History[]
Lobster Random is a geriatric sociopath, a genetically altered former soldier turned professional torturer who has a pair of giant lobster claws attached to his sides and a hole in his head permanently covered by sticking plaster — the result of brain surgery which rendered him unable to feel pain and incapable of sleep. Cynical and foul-tempered (unsurprisingly, after being awake for thirty years) he is totally amoral. He also has a bizarre sexual fetish for machines (anything made of meat holds no interest for him) and was the longtime business partner of Mrs Redd, a filthy rich and thoroughly unscrupulous disembodied human brain living in a robot body. All in all, Lobster Random is not your typical hero figure, which is probably just as well as he's definitely no hero.
In his last published story Lobster Random met Warathaal, a "cosmic omnidevil" of "unutterable ancientness" who turned out to be Lob's father. (There is a slight but unmistakable family resemblance, what with Warathaal's giant claws.) Aeons ago Warathaal had been imprisoned in a micro-universe sealed with a cunning knot — the "forget me knot" of the story's title. He had influenced the ideas and dreams of a scientist called Cadmium Redd. The idiot Redd "recreated my meat, synthesised and free, and he gave it life." Thus Lobster Random and his brothers were created. At the end of the story Lob accidentally released his father into the universe, potentially allowing Warathaal to recreate the time when "planets were twisted into grotesque sculpture; stars shattered for a single strain of music; galaxies hurled to collision for no greater effect than a distant lightshow." Nice one, Lob...
Powers and abilities[]
Abilities
Incapable of feeling pain, or of sleeping.
Strength level
Normal human strength of an elderly genetically modified loony.
Weaknesses
Incapable of feeling pain, or of sleeping.
Paraphernalia[]
Equipment
Cigarette lighter; cigars.
Transportation
Spaceship.
Weapons
Giant lobster claws.
Notes[]
Lobster Random first appeared in No Pain, No Gain in 2000 AD progs 1342 to 1349, and returned in Tooth & Claw (progs 1411 to 1419) and The Agony & The Ecstasy (progs 1482 to 1490). At the end of the apparently unrelated series The Vort (progs 1598 to 1596) one of the main characters was revealed to be a scarred and mutilated Lob, now missing one of his pincers. Lob subsequently returned in a new solo story, The Forget Me Knot, in prog 1601.
Trivia[]
Lob had a cameo in 2000 AD prog 2000 (published September 2016) which was drawn by Boo Cook. He was shown clutching a cocktail and a huge drinks bill which he seemed to expect Mega-City One's Justice Department to pay.
Links[]
- Appearances of Lobster Random
- Character Gallery: Lobster Random
- Images that feature Lobster Random
- Fan-Art Gallery: Lobster Random
- Lobster Random quotations
Discover and Discuss[]
- Search News for: Lobster Random · Lobster Random