From fighting a '90s comedy icon to gaining the powers of a duck, DC's Main Man Lobo knows how to have a fraggin' good time.
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00:00From fighting a 90s comedy icon to gaining the powers of a duck, DC's main man Lobo knows
00:07how to have a fraggin' good time.
00:09Before investigating Lobo's illustrious comic book career and the character's conflicted
00:14origins, it's essential to look at his value and impact.
00:17Although Marvel and DC Comics have long stood as the pillars of superhero comics, they are
00:22two different sides of the same coin.
00:25DC's lineup of mascots is commonly displayed as godlike humans capable of feats beyond
00:30moral comprehension.
00:31Meanwhile, the roster-filling Marvel's bullpen are traditionally more monster-like, hidden
00:36behind masks and mutations that make them seem inhuman.
00:40While DC's Boy Scouts were icons of the genre for decades, by the 1990s, audiences had begun
00:46to lean towards the Grimmer comics from Marvel.
00:49While Spider-Man and Batman duked it out as the top sellers of 1990, Marvel was winning
00:53fan affection thanks to grittier and more hardened characters like Punisher and the
00:57newly-arrived Cable.
00:59Above all else, X-Men's Wolverine was slicing his way to the top of the comic book food
01:04chain with his cynical snarl and rogue spirit.
01:07To combat the changing tides, DC opted to revive a certain near-forgotten but alluringly
01:13tepid villain from Omega Men 3.
01:16"-Name's Lobo.
01:18Please stop making me blush."
01:20Lobo received a self-titled miniseries by the end of 1990.
01:25Originally serving as parody of Marvel's darker characters, Lobo quickly found a sincere fanbase
01:30as its titular anti-hero developed into one of DC's most popular personalities.
01:36Speaking to Newsarama, Lobo co-creator Keith Giffens said,
01:39"...I have no idea why Lobo took off.
01:42I came up with him as an indictment of the Punisher, Wolverine.
01:46Somehow he caught on as the high-violence poster boy.
01:49Go figure."
01:51Unlike most ultra-popular comic characters that have been around for decades, Lobo could
01:55be considered a newcomer to the genre.
01:58Still, that has not stopped DC Comics from making his origins and backstory as complicated
02:03as possible.
02:04When the main man first appeared in Omega Men 3, he was the visual opposite of the scruffy-looking
02:09leather-clad biker portrayed today.
02:12Instead, he wore a shiny, orange-and-purple-skin-tight bodysuit with David Bowie-inspired makeup.
02:17Introduced as a bounty hunter, this original Lobo was the last survivor of his extraterrestrial
02:22species, the Velorpians, who were wiped out by another alien race because of their inherently
02:27violent behavior.
02:28However, in Lobo Vol. 2 No. 0, it was revealed that he was responsible for the demise of
02:34his people, the Czarnians, after releasing a plague of flying, scorpion-like insects.
02:39In 2011, as part of DC's company-wide New 52 retcon, the recognizably bulky Lobo was
02:45revealed to be an imposter and was replaced by a skinnier Czarnian with similar abilities.
02:51Short-lived, this updated version of Lobo defeated his former self and starred in his
02:55own self-titled series.
02:57Thankfully, after yet another relaunch of its characters with DC Rebirth, DC returned
03:03Lobo to his grubbier identity.
03:05As is evident, Lobo's origins are as complicated as they come, and that's without getting into
03:10the character's history with cloning.
03:13Regardless of his many variations and inconsistent origins, Lobo is almost always portrayed as
03:19a ruthless and powerful intergalactic bounty hunter.
03:22He's a formidable foe to DC's heaviest hitters and nearly impossible to kill.
03:28Truthfully, the last Czarnian is best described as overpowered.
03:31Off the top, Lobo has the strength, speed, and durability to match DC's greatest heroes,
03:38including Superman.
03:39Although the potency of his abilities can be inconsistent, the space biker has even
03:43more tricks up his sleeves — not that he often wears anything with sleeves.
03:48Like his Marvel inspiration Wolverine, Lobo has a keen sense of smell and can regenerate
03:53his body.
03:54However, the DC character's power goes beyond fixing wounds efficiently, as he can regenerate
03:59an entirely new body from a single drop of blood, essentially cloning himself.
04:05And while you couldn't tell by looking at him, the gruff bounty hunter has a genius-level
04:10intellect.
04:11This is mostly when it comes to matters of violence and destruction, but he does have
04:14a working knowledge of numerous cultures around the galaxy, and he can speak in over 17,000
04:20unique languages.
04:21Adding to the special skills section on Lobo's resume are an inherent ability to sense weakness
04:26in his opponents and expertise in multiple forms of combat.
04:30However, what makes the character so over-the-top compared to his comic book peers is the fact
04:36that he was banished from the afterlife during the Lobo's Back miniseries, essentially granting
04:41him immortality.
04:44When you're indestructible, the last of your kind, and have your own space-traveling motorbike,
04:48you don't need to play by everyone else's rules.
04:50Still, Lobo maintains a strict code of ethics, as perverse as they may be.
04:56Like his name suggests, the main man is a lone wolf, selfish and arrogant on his solo
05:01journey through time.
05:02However, as a bounty hunter, Lobo is a man of his word.
05:05Once he signs a contract, there is no going back.
05:09While there are many examples of Lobo satisfying his obligations in comic books, the best instance
05:14occurred in Superman the Animated Series.
05:17The Biker appears in two consecutive episodes of the cartoon, where he first completes his
05:21obligation of capturing the Man of Steel, and then, upon being captured himself, joins
05:26forces with Superman and pledges a new oath to leave Earth alone.
05:30Subsequently, while Lobo proudly fulfills his oaths, he's made a habit of never going
05:34above and beyond, as if giving any more than promised would equally break his word.
05:40It may be the main man's trustworthy codes and surprising honesty that made Stan Lee
05:44choose him as his favorite DC character, as he once revealed in a YouTube interview.
05:49For many years, Lobo was accompanied by a bulldog named Dog, spelled with a W. The grizzled
05:58bounty hunter took offense to anybody who referred to the canine as his pet.
06:02The animal first appeared in the 1992 one-shot Lobo Paramilitary Christmas special and would
06:07remain a loyal companion to the space biker, despite the latter showing zero emotional
06:12attachment to the creature.
06:15Although Dog visually appears to be a standard Earth canine, he has alien origins, as made
06:19evident by his ability to survive in the vacuum of space while he travels along with Lobo
06:24through the cosmos.
06:25Additionally, the animal has been known to smoke Lobo cigars at times.
06:29Lobo's detachment from the mutt serves the bounty hunter, as he often uses him as a meat
06:33shield.
06:34Still, the main man has been known to go out of his way to save Dog from danger.
06:38Unfortunately, it's Lobo who is responsible for the animal's death by aggressively stomping
06:44on him while thinking he's possessed by an alien virus in Lobo Vol. 2, Issue No. 58.
06:49There's some uncertainty about whether the animal survived the traumatic event, as Dog
06:53later reappears in Green Lantern Vol. 4, Issue No. 54, but in this iteration, Lobo acknowledges
06:59him as a pet, and his appearance has changed.
07:03Additionally, Dog was canonically revived after DC's Flashpoint event, taking part in
07:07a mission with Lobo and Harley Quinn in Harley's Little Black Book No. 6.
07:13Although the main man has mostly shown indifference towards the dog that follows him around, Lobo
07:18does have a favorite animal, the space dolphin.
07:21Affectionately referring to him as Fishies, the hardened space biker has a soft spot for
07:26the floating cosmic aquatic mammals.
07:28In the events of the one-shot Lobo-slash-Demon Halloween, Lobo is required to think about
07:34one nice thing in order to defeat a terrible monster, which proves a difficult task for
07:38the angry biker.
07:40So he thinks of the Fishies, cracks a rare smile, and saves the galaxy.
07:45Lobo's connection to space dolphins was first explored in Lobo Vol. 2, Issue No. 34, in
07:50which he spends an afternoon with the animals to relax after a hard night.
07:54Running into trouble, the main man becomes a champion of the space creatures after saving
07:58them from poachers.
08:00He's even been known to ride one after developing a bond with a specific dolphin named Lungren.
08:05Later, another space dolphin becomes Lobo's personal assistant when the bounty hunter
08:09is serving as the archbishop of a new religion.
08:12Swearing, liquor, women, and violence top Lobo's list of all-time favorite things, which
08:19made it all the more jarring when the bounty hunter swore all of them off.
08:23During the events of DC's 52, a team of heroes discover the main man operating a refugee
08:28camp in a ravaged sector of space.
08:30As the appointed archbishop of the First Celestial Church of the Triple Fish God, the reborn
08:35Lobo is the caretaker of the mystical Emerald Eye of Ekron, and leader to the displaced
08:40monsters of Sector 3500.
08:43Later in the same series, after helping the super-team of explorers, Archbishop Lobo delivers
08:48the sacraled Emerald Eye to his triple-headed Fish God.
08:52In exchange for the magical artifact, the god agrees to relinquish Lobo's solemn vow
08:57of nonviolence.
08:58As it turns out, he should have received the gift first.
09:01Upon learning that the Emerald is the only thing that can kill the dolphin-like god,
09:05Lobo makes the surprise move of destroying his own deity.
09:10Based on Lobo's skewed code of ethics, you'd think he'd be one of the last people to join
09:15Earth's shining pillars of heroics.
09:17Yet, for a time, the main man put aside his murderous bounty hunting rampage and joined
09:23Batman's new lineup of the Justice League of America.
09:26Of course, convincing the last Czarnian to join the good guys was no simple task, and
09:30it started with a renegade bounty hunter serving a sentence as a member of the Suicide Squad.
09:34In the events of Justice League vs. the Suicide Squad, Amanda Waller's original Suicide Squad
09:40gets into a tussle with Superman's supergroup.
09:42A new team is formed that includes Lobo alongside powerful villains such as Dr. Polaris and
09:48Rustem, led by Maxwell Lord.
09:50Unfortunately, the latter has control of the bounty hunter by way of brainwashing.
09:55To appease the detective, Batman uses a bomb to explode Lobo's head, forcing it to regenerate
10:00and essentially clearing out Maxwell Lord's influence.
10:04Afterwards, in a debt of gratitude, Lobo accepts Batman's invitation to his new team, the
10:09Justice League of America, alongside Adam, Killer Frost, and Black Canary.
10:14However, after serving a term, Lobo considers his debt paid and returns to his space-traveling
10:20bounty hunting.
10:22Did I get a cucumber water or something?
10:24I'm super-parched."
10:27Lobo is not associated with one particular hero, unlike so many other villains and anti-heroes.
10:33Deadpool is organically linked to the X-Men, Black Adam shares history with Shazam, and
10:38Venom wouldn't exist without Spider-Man.
10:40But the main man is a force unto himself, traveling the DC Universe and starting fights
10:45with anyone and everyone, including Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
10:50Similarly, the character is seemingly not limited to his original publishing company's
10:54roster, as he's also had incidents with Wolverine, Judge Dredd, and even Santa Claus.
10:59Still, one of Lobo's most popular comic book run-ins occurred in a 1997 two-part series
11:05in which he faced The Mask.
11:07The Mask is best known for the 1994 feature film of the same name, in which the character
11:12was portrayed by Jim Carrey.
11:14But not many fans are aware that The Mask started in comic books.
11:18The character debuted with a trilogy of limited series in the early 90s.
11:22Inspired by the Joker, Big Head is a dangerous character with powers that work similarly
11:27to cartoon physics, including shape-shifting, body manipulation, instantaneous healing,
11:32and immortality.
11:33Unsurprisingly, when Mask and Lobo's paths crossed, it proved to be catastrophic, destroying
11:39Manhattan along with an entire solar system.
11:42Subsequently, Lobo-slash-Mask has become a cult classic among comic readers for its
11:48over-the-top nature and a thought-provoking twist ending.
11:52One reason that comic books are so popular and earn as many adaptations in film as they
11:57do is that creators and publishers rarely miss a creative opportunity.
12:02The limitlessness of comic books even led the two largest competitive publishing companies
12:08to trump their rivalry long enough to collaborate on an entirely new universe.
12:13Amalgam Comics was a two-year collection of books that blended Marvel and DC, crossbreeding
12:18their most popular characters into all-new heroes such as Iron Lantern and Doctor Strangefate.
12:25Again, not to miss a golden opportunity, the comical Lobo was melded with one of Marvel's
12:30more offbeat characters, Howard the Duck.
12:34Lobo the Duck was a one-shot title that was released in the second series of Amalgam Comics.
12:39The series follows the titular character and the shape-shifting Impossible Dog as they
12:44investigate murders of other Amalgam characters.
12:47Along the way, the main Duck comes into conflict with a range of wacky villains, including
12:51Gold Kidney Lady and Doctor Bongface.
12:54Unfortunately, the book ends on a cliffhanger that was left unfulfilled.
12:58Still, the humor of the single issue has shined as a highlight of the publishing company crossover
13:03event, despite remaining outside of the main continuity.