Ordway spoke on the genesis of the character stating, "We originally wanted to use Kirby's Guardian but couldn't so we came up with Gangbuster instead"[2] Jose Delgado grew up in the Metropolis area known as Suicide Slum.

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.

After recovering, Delgado discovered that the implant which enabled him to walk was a LexCorp invention, and that Lex Luthor could use it to take control of his body.

Black Lightning discovered that this wasn't the real Gangbuster, but a shapeshifter named Ishmael, an operative of Tobias Whale.

[5] The real Jose Delgado Gangbuster soon showed up[6] and later helped him defeat Ishmael and his shapeshifter brother Queequeg.

[8] Jose soon tracked Tarot to the castle headquarters of Despero, Morgana Le Fey and the villain known as Enigma.

[10] Gangbuster and Dr. Light investigate an object that crashes into a Metropolis park and leaves a massive crystallized crater in its center.

[12] During DC Rebirth, Jose's niece is introduced named Rebekah and assumes the role of Gangbuster II.

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.