Comic character
Comics character
El Diablo
is a name shared by several characters appearing in media published by
DC Comics
:
Lazarus Lane
,
Rafael Sandoval
, and
Chato Santana.
The Chato Santana version of El Diablo appeared in the 2016
Suicide Squad
film, set in the
DC Extended Universe
.
Publication history
[
edit
]
The original version (
Lazarus Lane
) debuted in
All-Star Western
#2 (October 1970), and was created by
Robert Kanigher
and
Gray Morrow
.
[1]
The character starred in a four-issue miniseries published by DC Comics through their
Vertigo
imprint as a mature readers title;
El Diablo
#1 (March 2001) was written by
Brian Azzarello
and drawn by Danijel Zezelj.
The second version (
Rafael Sandoval
) first appeared in
El Diablo
#1 (August 1989), and was created by
Gerard Jones
and
Mike Parobeck
.
The third version (
Chato Santana
) first appeared in
El Diablo
#1 (September 2008) and was created by Jai Nitz,
Phil Hester
and
Ande Parks
.
Fictional character biography
[
edit
]
Lazarus Lane
[
edit
]
Lazarus Lane is the original iteration of El Diablo, operating in the later half of the 19th century in the
American Old West
. Lane was originally a
bank teller
who is nearly killed by a gang of thieves and put in a
coma
after being struck by lightning. After being revived by
Native American
shaman
"Wise Owl", Lane becomes the vigilante El Diablo.
[1]
The name "El Diablo" means "the
devil
" in
Spanish
.
According to
Jonah Hex
vol. 2 #11 (November 2006) and #24 (December 2007), Lazarus Lane is cursed to be the host of a minor demon which acts as a
Spirit of Vengeance
. Lane's body slumbers in a coma while "El Diablo" roams the Earth. His fate is similar to that of the current
Crimson Avenger
. In
Swamp Thing
vol. 2 #85 (April 1989), Wise Owl is shown in a more villainous light, with Lane/El Diablo his unwilling servant. In that story, set in 1872, a number of DC's western heroes (including the aforementioned Hex,
Bat Lash
,
Johnny Thunder (John Tane)
, and Madame .44) were employed by Otto Von Hammer and
Jason Blood
to defeat Wise Owl and recover from him an object of great power, which turned out to be a crystal containing the spirit of
Swamp Thing
, who had become lost in time. When the group killed Wise Owl, Lane's comatose body woke up, and El Diablo apparently vanished forever.
[1]
In
The New 52
(a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe), Lazarus Lane appeared in a backup feature in
All-Star Western
. In this iteration, he was once again cursed by Wise Owl to become the host of a demon. Rather than being in a coma, Lazarus remains awake. However, El Diablo arises from his body whenever he is unconscious.
[2]
Rafael Sandoval
[
edit
]
Rafael Sandoval was the second iteration created in 1989 by writer
Gerard Jones
and artist
Mike Parobeck
as a title set in the modern DC Universe. This title lasted 16 months. As created by Jones and Parobeck, Sandoval is a rookie member of the city council of Dos Rios, Texas, who creates his version of El Diablo (from a festival costume and an old boxing persona and local legends surrounding the Devil) after being stymied by officials while trying to pursue the case of a serial arsonist.
[1]
Subsequent efforts involved battles with illicit drug smugglers using maquiladora covers for their activities, a hunt for a serial killer, conflicts with human-smuggling operations, and with Sandoval's own conscience over how best to serve the people of Dos Rios.
Rafael Sandoval's character has subsequently made guest appearances in one of the
Justice League
titles, in which he is possessed by the spirit of an
Aztec
god-emperor and takes on an appearance reminiscent of the Lazarus Lane Diablo.
[1]
He also appears in the
Villains United Special
when he is pulled out of retirement by
Oracle
to serve in her
de facto
Justice League, whereupon he is attacked by a member of the
Royal Flush Gang
during a battle at the Enclave M prison in the
Sonora Valley
,
Mexico
. He is wounded in the battle, but saved from death by the warden of the facility.
Chato Santana
[
edit
]
The current iteration of El Diablo is Chato Santana, an ex-criminal who after being hospitalized, meets a still living comatose Lazarus Lane.
[3]
[4]
It is written by Jai Nitz, pencilled by
Phil Hester
, with inks by
Ande Parks
.
[5]
In
The New 52
reboot of DC's continuity, Santana's El Diablo is a member of the
Suicide Squad
. He is later recruited into
Checkmate
under the leadership of Uncle Sam, until he realizes that he is being lied to and abandons them in search of the truth.
In other media
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
- The Lazarus Lane incarnation of El Diablo appears in the
Justice League Unlimited
episode "The Once and Future Thing Part One: Weird Western Tales", voiced by
Nestor Carbonell
.
- The Chato Santana incarnation of El Diablo appears in the
Teen Titans Go!
episode "TV Knight 2". This version's design is based on the DCEU incarnation (see below).
Film
[
edit
]
Chato Santana / El Diablo as he appears in
Suicide Squad
.
The Chato Santana incarnation of El Diablo appears in the
DC Extended Universe
(DCEU) film
Suicide Squad
, portrayed by
Jay Hernandez
.
[6]
This version was previously a gang leader before accidentally destroying his family home in a moment of anger, killing his wife and two children in the process. Guilt-ridden, he was incarcerated in
Belle Reve
Penitentiary and vowed to never use his powers again. Despite being forced into
Amanda Waller
's
Task Force X
program, Diablo maintains his vow until
Deadshot
goads him into helping defend the squad from the
Enchantress
' forces. El Diablo later helps his squad-mates resist the Enchantress' illusions before sacrificing himself to kill her brother Incubus.
Video games
[
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]
- The Chato Santana incarnation of El Diablo appears in
Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
via "The Squad" DLC.
- The Chato Santana incarnation of El Diablo appears as a playable character in
Suicide Squad: Special Ops
.
Miscellaneous
[
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]
The Chato Santana incarnation of El Diablo makes background appearances in
DC Super Hero Girls
as a student of Super Hero High.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Greenberger, Robert
(2008), "El Diablo I & II", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.),
The DC Comics Encyclopedia
, New York:
Dorling Kindersley
, p. 113,
ISBN
978-0-7566-4119-1
,
OCLC
213309017
- ^
Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016).
The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe
. DK Publishing. p. 99.
ISBN
978-1-4654-5357-0
.
- ^
"DC Comics' September 2008 Solicitations"
. Newsarama.com
. Retrieved
April 2,
2011
.
- ^
"NEWSARAMA ? View Single Post ? EL DIABLO RETURNS AT DC IN 2008"
. Forum.newsarama.com. November 17, 2007. Archived from
the original
on February 10, 2009
. Retrieved
April 2,
2011
.
- ^
Jai Nitz & Phil Hester ? Introducing El Diablo
,
Newsarama
, August 2, 2008
- ^
Jay Jayson (February 19, 2015).
"Jay Hernandez's Suicide Squad Role Revealed; Killer Frost, King Shark & More To Cameo"
. ComicBook.com
. Retrieved
April 29,
2015
.
External links
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