Lobo Had His Own TV Series, but It’s Not Easy to Find

The pale-skinned, leather-jacket-wearing, motorcycle-riding bounty hunter from space is finally having his day in the DCU. After years of wanting to play the part (even before his days as Aquaman, that is), actor Jason Momoa will be playing Lobo in the upcoming Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow movie. DC fans are excited and have reason to be — aside from a supporting role in the second season of SyFy’s Krypton (2019), there has been no depiction of the character in a live-action space.

On the other hand, he’s come alive in various animated projects throughout the years, like the 90’s Superman cartoon, the Batman Beyond series, Justice League, and numerous straight-to-release DCAU titles. Not to mention… the DC Lego movies. Would you believe me if I told you that there was a Lobo show? One of which Warner Brothers is still not proud of? Well, it’s real, crude, and very violent, and we’re also looking at it in this article.

It all started over 25 years ago in 1998, when writer John P. McCann (the usual name for WB to call on for DC animated shows) was given the crazy task of reshaping Lobo in a kid-friendly way for a cartoon series on WB Kids. Other possible shows floated around at the time, like the first rendition of Duck Dodgers and some other obscure titles like 21C and Detention (created by director Bob Doucette).

According to McCann himself, the marketing guys went nuts for the Lobo pitch: “They were howling after the one-minute video, engorged with toy madness.” But executive Bob Daley was a much, much harder sell and soon after, executive Jamie Kellner and WB shot it down. But just as Lobo is immortal and regrows after being wounded, the cartoon did the same and took a new life as a 14-episode web series on loboonline.com.

25 Years Ago, Lobo Was Brought to Life

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Lobo

Release Date

June 15, 2000

Seasons

1

As much as you might have the urge to try that website, don’t. The site no longer belongs to DC, WB, or any other connecting comic book entity. The “fragtastic” Lobo minisodes are not even available by official means anymore. Why would Warner Brothers want them in their catalog anyway? Aliens literally get shot in half (blood, guts, and all), and Lobo himself gets riddled with bullets, so much so that at one point, his brain falls out! Shrapnel viciously flies right into innocent people’s eyes, killing them, and there’s also tons of raunchy comedy. It’s all rather routine for whom the main character is, but leagues beyond what a modern audience is used to (there’s Deadpool, of course, but that’s live-action).

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The whole thing is mindless but enjoyable (and dated) entertainment for about half an hour. Each episode was less than four minutes. Lobo’s solo career on the internet didn’t last very long. Even though there was an impressive voice cast attached to the underrated project, like Greg Eagles (The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy) and Kevin Michael Richardson (The Legend of Korra, Gravity Falls, etc.), both voicing the DC antihero, McCann surprisingly and quickly decided to take drastic action, and step away from the project altogether due to too much interference.

A Sad Ending for DC’s Lobo, Most Wanted Antihero

According to him, the reason for doing so included “D.C. Comics, an accountant, and a security guard who had several high-concept ideas but didn’t mind if I wrote them up and took the credit.” As Hollywood has come to label it, the animation producer loopholed his way out by using the Alan Smithee, a common pseudonym (and practice) in Hollywood. He had to prove to a panel from the Director’s Guild of America that he could not exercise creative control over the web series. He was also forbidden from talking about the details that led to making such a decision. Who knew there was so much behind-the-scenes drama regarding Lobo?

With the main name that initially brought Lobo to web series stardom stepping away from Warner Brothers entirely in August 2000 (and right in the middle of the first season), WB didn’t know what to do with the show. At the time, the DC Animated Universe executives didn’t want anything to do with it and the overall bloody and crude tone just didn’t fit in with anything else going on in the DC universe.

The book was officially closed with the last episode on October 26, 2000. In that entry, Lobo forces a monster serpent to throw up a wanted fugitive and then sends a repairman soaring through space on an explosive rocket ship after the guy doesn’t give him back his bike. Oh, and he kidnaps the guys’ sisters, too, and cautiously asks them how old they are before flying off. Soon after that, loboonline.com was discontinued as well.

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Things might change with James Gunn in charge, but as of right now, these obscure web adventures of the intergalactic bounty hunter are not recognized as part of the DCAU, DCEU, or DCU. The only way you can even watch the episodes is either through unofficial rips found on random YouTube channels or an upscaled high-definition version over at Archive.org. Wherever you choose to watch it (trust me, it is worth it), not only will you get to see Lobo in all his “bastich” glory, but be reminded of a simpler time when flash-based animation ruled the internet.