Meet Lobo, the intergalactic bounty hunter from DC Comics who is long overdue for making his own feature film.
With the upcoming new DC Extended Universe (DCEU) set to be massive, all eyes are on which of the company's legendary heroes and villains could appear in it. Fan favorites Superman, Joker, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Harley Quinn and the Caped Crusader himself, Batman, are already a wealthy pool from which co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran can choose.
One of the lesser-known heroes that hardcore DC fans think about is Lobo. From his misnamed name to his ever-changing comic book style, this ruthless anti-hero from the planet Charnia isn't all that simple, so we're bringing you a deeper look at the chaotic bounty hunter from comics and TV.
A Brief History of Lobo in DC Comics
Lobo first appeared in DC comics in the 1980s as a villainous alien with purple hair, pupil-less crimson eyes and a tight purple and orange swimsuit, but has since had several dramatic transformations and character fluctuations. In the 1990s, DC reintroduced a more muscular, dreadlocked biker-clad Lobo as the protagonist of their own series of dark bounty-hunting adventures. It was mostly adapted as a satirical response to Marvel's The Punisher and Wolverine, which represented a darker era of comics, but fans of '90s dark comics soon moved beyond the parodic element and warmly embraced the new Lobo.
While this style became a fan favorite, Lobo has since appeared in everything from a pirate's robe to a bishop's robe, an unkempt mane to an elegant pompadour, fighting both against and alongside DC superheroes. His powerful abilities were also changing. In some books he is given the ability to clone himself, in others he is given a powerful sense of smell, which he uses to track his prey across different galaxies. These wild changes make him one of the most difficult characters in comics to pin down, but there are certain patterns that persist throughout Lobo's volatile saga.
The one who devours your insides and enjoys it
The most obvious coincidence in each iteration of this mercantile character is Lobo's origins. He is a Tsernian, originally from the alien planet Tsarnia. His heritage is the source of his seemingly limitless physical strength, which allows him to match, and sometimes surpass, the invincible Superman even without the aid of kryptonite. His other abilities include super speed that can outpace the Flash, the ability to regenerate to the point of immortality, recognizing opponents' weak points at a glance, a heightened sense of smell, genius-level intelligence, and even, at one time, the ability to clone himself from a single drop of blood. The latter of these abilities was largely phased out after LEGION, although it reappears in the Young Justice animated series when thousands of tiny clones of Lobo are born from drops of his spilled blood.
It is said that many of these abilities are shared by its compatriots, and despite the extreme strength of its inhabitants, Charnia was once a stable and peaceful utopia. That was until Lobo unleashed a plague of deadly mutant scorpions that killed everyone on his home world. For most of his comic, Lobo referred to himself as "the last Tsarnian", but perhaps someone else managed to escape his horrific destruction. Comic book spoilers aside, Charnia won't be the only planet to fall to Lobo's impulsive wrath, as rumor has it that he once destroyed an entire planet for not delivering him the right cigar. It is not surprising that, despite the deceptive false connection with the Spanish "lobo", meaning "wolf", in the Tsarni language "Lobo" is translated as "He who devours your entrails and takes pleasure in it."
As one of DC's most heartless and narcissistic characters, Lobo often falls into the villain camp. In one Christmas comic, Lobo even decapitated a grim version of Santa Claus. However, the writers gave him a few special traits to compensate for his ruthless nature. As a bounty hunter, Lobo lives by a strict principle: if he gave his word, he will fulfill it, no matter what it costs him. This principle made him fight for justice along with some former rivals.
As a hired czar, he invariably takes the side of the highest bidder, and therefore sometimes plays the role of a hero. He is also partial to space dolphins, whom he protects and feeds. In the comics, Lobo only loves cigars and those graceful creatures that live in the vacuum of space. What's refreshing is that it takes him out of the oft-repeated tropes that wrap superheroes in love interests. Despite his lone wolf tendencies, he manages to make a few solid friendships along the way, adding to the duality of hard and soft that blend into his complex personality.
Beyond DC Comics
Lobo is one of the most well-known DC characters among comic book readers and aficionados, but he has had very few occasions where he has strayed from the illustrated page. With such a huge fan base, which even included late Marvel luminary Stan Lee, it's surprising that Lobo hasn't yet been made into a feature film. He appeared in several DC animated series such as Superman: The Animated Series, Young Justice and Justice League Action, as well as his own short-lived Lobo series, which was largely forgotten. Most of these animated television series used the bounty hunter as a quirky obstacle for the main superhero, nothing more than this week's colorful antagonist.
Lobo's only live-action appearance that was widely seen was in the second season of Syfy's Krypton, in which the bounty hunter, played by Emmett Jay Scanlan, served as a minor villain for four episodes. Despite some distance from the series' central conflict, the network saw an opportunity to develop the character for fans desperate to see more of Lobo. A spin-off starring Lobo was in development until Syfy pulled the plug on Krypton in 2019. The shutdown was much like the back-to-back announcements that followed the stalling of Warner Bros.' Lobo feature film.
A film about DC Lobo for ten years in the making
Fans have been hoping for a Lobo feature film since 2009 when Warner Bros. announced that Guy Ritchie will direct the film about the dark anti-hero. However, Ritchie eventually left the project to direct the sequel to Sherlock Holmes. Over the next decade, the director's torch passed to Brad Peyton, then Jason Fuchs, and eventually Michael Bay. Despite bringing in talented actors like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for Peyton's version, as well as extensive pre-production and script development, each chapter of this Lobo-Mania ultimately ended with the project being shelved.
However, the character seems to be gaining momentum at the moment. In the new DCEU, Lobo may finally make his big screen debut. Only time will tell, and the immortal robber has plenty of it. However long the wait may be, we're almost certain that the godlike bounty hunter will eventually complete his task and hit the screens.
