El Diablo (comics)
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| El Diablo | |
 El Diablo v.1 #16, Mike Parobeck artist |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | (Lane) All-Star Western #2 (October 1970) (Sandoval) El Diablo #1 (August 1989) |
| Created by | (Lane) Robert Kanigher (writer) Gray Morrow (artist) (Sandoval) Gerard Jones (writer) Mike Parobeck (artist) |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | - Lazarus Lane - Rafael Sandoval |
| Team affiliations | (Sandoval) Justice League |
| Abilities | (Sandoval) Olympic level boxer and athlete. |
El Diablo is a name shared by two fictional characters published by DC Comics.
Lazarus Lane first appeared in All-Star Western #2 (October 1970), and was created by Robert Kanigher and Gray Morrow. Rafael Sandoval first appeared in El Diablo #1 (August 1989), and was created by Gerard Jones and Mike Parobeck.
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[edit] Lazarus Lane
Lazarus Lane is the original El Diablo, operating in the latter half of the 19th Century in the old American West.
Lane was originally a bank teller who is nearly killed by a gang of thieves and put in a coma after being hit by lightning. After being revived by a Native American shaman, Lane becomes a vigilante and called himself El Diablo. He is one of several Wild West DC characters, along with Jonah Hex, Bat Lash, the original Pow-Wow Smith, and the original, heroic Trigger Twins. The name El Diablo means "the devil" in Spanish.
The second comics series published by DC under the El Diablo name was published under their Vertigo imprint as a mature readers title.
According to Jonah Hex #11 (2006) and issue #24 (2007), Lazarus Lane is cursed to be the host of a minor demon which acts as a Spirit of Vengeance. His fate is similar to that of the current Crimson Avenger.
[edit] Rafael Sandoval
The second iteration was created in 1988 by writer Gerard Jones and artist Mike Parobeck as a title set in the modern DC Universe. This title lasted 16 months.
As created by Jones and Parobeck, Rafael Sandoval is a rookie member of the city council of Dos Rios, Texas who creates his version of El Diablo from an old boxing persona and local legends surrounding the Devil when stymied trying to pursue the case of a serial insurance arsonist via official channels.
Subsequent efforts involve battles with illicit drug smugglers using maquiladora covers for their activities, a hunt for a serial killer, conflicts with human-smuggling operations, and with Sandoval's own conscience over how best to serve the people of Dos Rios.
The Sandoval character has subsequently made guest appearances in one of the Justice League titles, in which he is possessed by the spirit of an Aztec god-emperor. He also appears in the Villains United Special when he is pulled out of retirement by Oracle to serve in her de facto Justice League, whereupon he is attacked by a member of the Royal Flush Gang during a battle at the Enclave M prison in the Sonora Valley, Mexico. He is wounded in the battle, but saved from death by the warden of the facility.
[edit] One Year Later
In Blue Beetle v.3 # 8, a chain of restaurants operating under the El Diablo's name is established. What relationship the chain has to either Lane or Sandoval or any other character now using the alias is as yet unidentified.
[edit] Other versions
- El Diablo is a character featured in Irrational Games' Freedom Force series of video games and a six-issue comic book miniseries based on those games published by Image Comics in 2005.
[edit] Appearances in other media
In the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Once and Future Thing," the original version of El Diablo appears. His costume somewhat resembles that of Zorro. He is voiced by Nestor Carbonell.
