Lobster Johnson

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The Lobster started his career in 1932, working with a small but trusted group of allies out of a secret base in the sewers of New York City. Together they fought against gangsters, spies, and the like. In 1937 the gang came up against one of their most imposing enemies – the inscrutable and immeasurably powerful Memnan Saa, during the case of the Iron Prometheus. Though the Lobster and his allies escaped the confrontation with their lives, tragedy dogged them thereafter. Some of the Lobster's allies met various gruesome and mysterious ends in later years, though not all were directly tied to the Memnan Saa case. Not long after this, he began working with the United States Government on specific missions, though he was never formally employed as a precursor to the B.P.R.D. Aided by a new sidekick, the Lobster spent the late 1930s combating the Nazi threat. One of his unsuccessful missions involved the escape of a Nazi criminal, resulting in the death of his sidekick in Colorado during a mission involving the Manhattan Project. The Lobster's final mission was an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Nazis from launching a space capsule at Hunte Castle, Germany, in 1939. The subsequent explosion and fire completely gutted the castle, and there were no survivors, including the Lobster himself.

In Their Own Story

Death was not the end for the Lobster. His ghost was one of the strongest yet seen in the Hellboy universe, completely corporeal when he chose to be, firing his pistol with deadly effect and burning his sign into the forehead of his victims. In 2001, Hellboy (a lifelong Lobster fan) and Roger the homunculus encountered his ghost in the haunted ruins of Hunte Castle, beginning a long association between the Lobster and the BPRD. The Lobster was instrumental in helping them defeat Rasputin, the Conqueror Worm and Hermann von Klempt, completing in death the mission he had failed to do in life. Having seemingly formed some bond with Roger, he next appeared in 2003 to help Roger and Liz Sherman bring to justice the elderly German saboteur in Colorado. It was not until his old adversary Memnan Saa began to make his presence felt during the war against Sadu Hem's frog monsters that he returned in earnest, briefly taking possession of Johann's ectoplasm to break the hold Saa had gained over Liz. When the BPRD finally traced Saa to his base on the Stanovoy Ridge, the Lobster again took possession of Johann's form in an attempt to defeat his old nemesis. With all his business on earth concluded, Kate took him back to Hunte Castle in Austria, where he relinquished his hold on Johann's ectoplasm and rejoined the ghostly throng inhabiting the castle.

Reader's Guide

Lobster Johnson is a fictional character within the Hellboy universe, but according to B.P.R.D. Director Tom Manning (in The Conqueror Worm), he was a fictional character created in the pulp magazines and made briefly popular in a couple of movies such as The Phantom Jungle (Republic, 1945), in which he was portrayed by Vic Williams. In the backup materials of The Iron Prometheus, we learn of his appearances in pulp magazines, comic books, movie serials, and masked Mexican wrestling movies. It is revealed that the character is properly called 'The Lobster'. 'Johnson' was the last name of his alter ego, crippled millionaire Walter Johnson, created by the author of the pulp stories. It was the masked Mexican wrestling movies that combined the names as 'Lobster Johnson'. The Lobster was an expert combatant, usually wielding either one or two pistols, but showing skill with a submachine gun, swords, spears, or even the leg of a broken chair. He was also shown to be a proficient unarmed fighter. The Lobster somehow remained alive after explosions and possibly being hit by gunfire in Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #2, though no explanation of his powers has been given. In the 1930s stories, he possessed advanced technology including a bulletproof vest and a radio small enough to be built into his helmet.

Did You Know?

• The Lobster's ghost is typically depicted as semi-corporeal, able to manifest partially rather than being fully corporeal at will.
• The Lobster's final mission was an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the Nazis from launching a space capsule at Hunte Castle, Germany, in 1939.