tennis shoes, and his heart-shaped face is composed of only two oval eyes and a wide mouth, with two hulking arms ending in dirty, clawed fingers. The monster's main trait, however, is bright uncombed red hair. In fact, a gag in the 1980 short Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 241/2th Century lampoons this by revealing that Gossamer is, in fact, composed entirely of hair.

The word "Gossamer" is derived from the Middle English gossamer (a soft sheer gauzy fabric), from "gos" meaning goose and "somer" meaning summer, which translates to something light, delicate, or insubstantial. The name is meant to be ironic, since the character is large, menacing, and destructive. In fact, he is so terrifying that, in his first appearance, his own reflection flees from him. It is also revealed that he's afraid of people.

Appearances in other media
Gossamer has appeared in a cameo role in a number of recent Warner Bros. productions.
 * He appeared in 1990s episodes of Tiny Toon Adventures, including a prominent role in a Frankenstein parody segment in the Tiny Toons Night Ghoulery special.
 * He appears briefly in the 1996 movie Space Jam (in a car before the big game and after Bugs gets crushed by one of the Monstars named Pound who was meant to crush Lola), and he has also been featured in a number of episodes of The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries.
 * He was used as an enemy in Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 4 and his silhouette appears on the cover of the game.
 * He is a boss character in the Looney Tunes video games Taz: Escape from Mars; Sheep, Dog, 'n' Wolf; and Taz: Wanted.
 * Gossamer also makes a cameo in the Pinky and the Brain episode "Star Warners".
 * Gossamer appeared in the Aaahh!!! Real Monsters episode "Monsters Are Real" where he was shown on the Gromble's monitor as one of the best monsters to scare people and animals.
 * He appears in the video game Looney Tunes Collector: Alert! as a boss in the Count's Castle, and as a non-playable character.
 * Gossamer appeared in the television series Beetlejuice as redesign named The Monster Across The Street.
 * In 2001, Gossamer returned in the Sheep Raider video game.
 * In 2002, he appears in a webtoon called The Island of Dr. Moron, where his brother, The Carrot Monster made his only appearance.
 * He (or a descendant) also appears in the Loonatics Unleashed series as a wrestling rival for Slam Tasmanian named Gorlop, who hails from "the planet Gossamer."
 * A younger Gossamer appeared in an episode of Baby Looney Tunes as a helper in Pepé Le Pew's garden.
 * He appears in 2006's Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas as a security guard who has to work overtime without pay for greedy Daffy Duck.
 * A clip in the deleted-scenes featurette on the Looney Tunes: Back in Action DVD features Gossamer being harassed by Kate Houghton (Jenna Elfman).
 * Gossamer appeared in The Looney Tunes Show episodes "Monster Talent", "Newspaper Thief", "Sunday Night Slice" and "The Muh-Muh-Muh-Murder" voiced by Kwesi Boakye. Strangely, Witch Lezah is somehow his mother. Gossamer is a child in this incarnation, a lonely boy who just wants to make friends. To that end, he seeks the dubious advice of Daffy Duck, much to the dismay of Witch Lezah. In "Newspaper Thief," he appears as a guest at a dinner party with Witch Lezah, Granny, and Yosemite Sam. In "Sunday Night Slice," he is a client of the Pizzariba. In "The Muh-Muh-Muh-Murder," he appears at Pizzariba for Daffy's surprise birthday party.
 * Gossamer made a cameo in the MetLife commercial "Everyone" that was first seen during Super Bowl XLVI in 2012.
 * In September 2002, Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran (and won in) a special Gossamer paint scheme at Richmond International Raceway during the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 weekend in which he and his brother Kerry ran Looney Tunes cars.
 * He is a playable character in the games Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal and Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
 * Gossamer is an enemy in Bugs Bunny in Double Trouble.

Trivia

 * Originally, he was voiced by the late Mel Blanc, and has been voiced by Frank Welker, Maurice LaMarche, the late Joe Alaskey, Jim Cummings, and Kwesi Boakye.