During the late 1980s, DC Comics introduced readers to a man who rose above his humble beginning in the Suicide Slums to become a powerful superhero. Do you know who this is? 

Created by by Marv Wolfman and Jerry Ordway, Jose Delgado made his first appearance in Adventures of Superman #428 in 1987. Although Delgado was once a Golden Gloves boxing champion, he eventually ended up working as a high school teacher in Metropolis. During this time, the villainous Lex Luthor was enlisting youth gangs into organized crime under his control. To help deal with the threat posed to the teenagers in his community, Delgado adopted the identity of Gangbuster in Adventures of Superman #434. When he first embarked on this new vigilante lifestyle, Delgado used non-lethal ways to fight the gangs and criminals. While he has no metahuman powers, Delgado wears a Kevlar body armor suit with a riot helmet and relies on his fists to take down criminals. However, later on, he also uses various weapons in his fights. 

On one occasion, while saving Lois Lane’s life from a creature called Combattor, Delgado suffered a serious spinal injury. Through a cybernetic implant provided by LexCorp, he regained the ability to walk. Unfortunately, Delgado discovered too late that the implant allowed Luthor to take control of his body. Luthor used the implant to force Delgado into attacking Superman’s ally, Professor Emil Hamilton. Ironically, Hamilton was later able to alter the implant, allowing Delgado control of his life again. For a time, Delgado worked as Cat Grant’s personal bodyguard, however his strained relationship with her son Adam eventually caused him to quit. Following the “death” of Superman, Delgado resumed his career as Gangbuster. 

Later on, an ultraviolent Gangbuster was stirring up trouble in Black Lightning’s hometown of Brick City. This was later revealed to be a shapechanger named Ishmael, working as an operative of Black Lightning’s arch enemy Tobias Whale. Thankfully, the real Gangbuster arrives in Brick City and works alongside Black Lightning to help him defeat Ishmael. Recently, The CW launched a new live-action Black Lightning television series. Who knows, maybe fans will soon get to see the partnership between Gangbuster and Black Lightning make the leap from print to screen.