Jose Delgado (New Earth)

Gangbuster
Mainstream Universe‎, 1986‎-2011‎
Gallery
Real Name	José Delgado
Main Alias	Gangbuster
Affiliation	Formerly Justice Society International · Justice Arcana
Base Of Operations	Suicide Slum, Metropolis
Status
Alignment	Good
Identity	Secret Identity
Citizenship	American
Marital Status	Single
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Height	5' 9"
Weight	170 lbs (77 kg)
Eyes	Brown
Hair	Black
Origin
Universe	New Earth
Creators	Marv Wolfman · Jerry Ordway
First Appearance	Adventures of Superman #428 (May, 1987)

Gangbuster is a street level vigilante in Metropolis. School teacher José Delgado donned the suit to better combat the street gangs in Suicide Slum.

History

Jose Delgado grew up in the Metropolis area known as Suicide Slum. As he grew older he became a skilled boxer. He went into teaching and ended up as a high school teacher in Metropolis. He became a mentor to Jerry White (the son of Perry White). When Lex Luthor enlisted youth gangs into organized crime under his control, Jose adopted the identity of Gangbuster to deal with the threat posed to the teenagers in his community.

Jose briefly became romantically involved with Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane. When Lois became the target of a heavily armored man called Combattor, who wanted to draw out and fight Superman, Jose fought the super-strong foe. However, the battle ended in Combattor's death and Jose suffered a broken spine, in which he can no longer walk. 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. 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.

After the Death of Superman, criminals that Jose bested started pressing charges against him. Commissioner Bill Henderson confronted Gangbuster, advising him to leave the city as soon as possible.

Jose would briefly go live in Brick City, where he would seemingly break up with Cat Grant. He would then go to Fawcett City to work as a substitute teacher under a false name, until he was apprehended and sent back to Metropolis.

He would once again change city and move to Los Angeles to be with family, but he was forced to take the mantle of Gangbuster once again to help Tarot. Jose finally returned to Metropolis.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Cybernetic Enhancement: 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. However, Luthor's cybernetic components also allowed him to control Jose's movement if necessary.

Abilities

• Boxing
• Pedagogy
• Throwing
• Firearms

Other Characteristics

• Restricted Mobility: Without the benefit of Lex Luthor's cybernetic enhancement, José Delgado can no longer use his legs.

Trivia

• Jose lost a winning lottery ticket while helping 2 kids, it ended up being found by Bibbo Bibbowski

Related

• 107 Appearances of Jose Delgado (New Earth)
• 5 Images featuring Jose Delgado (New Earth)
• 3 Quotations by or about Jose Delgado (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Jose Delgado (New Earth)

Footnotes

Justice Society of America member This character is or was a primary member of the Justice Society of America in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice Society of America members" category.