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In the last article, there was a note that sometimes was made: “it’s according to DC Comics’ official chronology”. Is this so called “chronology” so important that it needed to be observed in each development of a story? Firstly, let’s form the term “chronology” in the comics. Imagine, for instance, somebody who has never read a Batman’s magazine (and who knows only the basic things, i. e., that the dynamic pair is formed by Batman and Robin, period). Now, make this person read an issue that shows Nightwing saying to Batman that, in the period he was Robin, he didn’t feel he was like a son for Batman, differently from Jason. Then, Robin appears and both call him Timothy. This person will think, at least, they are schizophrenic or have multiple personalities. Chronology, therefore, is the history of the characters developed over the years (in this example, the first Robin turning to Nightwing, the second Robin already dead and the third one, being Tim Drake – It's believed the reader already knows all this). From now on, we need to understand the importance the American readers give to the chronology. The most demanding fans (or more boring, if you prefer), turns revolt and send thousands of e-mails to the publisher, for instance, in this month issue Superman says he’s never seen Lex Luthor wearing underwear, in spite of this happening in a comic book of 1989 in a single strip (of course this is an example).
After having spent almost half of the article explaining these concepts, finally I will tell what Lobo has to do with all this: Everything! After all, Main Man doesn’t fit, in principle, in this chronology, which only takes some of the freedom of his scripters of creating. A good example of this fact is the mini-series “Lobo Is Dead”, where Lobo gains immortality. Outside the comic books Lobo stars, the way how he acquired the eternal life has never been dealt, specially the fact that he has killed Santa Claus (in “Lobo versus Santa Claus", duh!). In the beginning it was different. Lobo was perfectly fitted to the DC chronology when his participation in Omega Men magazine, from 1983. When he appeared acting with Justice League, in 1988, he also fitted without problems in the comical “personality” of the stories (although they have already changed his planet from Velorpia to Czarnia, among other characteristics) and took part of the chronology, when “helped” Guy Gardner to recover his memory. Finally, his entry in L.E.G.I.O.N., in the next year, was very important for the quality of the adventures of the interstellar police team. Lobo also took part of several great sagas DC Comics makes almost twice a year. The first one he took part of has influenced the story was “War of the Gods”, in 1991. His presence was also important in the next year, in “Armageddon: Hell” and “Eclipso the Darkness Within”. In addition to that, Main Man was also extremely important (again) to Guy Gardner, helping him to steal the yellow ring from Sinesto (to not extend the article, who wants to know about the subject of these sagas, just check All Magazines section).
AOnly for curiosity, in 1991 it was published a story that years later generated one of the greater chronologic inconsistencies: Lobo’s appearance in “Legion of Super-heroes” #24 comic book, which tells about the heroes of century 30, concluded with Darkseid, totally disintegrating him (i.e., making exactly the only thing that would theoretically kill him, since his spirit wouldn’t have a body to go back to – we can see this sequence in the picture above). The problem is that in 1998, during “DC 1 million” saga, that showed the DC characters 800 centuries ahead, Lobo was there, so alive. The thing only really got worse to the “chronology” in 1992, when Keith Giffen has released the “Lobo Is Dead” series, bringing the so called “gift of immortality”. It’s good to say, also, Giffen has never been keen on this thing of chronology, always saying this is one of the factors which is taking the comics American industry to go bankrupt. He defends the stories should be developed based on the “coherence”, not in a “chronology" which makes the stories incomprehensible for those who don't know, many times, more than ten years of a single character. When Lobo’s monthly comic book has arisen, the writer Alan Grant cared less and less about the chronology. So much so, on behalf of the good jokes, he changed the secondary characters personality (and sometimes even Lobo's) at ease. In addition, in 1995, Lobo officially left of L.E.G.I.O.N., which facilitated the “escape” from the chronology.
Finally, in 2000, Lobo was turned into a teenager and, in a few time, began to take part of Young Justice, being replaced by the Defective clone Slobo in the next year, since DC Comics needed the adult Lobo back again. Curiously, exactly this chronologic appearance has shown one of the most "anti-chronologic" of Main Man, because when Slobo arose and he was back to the adult phase from hundreds of teenage clones was badly elaborated, bringing a lot of contradictions (theme dealt in the article The clones’ paradox). What can’t be denied is that, in order to be written good stories of Lobo, it doesn't matter if there is or not a "respect" to the chronology. The L.E.G.I.O.N. stories were very good exactly because they followed the chronology and the Keith Giffen’s were very good exactly because they ignored the chronology. The essential is that DC Comics gives this freedom to the scripters, even setting the story as an “Elseworld”, like they did with “Batman/Lobo” comic book. With a new publisher in DC Comics, we need to wait now for the characters next stories (including, logically, the so expected “Lobo Unbound”, by Keith Giffen) to see if the Main Man anti-chronologic “good times” will be back.
text: Lucio
Luiz | ||
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Lobo Brasil,
providing indispensable to the internet since October, 29th, 1997. |
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I. e., this thing called
chronology, which should be only a maintenance of historic facts in the
characters life (like the death of a close person or a change in the uniform)
has become an obsession so complex that many magazines are released only to
retell the character's history by the thousandth time. There is even a range of
DC Comics comic books in the US which brings the subtitle “Secret Files”,
exclusively dedicated to the history of several characters of the publisher.
Main Man still appeared in
some “chronologic” stories of other characters (like in the “DC versus Marvel”
series and in few Superman’s comic books), but his stories began to tend to the
total withdrawal from the DC chronology. In December, 1995, for instance, his
magazine has participated in the “Underworld Unleashed” crossover, but it didn’t
have any use for the development of the plot. Worst was the “Genesis” saga, in
1997, which story in the Main Man comic book neither didn't match to the
crossover story.