Breaking Down the Hall of Justice Mural in Superman, Part 9: El Diablo / Lazarus Lane
Created by Robert Kanigher and Tony DeZuniga, Lazarus Lane was a late-19th-century bank clerk whose life changed when he failed to stop the murder of a fellow clerk during a robbery. Seeking redemption, he tracked the robbers but was beaten, left in a stream, and struck by lightning. Rescued by Apache shaman Wise Owl, Lane was revived through a blend of herbs, ritual, and magic — but cursed to host the Spirit of Vengeance. From then on, Lane’s body slept while his spirit rode at night as El Diablo, a spectral gunslinger avenger.
Later interpretations reveal Lois Lane as a possible descendant. The El Diablo mantle passed in modern times to Rafael Sandoval and later Chato Santana, the latter inheriting the curse directly from Lane in a mystical encounter. Santana’s version appeared in the DCEU's Suicide Squad (2016), but the mural shows the original, complete with his horse Lucifer.
Group Affiliations: Rough Bunch
Speculation: Lane’s magical curse, Western setting, and ancestral ties to Lois Lane give him multiple entry points into the DCU — from supernatural team-ups to time-travel arcs. He could easily fit in a Justice League Dark film, a Booster Gold time story, as a link between Superman’s world and the supernatural, or as his placement by Super-Chief and Max Mercury in the mural suggests he could be connect to Indigenous and Western heroes for a unique historical team-up.
First Appearance: All-Star Western (1970) #2
Recommended Reading:
All-Star Western (1970) #2–5, 7, 10–11 – Original stories
Weird Western Tales (1972) #12–13, 15–16, 19, 32 – Continued adventures
Jonah Hex (1977) #48, 56–60, 73–75 – Western crossovers
Guy Gardner: Warrior (1992) #24 – Time Travel story with the Rough Bunch
El Diablo (2001) – Lazarus Lane gets the Vertigo treatment
Jonah Hex (2006) #11, 24, 45–49 – Modern Western tales
El Diablo (2008) – Chato Santana inherits the mantle
All-Star Western (2011) #2–3 – New 52 appearance
Suicide Squad Most Wanted: El Diablo and Boomerang (2016) – Continued Chato Santana stories
Suicide Squad: Black Files (2019) – Suicide Squad story featuring Chato Santana
Up Next: Part 10: Hugo Danner
