Lobster Johnson

A 1930s vigilante who fought gangsters and paranormal threats in secret, leaving his claw mark on victims.

Lobster Johnson (also known as The Lobster or The Claw) is a fictional character featured in the Hellboy and Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense comic books published by Dark Horse Comics, created by Mike Mignola. Within the Hellboy universe, the Lobster was a vigilante who worked in secret in New York City during the 1930s. Although the public believes that the Lobster was only the hero of pulp serials and comics, he was a real man who faced gangsters as well as paranormal threats. The Lobster had a reputation for violence, such as killing mobsters and burning his trademark lobster claw symbol into their foreheads with the palm of his gloved hand.

Quick Facts

Character name: The Lobster
Species: Human
Also known as: The Claw
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Debut: Hellboy: Box of Evil #1 (August 1999)
Creators: Mike Mignola

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.

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.