Most characters by famous creators get the chance to be developed and explored, even if it's only by future storytellers down the line. It's rare that a character created by not one but two creators at the height of their influence on the industry could just be forgotten about -- but that's exactly what happened to Pete Lomax, a one-time Green Arrow villain.
Take a look back at the brief history of Lomax and how he slipped into obscurity after one appearance, despite the fact that he was created by Alan Moore and Klaus Janson.
Who Is Pete Lomax?
Peter Lomax only ever appeared in two issues, in the Green Arrow/Black Canary story "Night Olympics" that served as the back-up story for Detective Comics #549 and #550. A minor criminal, Lomax trained extensively with a bow and eventually became exceptionally talented with it.
When a man suggested that Pete get himself a costume and a supervillain identity, Lomax revealed an intrinsic distaste for the idea and killed him. Lomax was obsessed with proving normal people were just as talented -- and deadly -- as superheroes. To prove it, he followed Black Canary and Green Arrow and was able to stealthily land an arrow in Black Canary's shoulder.
Leaving the wounded Canary behind so she wouldn't risk pulling the arrow out and bleeding to death, Green Arrow followed after Lomax -- who taunted the hero the whole time about how pathetic superheroes had actually turned out to be. He even compared them to professional wrestlers. Regardless, Green Arrow eventually reached him and the two engaged in a brief but intense archery duel.
While Pete is talented, Green Arrow proved far more superior -- catching Peter's fired arrow in his bare hand, splitting his bow-string with a shot and shooting an entire flurry of arrows right past him in seconds. Horrified, Lomax fainted -- allowing Green Arrow to drag him to the authorities.
Alan Moore's Forgotten Villain
"Night Olympics" is a minor story in the overall DC Universe and was technically rendered non-canon by the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Peter Lomax hasn't reappeared since and likely offers no real threat, as proven by his final moments on the page -- fainting in fear after losing to a superhero who's just as human as he is.
What makes the character unique is the pedigree of the creators who produced "Night Olympics" -- Alan Moore and Klaus Janson. Both parts of "Night Olympics" were released in 1985. A year later, Moore and Janson worked on separate miniseries -- Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns respectively -- that would go on to redefine the entire comics industry. It's fascinating to see a character created by such an important pair of creators just fade away into obscurity.
It's especially surprising, considering how often DC has utilized concepts and characters devised by these creators. Many ideas co-created by Moore have become beloved pieces of the DC Universe, such as the Black Mercy, Mogo the planet-sized Green Lantern and John Constantine. There's an interesting idea to Lomax -- a potential street-level answer to Marvel's Kraven the Hunter that could have made for a good recurring villain -- testing the heroes with his tactics.
As he is, Lomax works perfectly as a one-off villain who is defeated more or less by Green Arrow looking angrily at him. Sometimes, a joke is only funny the first time it's told and it doesn't have to be repeated.