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Try to think of who is the most bad@$$ character in the DC Universe. Done? You have Batman, Darkseid, Deathstroke, and many others. Despite all of these options, there is one man that stands above the rest in my books. The main man. Lobo.

Lobo

First Appearance: Omega Men #3 (June 1983)
Created By: Roger Slifer and Kieth Giffen

Some of you may be sitting there saying to yourself, “Who is this guy?” or “No way, I can think of ten more guys that are meaner than Lobo.” Well, I doubt it. After reading what this guy has done, I hope I can change your mind.

Let’s start with Lobo’s origin. He was a Velorpian whose entire race was decimated by Psions…that is how he started out anyway. After a short while he was retconned, and given the bad@$$ origin we know and love today. You see, Lobo was born to the planet Czarnia. A fairly well to do planet of citizens that bred peace and coveted knowledge. All of the young kids of this race were brought up to act in morally righteous ways, and life as the Czarnians knew it was just peachy. This was all fine until a little man named Lobo was born. Straight from the get-go, Lobo was just different. He reveled in violence, hate, anger, and general chaos. He jumped from nanny to nanny, teacher to teacher, and even made his own mother go insane at his birth. Now, if this isn’t the making a true terror, I don’t know what is.

One of the curious things about Lobo is that he is actually a genius. One of his teachers even claimed he could be one of the greatest scientific minds in the universe. The positives of Lobo were much overshadowed by his negatives though. At the age of five, he ripped out his principal’s throat in a temper tantrum, and bombed another teacher that bad-mouthed him. Czarnia was at a total loss as to how to deal with Lobo, because never before were police and punishment needed on the planet. But the Czarnians need not fret for too long, because as a high school project, Lobo created a super-plague that would wipe out every last Czarnian.

Lobo in the 90s enjoyed a very lucrative career as a bounty hunter. Not only did he always get his target, but he made out with tons of money and usually killed the one paying him for his bounty as well. During this time, readers were privy to getting a real picture of the man we call Lobo. Although he is probably legally insane, Lobo does have some measure of honor. He served in L.E.G.I.O.N. for a short while after Vril Dox saved his life. He followed all of Vril’s orders, albeit on his own terms. We also learn of Lobo’s one true love (outside of alcohol and womanizing), which is dolphins. Yes, dolphins. The cute mammals of the sea that we know, Lobo absolutely adores. Anyone who would bring any harm to these creatures will feel the full extent of the wrath of Lobo.

To add further to Lobo’s level of insanity, one Czarnian did actually survive the plague he created. His childhood teacher had actually survived Lobo’s plague, but not his wrath. While in the debt of Vril Dox, Lobo was ordered to retrieve his teacher, and deliver her alive to Vril. While Lobo went through many lengths and bounds to do this (even cutting her legs off so she couldn’t run), he finally delivered her to Vril. While Vril was ecstatic at the fact that Lobo had finally done something for him, Lobo (having paid off his debt by delivering the teacher) promptly kills the very last Czarnian.

Lobo has also had many interactions with the rest of the DCU. He has gone toe-to-toe with Superman, tussled with the JLI, and even teamed up with Guy Gardner a few times. In 52, Lobo came across a blind Adam Strange, Animal Man, and Starfire. Surprisingly, he didn’t kill them and explained how he had found religion and has taken a vow of non-violence. After harassing Starfire for a bit (some things you can’t change), Lobo helps this lost trio in finding their way back to Earth. Lobo was then seen in the mini-series Reign In Hell, where Nekron was keeping him captive in order to power his castle. Lobo had created enough suffering in the universe to power a castle owned by the most powerful demon in Hell. Go figure. It didn’t take him long to escape, and after a battle with Shadowpact, he was free to bounty once more in the universe.

The most recent Lobo appearance was pretty intriguing. In Green Lantern #54, Lobo attacked Atrocitus, claiming he had a bounty that he had to collect. After a battle with Carol Ferris, Hal Jordan, Atrocitus, and Sinestro (where he held is own pretty well), he left pretty easily without collecting his bounty. Knowing our boy Lobo, this seemed pretty weird. At the end of the issue, you find out that Atrocitus had set the battle up, and paid Lobo with a red power ring. Not a bad deal at all.

Touring the Cosmos takes us to some very interesting corners of the universe. None may be meaner than the ones where Lobo resides. The man has coined some serious terms like frag, bastich, and my personal favourite, feetal’s gizz. Let’s hope that you’re never the one in a bar next to the man who killed Santa Claus (seriously).

Suggested Reading

Lobo (1990)
Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special (1991)
Lobo: The Last Czarnian (1991)
Lobo: In the Chair (1994)
52 (2006)

Mike Parente
mike@comicattack.net