Beloved DC Comics Writer Roasts Jason Momoa’s Lobo as “One of the Worst Performances I’ve Ever Seen in a Film”

It’s safe to say that Supergirl was not the successful follow-up to James Gunn’s Superman that fans and filmmakers alike hoped for. Perhaps it was due to the director and studio having competing cuts; or misunderstanding the original source comic, Woman of Tomorrow, that it was loosely based on; or even wrong-headed criticisms of the DCU roadmap and Milly Alcock taking root. The fact that Supergirl‘s a streaming hit suggests that viewers are curious…just not enough to pay full ticket price, perhaps. She’ll be back in Man of Tomorrow, where she can perhaps build some goodwill as part of a larger ensemble.

One thing most people didn’t criticize about the movie, however, was Lobo, played by Jason Momoa. Sure, fans of the original comic, which Lobo wasn’t in, may have felt he was forced into the storyline. Generally speaking, though, everyone, including Jason Momoa himself, seemed to think Lobo was the DC role he was born to play (though Aquaman‘s $1.15 billion grosses might suggest otherwise). The homicidal, genocidal intergalactic bounty hunter, who soared in popularity during the semi-ironic grim-darkness of the ’90s, has been long-awaited in a live-action movie, and Momoa looks a lot like him in real life anyway. With the popularity of Deadpool, the time seemed right, and the goal of a spinoff movie self-evident. But one major comics writer doesn’t think so.

Grant Morrison Is No Fraggin’ Fan

Grant Morrison has a long history of writing for DC’s greatest heroes, with runs on Animal Man, JLA, Doom Patrol, Green Lantern, and Batman. If there’s anyone who can be said to have an educated opinion, it’s them. In their latest newsletter, Xanaduum, Morrison revealed they finally saw Supergirl, and didn’t hold back. Slamming the premise of needing an antidote for Krypto when a yellow sun should do, and the “dull and low level Romanian gangster baddie,” Morrison reserved all the best words for Milly Alcock, whom they said did a “credible” job. On the topic of Lobo, however, Morrison was harsh.

“Jason Momoa, who I was actually looking forward to, was very disappointing as Lobo,” they said. “It was, in fact, one of the worst performances I’ve ever seen in a film and quite baffling, as I know Momoa’s not usually that bad and Lobo seems like a character made for him to play. Go figure.” Considering the well-chosen words of a writer here, it’s clear Morrison was not one of the people determined to go in and hate for hate’s sake. Rather, they genuinely expected Momoa to be good, and were not pleased with the outcome. Nonetheless, it’s not like Lobo is a super-deep character — he’s a dark-humor, heavy-metal album cover character come to life.

It may be that Morrison, as a writer, and one with a better handle on character psychology than most (Arkhan Asylum is a classic), sees more to Lobo than those surface trappings, and has thought about the character on a deeper level than Momoa, for longer periods of time. Or maybe, just maybe, they wanted to see the character go fully R-rated and bloody, as many fans still do — if the idea is to have a cinematic antihero with Deadpool appeal, why neuter him with a PG-13? Maybe Lobo will follow his path in more ways than one — Wade Wilson, after all, was in a less popular PG-13 movie before he really hit it big onscreen.

Who Is Lobo? Jason Momoa’s DCU Character Explained