Superman's OTHER Costumed Identity Proves Clark Wants to Kill
As one of DC Comics’ most prolific heroes, Superman is no secret to dual identities. His secret identity as Clark Kent is as famous as he is, but it’s not the only persona that the Last Son of Krypton has adopted in his 80+ years. And one such persona — the Gangbuster — had quite the lethal edge.
The Man of Steel is also one of comics’ most moralistic heroes, and Superman’s no-killing policy is as strong as he is. Though there have been myriad alternate universes and reboots where Clark took lives, these are usually outliers meant to point out how horrific it would be if Superman ever crossed that line. That path rarely works out well for anyone, let alone Superman himself, and his time as Gangbuster was no different.
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After traveling to an alternate dimension and executing that universe’s General Zod for crimes against humanity in Superman #22 by John Byrne, John Constanza, and Pete Scotese, the Clark Kent that returns home is subtly traumatized by his actions. This trauma is further compounded by the actions of Brainiac in later issues as the alien menace works to draw out the Man of Steel’s dark side. Unfortunately, Superman's foe succeeds, but not in the way anyone expects. Surviving his encounter with Brainiac, Clark Kent goes about his regular life as Superman remains nowhere to be found. But in Superman’s place comes the Gangbuster, a more street-level hero with much more violent methods than the Man of Steel.
The Gangbuster identity initially belongs to Metropolis citizen Jose Delgado, an urban vigilante who protects Suicide Slums until a spinal injury takes him out of the fight. But the identity of this iteration remains a secret to all
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