El Diablo (comics)


El Diablo is a name shared by several fictional characters published by DC Comics: Lazarus Lane, Rafael Sandoval, Chato Santana.
The Chato Santana version of El Diablo appeared in the 2016 Suicide Squad film set in the DC Extended Universe.

Publication history

The original version debuted in All-Star Western #2, and was created by Robert Kanigher and Gray Morrow. The character starred in a four issue mini-series published by DC Comics through their Vertigo imprint as a mature readers title; El Diablo #1 was written by Brian Azzarello and drawn by Danijel Zezelj.
The second version first appeared in El Diablo #1, and was created by Gerard Jones and Mike Parobeck.
The third version first appeared in El Diablo #1 and was created by Jai Nitz, Phil Hester and Ande Parks.

Fictional character biography

Lazarus Lane

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. The name means "the devil" in Spanish.
According to Jonah Hex vol. 2, #11 and #24, 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, 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 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.
In The New 52, 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.

Rafael Sandoval

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 after being stymied by officials while trying to pursue the case of a serial arsonist. 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. 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

The current iteration of El Diablo is Chato Santana, an ex-criminal who after being hospitalized, meets a still living comatose Lazarus Lane. It is written by Jai Nitz, pencilled by Phil Hester, with inks by Ande Parks.
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, 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

Television

played Chato Santana / El Diablo in the live-action 2016 film Suicide Squad. Unlike most of his Suicide Squad teammates, he is not a ruthless villain, having used his powers to establish himself as a gang leader before he destroyed his family home and killed his wife and two children in a moment of anger. He mourns his actions. Finally he uses his powers to save the rest of the team from Enchantress' minions thanks to Deadshot. El Diablo helps the Squad resist Enchantress's illusions of what they want most if they surrender. He sacrifices himself to defeat Enchantress's powerful brother, turning into his Aztec fire demon form to overpower and hold the enchantress's brother in the blast radius of a powerful military bomb.

Video games

The Chato Santana version appears as a background student in DC Superhero Girls.