Lobo (DC Comics)

This article is about the DC Comics character. For Amalgam Comics' version of this character, see Lobo the Duck. For the first African-American starring comic, see Lobo (Dell Comics).
Lobo

Lobo
Art by Alex Horley
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Omega Men #3 (June 1983)
Created by Roger Slifer
Keith Giffen
In-story information
Place of origin Czarnia
Team affiliations L.E.G.I.O.N.
Young Justice
Church of the Triple-Fish God
R.E.B.E.L.S.
Notable aliases The Main Man, The 'Bo, Master Frag, The Last Czarnian, Mister Machete, Scourge o' the Cosmos, The Ultimate Bastich, Machete Man, El Cazadores
Abilities

Lobo is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The Lobo character was created by Roger Slifer and Keith Giffen, and first appeared in Omega Men #3 (June 1983). Lobo is an alien, and works as an interstellar mercenary and bounty hunter. Lobo was introduced - although initially rarely used - as a hardboiled villain in the 1980s, and remained in limbo until his revival as an anti-hero biker with his own comic in the early 1990s.

Character development

The character enjoyed a short run as one of DC’s most popular characters throughout the 1990s. This version of Lobo was intended to be an over-the-top parody of the Marvel Comics superhero Wolverine. In issue #41 of Deadpool, a separate Marvel series, Lobo was parodied as "Dirty Wolff", a large blue-skinned man who drove a demonic motorcycle. He was also parodied in the Image Comics series Bloodwulf and as "Bolo" in the Topps Comics series Satan's Six.

In a 2006 interview, Keith Giffen said, "I have no idea why Lobo took off... I came up with him as an indictment of the Punisher, Wolverine hero prototype, and somehow he caught on as the high violence poster boy. Go figure."[1]

Lobo is the favorite DC Comics character of Stan Lee.[2]

Publication history

Lobo was introduced as a regular character in Keith Giffen and Roger Slifer’s Green Lantern and Teen Titans spin-off Omega Men.[3] At that time, he was a Velorpian whose entire race had been exterminated by Psions and was partnered with Bedlam, whom he later killed; his origin was later retconned.

After a well-received appearance in Justice League International, Lobo became a regular character in L.E.G.I.O.N. and its successor series R.E.B.E.L.S..

In 1990, he appeared in his four-issue own miniseries, Lobo: The Last Czarnian, plotted by Giffen, written by Alan Grant and with art by Simon Bisley, which changed his origin story: he became the last Czarnian after violently killing every other member of the species. That miniseries led to many subsequent miniseries and specials, including Lobocop, a RoboCop parody; Blazing Chain of Love, in which he is sent on a job to a harem; Paramilitary Christmas Special, in which he is contracted by the Easter Bunny to assassinate Santa Claus; Infanticide, where he kills his daughter and all of his other offspring that she has gathered to try to kill him; Convention Special, a send-up of comic book conventions; and Unamerican Gladiators, in which Lobo takes part in a deadly televised game show. Simon Bisley's dark humor fits well within the pages of his artwork by having countless mutilations of background characters occurring in each panel. Lobo also starred in his own DC title for 64 issues, from 1993 to 1999.

Lobo has regularly made guest appearances in other series, even in cross-company interactions with such non-DC characters as The Mask, Judge Dredd, and the Authority. During the DC vs. Marvel crossover series, he fought Wolverine and lost due to popular vote by fans. He also appeared very briefly in the JLA/Avengers inter-company crossover, and is shown fighting members of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, although the outcome is not shown.

Lobo has made a few appearances in the animated series of the 1990s/2000s-era DC animated universe. At one point, an animated series and video game starring the character were to be released, but both were canceled.

Fictional character biography

Lobo is a Czarnian with exceptional strength and fortitude. He enjoys nothing better than mindless violence and intoxication, and killing is an end in itself; his name roughly translates as "he who devours your entrails and thoroughly enjoys it." He is arrogant and self-centered, focusing almost solely on his own pleasures, although he proudly lives up to the letter of his promises - but always no more or no less than what he promised. Lobo is the last of his kind, having committed complete genocide by killing all the other Czarnians for fun. As detailed in Lobo #0, Lobo unleashed a violent plague of flying scorpions upon his home world, killing most of its citizens.

The first appearance of Lobo.

Physically, Lobo resembles a chalk-white human male with, generally, blood-red pupilless eyes with blackened eyelids. Like many comic book characters, Lobo's body is highly muscular, though his initial appearances were much leaner and less bulky compared to later iterations. Originally portrayed with neatly trimmed purple-grey hair, this was soon redesigned as a gray mullet, later a long, straggly, gray-black mane, dreadlocks, and more recently a pompadour. Similarly, the orange-and-purple leotard he wore in his first few appearances was replaced by black leather biker gear, and later replaced with both the robes of his office as a putative Archbishop and pirate-themed gear, then later a sleeveless flight suit/jumpsuit. His arsenal includes numerous guns and a titanium chain with a hook on his right arm. Extra weapons may include "frag grenades" and giant carving blades.

Lobo has a strict personal code of honor in that he will never violate the letter of an agreement- saying in Superman: TAS that "The Main Man's word is his bond,"- although he may gleefully disregard its spirit. He is surprisingly protective of space dolphins, some of which he feeds from his home. A few have been killed in separate incidents, which he avenges with his usual violence.

Lobo's friends include Dawg, a bulldog that he often claims is not his when it gets into trouble; Jonas Glim, a fellow bounty hunter; Ramona, a bail bondswoman/hairdresser; and Guy Gardner, whose friendship was cemented when Lobo came by Guy's bar Warriors where he gave Guy one of his Space Hogs and the skull of the Tormock leader Bronkk.

Dawg is stomped to death by Lobo in Lobo #58 in which he again claims to Superman that the dog is not his, this for the final time. Somehow, Dawg later appears alongside Lobo when Lobo goes to Earth to fight Green Lantern and Atrocitus.[4] His enemies include the do-gooder superhero parody Goldstar, Loo, Vril Dox, Bludhound, Etrigan the Demon, and General Glory. Lobo generally tries to kill anyone he's hired to capture, including his fourth-grade teacher named Miss Tribb, his children, Santa Claus, and Gawd. Although his main targets are Superman and Deathstroke, whom he has defeated a countless number of times. Lobo frequents a restaurant, Al's diner, where he often flirts with Al's only waitress, Darlene. Though Lobo protects these two from frequent danger, he doesn't seem to understand the distress caused by his tendency to destroy the diner. Al and Darlene later prosper due to Lobo's appetite for destruction; he destroys the city, except for the diner, leaving hordes of construction workers only one place to eat lunch. He also ends up destroying a diner Al gives to him as part of a birthday celebration.

The last revelation of Lobo and the diner appears to be in the pages of Lobo One Million, where his last adventure is depicted. By the time of the action, he's already morbidly obese and working as a carnival attraction, scaring tourists into leaving their money behind. Then, a sexy client appears to offer him a last job: finding a legendary evildoer named Malo Perverso. At the prospect of a last well-paid job and a chance to score with the client, Lobo quickly agrees, and again invades the diner to use their Tesseract teleporter to reach his gear. It is revealed then the "client" is none other than Darlene, who wanted to see him back in his prime rather than see him sink even deeper into sloth.

After reaching his gear, Lobo invades the HQ of the JLWB (Justice League of Wannabes) and crushes all opposition in order to hack their files on Malo Perverso. There, he is attacked by Perverso himself, who then reveals himself to be Clayman, the team's shapeshifter, who admits he impersonated Perverso to get rid of Lobo. Clayman also squeals that the real Perverso went into a black hole. Lobo, still eager to find his bounty, goes into the black hole. Ironically, due to Lobo's interference in a planetary conflict in the same issue, Al later gets a package through the Tesseract for Lobo - which promptly blows the diner up, yet again.

At one point, Lobo has trouble with a clone of himself that had survived previous misadventures. A battle between the two makes it unclear which of them survived. Some fans conclude that the original Lobo was the victor, since later in the series, Lobo removes a miniature radio which he had surgically implanted in his head some time before the clone fight, and only organic matter can be cloned.

The character has participated in several money-making schemes, such as being a priest and being a pop-rock idol. Most of these schemes tend to end with the violent deaths of nearly everyone involved. He has many friends among the bounty hunter world, though many tend to die when they are around Lobo, either by his hand or at the hands of enemies he faces.

Crossovers

Lobo has clashed, and cooperated, with Superman. He has also encountered Batman a couple of times, although one of these encounters was in the Elseworlds continuity. He has both fought and teamed up with Guy Gardner more than once, helping him to destroy various alien threats to Earth. Lobo often visits Warriors, Guy's bar, where he enjoys free drinks.

He fights Aquaman when a traveling space dolphin visiting Earth is killed by Japanese fishermen. He ceases fighting when he learns Aquaman is not only a friend to dolphins but was raised by them. "Aw, frag," mutters Lobo. "Now I gotta be civil." Although Lobo feels he cannot hurt a fellow dolphin lover, he has no such mercy for the fishermen.

Lobo also has appeared with The Authority. In one such appearance, Jenny Quantum finds a comic book detailing Lobo's murder of Santa Claus; she experiences a fit of rage and confusion. She breaks the barrier between her dimension and the dimension Lobo inhabits in the comic book, and Lobo finds himself in a fight with The Authority.

Lobo has also had run-ins with Hitman, Valor, Starman, The Ray, Deadman, Green Lantern, the JLA, StormWatch, Mister Miracle, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, Fate, Sovereign Seven, Supergirl, and Superboy, among others.

L.E.G.I.O.N./R.E.B.E.L.S.

Main article: L.E.G.I.O.N.

Lobo acts as an independent bounty hunter until tricked by Vril Dox into nominally joining his interstellar police force, L.E.G.I.O.N. However, he continues solo activity, which seems to often bring him to Earth and in conflict with its heroes. Or, as in one case, base indifference.[5] He remains loyal to Vril Dox after L.E.G.I.O.N. leadership is usurped by Dox's son, until an altercation between Lobo and Dox prompts Dox to release Lobo from his service. After this, Lobo becomes a full-time bounty hunter again.

Li'L Lobo

In the year 2000, a magical accident transforms Lobo into a teenager. In this state, he joins Young Justice and eventually accompanies them to Apokolips, where he is killed in combat. However, the aforementioned magical accident has restored his ability to grow clones from a single drop of blood, and millions of Lobos rush into battle against Apokoliptian soldiers, whom the Lobos quickly defeat. The Lobos then turn on each other, until only one is left; in the process, the surviving Lobo regrows to adulthood. His time as a member of Young Justice becomes a distant memory. An additional weaker teenage Lobo with yellow eyes remained, however, having hidden from the fight; he rejoins Young Justice and chooses to rename himself Slo-bo. Eventually, this clone begins to degrade, becoming blind, and degenerating to the brink of death. Before he can die, however, Darkseid teleports him to the headquarters of Young Justice One Million in the 853rd Century, turning him into a statue, fully conscious and aware, in the process. When Lobo later encounters Robin and Wonder Girl again as members of the Teen Titans, he demonstrates no recollections of them or their history together, demonstrating that he has indeed forgotten his time as their teammate.

52

Main article: 52 (comics)

After an extended hiatus, Lobo reappeared during the year-long maxi-series known as 52 where he encounters a group of heroes (consisting of Adam Strange, Animal Man, and Starfire), who find themselves stranded in space after the events of Infinite Crisis. To everyone's surprise, he does not kill them. Lobo professes to have found religion, becoming the spiritual leader of the whole of sector 3500, which was left in shambles by a still unknown assailant. He is the current caretaker of the Emerald Eye of Ekron. After helping the lost heroes defeat Lady Styx, he brings the Emerald Eye to the triple-headed fish god, who agrees to release Lobo from his vow of non-violence in exchange. When told that the Emerald Eye is the only thing that can kill the fish god, Lobo blasts him with it.

One Year Later

Lobo appeared in "Deadly Serious", a two-part crossover miniseries with Batman in August 2007, written and drawn by Sam Kieth. In addition, Lobo has fought the Teen Titans and Blue Beetle in their respective titles in order to stop a rocket for the Reach, in which he failed.

In the Reign in Hell miniseries, it is revealed that Lobo's soul was still in Hell following a deal he made with Neron during the 1996 Underworld Unleashed. Lobo's suffering was enough to power Neron's whole castle. Lobo was freed from his prison in a battle between Etrigan and Blue Devil, and went on a rampage through hell to seek revenge on Neron. In order to buy time to fully recover before battling Lobo, Etrigan stole Blue Devil's soul and informed him that he would have to fight Lobo to get it back. During Lobo's rampage he cut off Zatara's head, forcing his daughter, Zatanna, to send him to the Abyss, the soul death.

Later, Lobo is shown aiding the JLA during their mission into Hell, where he helps Fire defeat the god Plutus.[6]

Brightest Day

In the Brightest Day crossover, Lobo appeared on Earth to capture a bounty on Atrocitus's head.[7] After fighting Hal Jordan, Carol Ferris and Sinestro, he then fled, which Hal found unusual. However, it is revealed that the fight was all staged by Atrocitus himself. As a payment, Lobo was given a Red Lantern ring.[4]

The 2014-introduction Lobo, holding the severed head of what was then established as an impostor Lobo. Art by Aaron Kuder.

R.E.B.E.L.S.

Still wearing his red ring on a chain around his neck, Lobo is recruited from a bar by Vril Dox, who requires his help battling his "father" Brainiac and the Pulsar Stargrave, a captured weapon. Even losing his spacehog, Lobo saves the planet Colu, but with Brainac and Pulsar Stargrave escaping. Lobo became a senior member of Vril Dox's Legion based on the planet Rann. Lobo was the key to defeating Starro the Conqueror and his lieutenants, ensuring security for Rann, the Vega System and the galaxy. Unknown to Lobo the Psions had created clones of Lobo attempting to bring back the Czarnian race, which could make them unstoppable, but the series ended before this was played out.[8]

The New 52

In 2011, DC Comics rebooted the DC Universe continuity in an initiative called The New 52. A reimagined version of Lobo debuted in Deathstroke #9, written by Rob Liefeld. This Lobo is a Czarnian slaver who killed the rest of his race except for his beloved Princess Sheba.[9] A second version, claiming to be the real Lobo, was introduced in Justice League #23.2. Cultured and well-educated, although ruthless, this Lobo is an interstellar mercenary and bounty hunter, with a leaner physique akin to the character's earlier appearances. This new version sets course for Earth after discovering his counterpart, a Czarnian imposter, had been theed in October 2014,[10][11] and was scheduled to be canceled with its December 2015 issue.[12]

Powers and abilities

Lobo possesses extraordinary strength of undefined limits. His strength, much like his other powers, varies greatly depending upon different artistic interpretations by various comic book writers. In some instances, he is depicted as being barely stronger than a human while, in others, he demonstrates physical strength on a similar level to Superman. He has however shown in all their meeting, to be a match in strength for Etrigan the demon. Lobo also possesses superhuman durability, which varies greatly as well. Lobo is depicted, in some situations, as being injured by conventional bullets while, in other situations, he has the physical resiliency to stand toe to toe with Superman, survive unprotected in deep space, and withstand powerful explosive blasts without sustaining injury. He has displayed particular susceptibility to gaseous chemicals. In one instance, Lobo was declared immortal; after he died and went to hell, he proved too much for the demons, and when he was then sent to heaven, he wreaked so much havoc that he was permanently banished from the afterlife.

In all comic books, Lobo is portrayed as a ruthless bounty hunter. He only has one rule: once he takes a contract, he finishes it no matter what, even if it means risking his own life. Unless he has a counter contract for even more money, then he would fulfill the new one.

If Lobo sustains injury, his accelerated healing factor enables him to regenerate damaged or destroyed tissue with superhuman speed and efficiency, and little apparent pain. Lobo also is functionally immortal. He is immune to the effects of aging and disease and has been banned from entering either heaven or hell. As such, even though he can sustain sufficient injury to be out of commission for quite some time, he will apparently heal from any injury, given sufficient time. For instance, Lobo can regenerate out of a pool of his own blood, apparently recycling the cells.[13]

At one time, Lobo could grow a copy of himself, possessing all of his skills and powers, out of every drop of his blood that was spilled. This power was removed by Vril Dox during Lobo's time with L.E.G.I.O.N., but Lobo regained it in the series Young Justice, in which he was de-aged by Klarion the Witch Boy and slaughtered while on a mission to Apokolips. His blood reformed into thousands of Lobo clones who waged war on the planet and then proceeded to murder each other until only one Lobo (the current one) was left. One of his other clones, Slo-Bo, survived, but later began to fall apart until being dealt with by Darkseid. In 52, he again regenerated from a pool of blood, but no clones were created so he no longer appears to retain this ability.

Lobo possesses an amazingly developed sense of smell, which allows him to track objects between solar systems, as well as a separate tracking ability enabling him to track an individual across galactic distances.

He is a formidable combatant with expertise in multiple forms of armed and unarmed combat. His favorite weapon is a large titanium alloy chain with a large gutting hook connected at the end, often referred to as "the garrote", that he keeps wrapped around his right wrist. At times, he also uses high-grade explosives and advanced firearms.

Despite his violent and loutish nature, Lobo seems to have a genius-level intellect in matters of destruction and violence. He can create complex virulent agents and the corresponding antidotes; in one version of his backstory, he released such a plague on Czarnia as a science project, resulting in the deaths of the entire population in the span of one week.

His vehicle, some sort of space-faring motorcycle (the "Space Hog"), often accompanies him. It is his own design and, despite its size, it is capable of extended and speedy travel throughout space. Further, it protects those in its immediate vicinity from the hazards of space and somehow permits the ability to breathe and speak. He was also able to scavenge parts from a destroyed time hopper and attach them to his own bike, producing a working time machine. Lobo is fluent in many alien languages (according to Lobo, 17,897)[14] and extremely knowledgeable in the locations and cultures of worlds without external references.

It is not fully known the extent to which his powers are common for his race or unique to him. In the miniseries The Last Czarnian and elsewhere, it is stated that the cloning and healing abilities are traits possessed by all Czarnians, as is the apparent ability to survive in the vacuum of space.

Other versions

In other media

Television

Lobo as he appears in Superman: The Animated Series.

Film

Andrew Bryniarski as "Lobo" in the AFI student film, The Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special.

Video games

Books

Lobo is the main character of the novel DC Universe: Last Sons, written by Alan Grant, published in 2006. The book also features the Martian Manhunter and Superman as protagonists. The three main characters are the "last sons" of their respective races.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Comic Book Biography: Keith Giffen, Newsarama, March 10, 2006 (cached)
  2. ↑ Video Interview from Stan Lee's AMA
  3. ↑ Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1980s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. When space-bike-riding renegade Lobo made his debut during the "Citadel War" storyline in The Omega Men by Roger Slifer and artist Keith Giffen, he was hardly recognizable as the rebellious anti-hero who would become one of the best-selling DC characters of the 1990s.
  4. 1 2 Green Lantern (vol. 4) #55 (August 2010)
  5. ↑ L.E.G.I.O.N. Annual #1992 (Eclipso crossover)
  6. ↑ Justice League of America 80-Page Giant 2011
  7. ↑ Green Lantern (vol. 4) #54 (July 2010)
  8. ↑ Adventure Comics (vol. 2) #9 (Late May 2010)
  9. ↑ Deathstroke vol. 2, #9-12 (July–Oct. 2012)
  10. ↑ http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/135990-New-52s-Lobo-Gets-Ongoing-Series-Tragic-Backstory
  11. ↑ DC Comics: Lobo #1
  12. ↑ Ching, Albert (September 13, 2015). "Five DC Titles Set to End, Including 'Justice League United' and 'Lobo'". ComicBookResources.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  13. ↑ 52 #20 (September 2006)
  14. ↑ 52 #19 (September 2006)
  15. ↑ McDuffie, Dwayne (writer); Lukic, Butch (director) (29 November 2003). "Hereafter". Justice League. Season 2. Episode 19. Cartoon Network.
  16. ↑ McDuffie, Dwayne (writer); Lukic, Butch (director) (29 November 2003). "Hereafter Pt. II". Justice League. Season 2. Episode 20. Cartoon Network.
  17. ↑ http://ifanboy.com/articles/wondercon-2012-young-justice-season-2-sizzle-reel/
  18. ↑ "The Lobo ParaMilitary Christmas Special". YouTube. 2005-12-21. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
  19. ↑ Fleming, Mike (September 2, 2009). "Ritchie Locked for Lobo". Variety. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
  20. ↑ "Guy Ritchie Leaves Lobo to Focus on Sherlock Holmes 2". Film Junk. 2010-01-27. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
  21. ↑ Warner Bros Sets Brad Peyton To Helm ‘Lobo’, The DC Comics Alien Bounty Hunter
  22. ↑ Lee, Michael Jay. "Dwayne Johnson In Talks To Play DC Comic Anti-Hero Lobo," Geeks of Doom (July 16, 2012).
  23. ↑ Hickerson, Michael. "The Rock Leaves Lobo," Slice of SciFi (Feb. 18, 2013).
  24. ↑ "Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths Spoilers". Cosmic Book News. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
  25. ↑ https://twitter.com/LEGOBatmanGame/status/527946122204295168

External links

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