The following contains spoilers for Superman Annual #1, now on sale from DC Comics.
Lobo is one of DC's deadliest figures, a nigh-unstoppable mercenary with no loyalty except to himself, and able to hold his own against some of the strongest fighters. Given his dangerous potential, it's been lucky for the DC Universe that he's the only member of his race left - but that might not be the case for much longer.
Lobo has long been established as the last of the Czarnians, but it turns out that isn't the case at all. Brainiac is revealed to have an entire bottled city filled with the alien species in Superman Annual #1 (by Joshua Williamson, Mahmus Asrar, Edwin Galmon, Caitlin Yarsky, Max Raynor, Jack Herbert, Dave McCaig, Edwin Galmon, Alex Guimaraes, and Ariana Maher), and is poised to release them onto the universe.This is a huge retcon of Lobo's origin, and could set up a lot of changes to the overall DC Universe.
The Superman Villain Brainiac Has Retconned Lobo's Origin
A fundamental part of Lobo's backstory is his status as the last member of the Czarnian race. Previously a peaceful species that constructed a utopia, a violence-obsessed Lobo decided to eradicate his entire world before becoming an intergalactic bounty hunter. His unique physiology makes him nearly unstoppable, as even a single drop of blood is enough for him to spawn a new body. As the last of his species, Lobo gained a unique edge that helped make him infamous across the DC Universe. For the most part, he's remained a singular figure in the cosmos, although the introduction of his daughter Crush put a second Czarian on the board. However, things are about to get a bit more complicated for the character.
Captured by Superman's new foes Dr. Pharm and Graft, Lobo finds himself being prodded and poked by the two devilish inventors. Extracting a sample of his blood, the pair isolate a tracker inside of his body. The duo wonders if the rest of the Czarians had similar physiologies, and Lobo rants about his unique status in the DC Universe, and how he is the last of his kind. But while the world of Czarnia is gone, it seems he isn't the last of his species. It turns out that among the countless bottled cities that Braniac has collected over the years, one of them contains a number of Czarnians. The brief glimpse into the city suggests that they are all like the dolphin obsessed Lobo, with a widescale battle playing out within the bottled city. It's a big reveal on a couple of levels, and may be one of the biggest tweaks ever made to Lobo's origin.
How an Entire City of Lobos Changes the DC Universe
Lobo has remained relatively static since the early days of the character. He was introduced in Omega Men #3 (by Roger Slifer and Keith Giffen) and soon became a fan-favorite. His status as the last of the Czarnians (with that distinction coming as a result of his own actions) was later retconned into his origin in Lobo: The Last Czarnian (by Keith Giffen, Alan Grant, and Simon Bisley). This won't be the first time it's been tweaked, with the New 52 introducing a fellow survivor in Sheba. Other attempts to reimagine the character in a different light have been largely resisted, with the infamous New 52 Lobo quickly becoming a joke within the fanbase. For the most part, Lobo has always been one of DC's most chaotic and brutal characters, a mercenary with no real loyalty to anyone besides himself. Although he's developed some alliances with heroes over the years (and even briefly served as a member of the Justice League) Lobo and his status as a nearly unstoppable wild card has remained consistent.
However, the introduction of a new city of Czarnians introduces a lot of variables into the character's backstory and role in the universe going forward. Lobo is seemingly unaware of the survival of a city full of his kind, hinting that Braniac's role in capturing them could play an unexpected part in his origin. Lobo could see the expansion of his species as an insult, setting him up to go head-to-head with them. This could lead to a team-up with Superman and the rest of his allies (as Braniac is seemingly planning on releasing them into Metropolis), with the Man of Steel and the Main Man working together toward a common goal.
The survival of the Czarnians, despite Lobo's efforts to wipe out his people, could reveal more about the fall of their world and potentially paint a target on his back. Lobo's more heroic daughter Crush could also find herself contending with the rest of their race and what that means for her, as she's still shown having to deal with the history and crimes of her father. An entire race of the Czarnians could make things even more difficult for her, or potentially even open the door to some unexpected new connections. It's possible that at least some of the people within the bottled city of Czarnia are more peaceful, potentially introducing a new subversion to the characteristics usually associated with Lobo.
This retcon to Lobo's origin invites a lot of possibilities, including potentially unleashing a very powerful new race into the greater DC universe. Dark Nights: Death Metal proved that Lobo is capable of handling himself against even 5th Dimensional Imps. An entire city of them being unleashed into the galaxy could reshape the future of the entire universe. These tweaks to Lobo's origins are some of the biggest changes to the character since the introduction of Crush, and could force him to make some unlikely alliances. It's an extreme change to his story, given how much being the last of his race has played into his identity. But this change could introduce all sorts of new elements to his character, seriously impact his daughter, and potentially change the face of his entire universe.