With a new DC Extended Universe (DCEU) in the works that promises to be huge, sights are set on which of the company's legendary heroes and villains could be slated to appear. With fan favorites Superman, The Joker, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Harley Quinn, and the caped crusader himself, Batman, there's already a rich pool from which co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran can choose. One lesser-known pick that's on the minds of diehard DC fans is Lobo. From a misleading name to an ever-changing style in the comic books, this ruthless antihero from the planet Czarnia can be a little hard to pin down, so here's a deeper look at the chaotic bounty hunter from comics and television.
A Brief Comic Book History of Lobo
Lobo first appeared in DC comic books back in the 1980s as a villainous alien with purple hair, pupilless crimson eyes, and a tight purple and orange leotard, but since then he has had several dramatic makeovers and fluctuations in characterization. In the 1990s, DC reintroduced a more muscular, dread-locked Lobo in biker clothes as the lead of his own series of gritty bounty hunting adventures. Mostly adapted as a satirical response to Marvel's Punisher and Wolverine, both representations of a darker era of comics, fans of '90s grit soon looked beyond the parody element and fervently embraced this new Lobo.
Despite being cemented as a fan favorite in this style, Lobo has since appeared in everything from pirate clothing to bishop robes, with an untamed mane to a suave pompadour, and fighting against DC superheroes as well as with them. His powerful abilities, too, have oscillated. In some books he's given the ability to clone himself, in others, a powerful sense of smell that he uses to track his bounty across the galaxies. Navigating these wild changes can make him one of the trickiest comic book characters to define, but there are certain consistencies that persist throughout Lobo's shifting saga.
He Who Devours Your Entrails and Thoroughly Enjoys It
The most obvious congruity in every iteration of this mercurial character is Lobo's background. He is a Czarnian, hailing from the alien planet, Czarnia. His heritage is the source of his seemingly limitless physical strength, which allows him to match, and at times best, the often unbeatable Superman even without the aid of kryptonite. His laundry list of other powers include super speed that can outpace The Flash, regenerative powers to the point of immortality, detection of rivals' weaknesses from just a glance, a heightened sense of smell, genius-level intellect, and even, at one time, the ability to clone himself from a single drop of blood. The final of these was largely done away with after L.E.G.I.O.N., although, in the animated series Young Justice, it reappears when thousands of tiny Lobo clones spawn from droplets of his spilt blood.
Many of these powers are said to be shared by fellow Czarnians, and, despite the extreme strengths of its residents, Czarnia was once a stable, peaceful utopia. That is, until Lobo released a plague of lethal mutant scorpions killing all residents of his home world. For the majority of his comic book run, Lobo is self-described as "The Last Czarnian," but perhaps another managed to evade his heinous annihilation. Comic book spoilers aside, Czarnia would not be the only planet that falls to Lobo's impulsive wrath, as rumors that he once slaughtered an entire planet for not procuring him a suitable cigar circulate. It's no wonder that, despite its deceptive false friend to the Spanish "lobo" meaning "wolf," in the Czarnian tongue "Lobo" translates to "He who devours your entrails and thoroughly enjoys it."
Easily one of the most heartless and self-indulgent characters from DC, Lobo often falls into the villain camp. In one Christmas comic special, Lobo even decapitates a darker version of Santa Claus. However, writers gave him a few particular traits to offset his merciless nature. As a bounty hunter, Lobo lives by the strict principle that once his word is given, he will fulfill it no matter the cost. This code has led him to fight for justice alongside some past rivals. As a Czarnian for hire, he consistently sides with whoever pays the most and, therefore, occasionally gets to play the hero. He also has a major soft spot for space dolphins, which he both protects and feeds. In the comics, Lobo's only loves are cigars and these graceful creatures that occupy the vacuum of space. Which refreshingly precludes him from often recursive tropes that envelope superheroes with love interests. Despite his lone wolf tendencies, he does manage to make a few lasting friendships along the way, which adds to the duality of hard and soft that intermingle within his complex identity.
Beyond the Comics
Easily one of the most celebrated characters of DC by comic book readers and connoisseurs, Lobo has had very few instances of leaping off the illustrated page. With such an immense following that even included the late Marvel luminary Stan Lee, it is a shock that Lobo has yet to have a feature film to his name. He has appeared in a handful of DC animated series, such as Superman: The Animated Series, Young Justice, and Justice League Action, as well as his own short-lived series, Lobo, that has been mostly forgotten. The majority of these animated television appearances use the bounty hunter as a quixotic obstacle for the lead superhero, nothing more than this week's colorful antagonist.
Lobo's only live-action appearance with a widespread release was in season 2 of Syfy's Krypton in which the bounty hunter, played by Emmett J Scanlan, served as a secondary villain over the course of a four-episode arc. While somewhat removed from the central conflict of the series, the network saw an opportunity to grow the character for fans desperate to see more Lobo. A spinoff featuring Lobo was in the works up until Syfy pulled the plug on Krypton in 2019. This pull was largely reminiscent of the consistent announcements followed by stagnation of a Lobo feature film from Warner Bros.
The Feature Film Over a Decade in the Making
Fans have had hopes of a live-action Lobo feature since 2009 when Warner Bros. announced that Guy Ritchie would direct a film of the gritty antihero. However, Ritchie eventually left the project in order to make a sequel to Sherlock Holmes. Over the next decade, the directorial baton passed to Brad Peyton, then Jason Fuchs, and eventually was held by Michael Bay. Despite attaching talent, such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for Peyton's version, as well as extensive pre-production and screenplay development, each chapter of this Lobo-mania would ultimately end with the project being tabled.
However, the character seems to be getting much buzz at the moment. With the new DCEU, Lobo could finally make his debut on the big screen. Only time will tell, something the immortal rogue has plenty of. No matter how long the wait, it feels almost certain that the god-like bounty hunter will eventually fulfill the task of making it to theaters.