Invited_talk abstract details

The brightest planetary nebulae achieve similar maximum luminosities, have similar ratios of chemcial abundances, and apparently share similar kinematics in all galaxies. These similarities, however, are not necessarily expected theoretically and appear to hide important evolutionary differences. As predicted theoretically, metallicity appears to affect nebular kinematics, if subtly. There are also clear differences in the evolution of planetary nebulae from galaxies with and without ongoing star formation, but it is not yet clear whether the cause is the difference in metallicity or small differences in the initial masses of the progenitor stars.