Gangbuster (DC)
Gangbuster is a male comic superhero who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Jose Delgado
Jose took in Jerry White and tried unsuccessfully to get him away from his involvement in street gangs. Jose saved the tenants of a Suicide Slum building from a fire was set by Lex Luthor, who owned the building, but he blamed it on youth gangs. Luthor started recruiting gang members to act as his muscle, and Jose met with some of them to try and set them on the straight and narrow. Jose was in the way of Lex's plans, so he had gang members meet him in Bridge's Carpet Factory, knock him unconscious, and set the building on fire. Lex had the exits locked so the gang members would perish and provide Lex with plausible deniability, but Superman put out the fire and made sure there were no casualties. (Adventures of Superman v1 #432) Jose took in Jerry White when he was running from the law. Lois Lane insisted on turning him in, but Jose said he was still trying to save him. Jerry went to jail, and Jose spoke out publicly against Lex Luthor's youth program, leading to a beating from Lex's goons. Jose was inspired by Superman to buy equipment from a survivalist shop and take on the costumed identity of Gangbuster. With reformed gang members help he broke into LexCorp and do millions in property damage. He forced information out of Lex's associates, and found Lex had mobilized the remaining gang members, armed them with weapons and set them off to loot and kill. Superman and Gangbuster rounded them up, but Superman warned Gangbuster to watch how far he went in his vigilante protection of youth. (Adventures of Superman v1 #434)
Jose went on a date with Lois Lane, but it was interrupted by Combattor, who tried to take Lois hostage to draw in Superman. Jose changed to Gangbuster and battled the villain, whose own power eventually burned out his body and killed him, but as he died he landed on Gangbuster's back, breaking his spine and crippling him. (Adventures of Superman v1 #437)
After being hospitalized, Jose was offered a chance to regain use of his legs via an experimental cybernetic implant. While Jose was going through the delicate surgery and adjusting to the implant, a new Gangbuster (who is later revealed to be an amnesiac Superman) appeared. Jose later discovered that his implant was developed by LexCorp, and that the implant allowed Lex Luthor to control him. Luthor forced Jose to be outfitted in a special suit of body armor and sent him to attack Professor Emil Hamilton. But fortunately, Hamilton shut down the implant's control signal and freed Jose.
Jose continued to operate as Gangbuster, using the modified LexCorp armor until it was wrecked when he tried to defend Lois Lane from the Apokoliptian robot Turmoil.[2][3] Soon after, Jose's life began to fall apart as he lost his teaching position and was evicted from his apartment building after it was acquired by a LexCorp company. His relationship with Lois also ended as she disagreed with him accepting the help of Lexcorp. Jose desperately wound up as a bodyguard of Cat Grant and the two developed an intimate relationship. (Adventures of Superman v1 #466)
Gangbuster and Dr. Light investigate an object that crashes into a Metropolis park and leaves a massive crystallized crater in its center. While searching the crater, the two heroes discover a Bizarro Supergirl. (Supergirl v5 #54)
Overview
Personality and attributes
As a vigilante, he came to operate under the name of Gangbuster. (Adventures of Superman v1 #434)
He said that he was unlike Superman in that he was willing to break bones in order to get information on criminals. Despite that, he was shown as being uncomfortable with the lengths he went through as a vigilante. (Adventures of Superman v1 #434)
Powers and abilities
Jose Delgado has no superpowers but is a skilled martial artist and gymnast. When Jose was crippled on duty as the Gangbuster, he was forced to accept Lex Luthor's agreement and treatment to return the function of his legs to him using cybernetic enhancement. However, Luthor's cybernetic components also allowed him to control Jose's movement if necessary.
Notes
- Jose Delgado was created by Marv Wolfman and Jerry Ordway where he made his first appearance in Adventures of Superman v1 #428 (May, 1987).
- He appeared as Gangbuster in Adventures of Superman v1 #434 (November, 1987).
Alternate Versions
Appearances
- Adventures of Superman v1: (1987)
- Action Comics v1:
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
