Lemar Hoskins is the adventurer known as Battlestar! As a mercenary, federal operative, and soldier, he is well-equipped to handle any Super Villains that cause trouble!
Power Bestowed & Owed
Born in Chicago, Illinois, high school dropout Lemar Hoskins befriends John Walker, AKA U.S.Agent), Jerome Johnson, and Hector Lennox while serving in the United States Army. When they complete their service, the foursome undergo superhuman strength treatments, supplied by the illicit entrepreneur Curtiss Jackson, AKA Power Broker. Intending to pay off their debt to the Broker, they join the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation (UCWF), but talent manager Ethan Thurm convinces them to operate independently with him as their agent. Walker becomes the masked patriotic hero Super-Patriot and Hoskins, Johnson, and Lennox serve as his Bold Urban Commandos, AKA “Buckies”, who commit crimes and face him in staged battles to enhance Walker’s reputation. The Buckies even fight Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America, when he investigates their operation.
After the Commission on Superhuman Activities (CSA) replaced Rogers with Walker as the new Captain America, Walker brings in Lemar as his sidekick, the new Bucky. Lennox and Johnson fail to meet FBI approval. Little did Lemar and Walker know that Johann Shmidt, AKA Red Skull, was manipulating the CSA by placing agents inside of it.
Objecting to his initial lack of weaponry, the CSA issues Lemar his own Adamantium shield. After enduring intensive training with Walker and completing his education, eventually earning a high school diploma, Lemar enters the field with him, facing threats such as the Watchdogs and Professor Power.
When Lemar learns that “buck” is a derogatory term for African-Americans, he adopts a new costumed identity as Battlestar!
Augmented Strength
Battlestar has superhuman strength (lifting 10 tons), durability, agility and stamina. An excellent hand-to-hand combatant, gymnast and acrobat, he wields a triangular shield composed of Adamantium.
Battle Stations
In the beginning of Lemar’s career as an augmented wrestler for the UCWF, paying off his debt to Power Broker, he goes up against Captain America! Later though, Power Broker betrays Battlestar, capturing him to reverse his augmentation for his own nefarious needs. He uses the same scientist, Dr. Karlin “Karl” Malus, who originally gave Lemar his abilities, to perform the operation.
As a freelance operative, Lemar goes up against villains such as the terrorist organization Hydra, Madam Hydra herself, AKA Viper, Eddie Brock and his symbiote Venom, Dreadknight, the Resistants, the Serpent Society, and Flag-Smasher!
Choose One’s Battles and Allies
Lemar becomes close to his army buddy Walker, and they both undergo Power Broker’s strength augmentation procedure. Their two army pals Lennox and Johnson also go through it, and together they help Walker build up press for his Super-Patirot persona. Though it goes awry when Captain America gets involved, and Lennox and Johnson betray Walker and threaten Lemar. But Lemar and Walker stay friends, even when Walker loses his memories.
Lemar works for Silver Sable’s Wild Pack team of freelance operatives, and becomes one of Sable’s most trusted employees. He even serves as Wild Pack field leader at times.
Fighting His Own Battles
At a rally where Lemar’s new costumed guise as Battlestar was publicly unveiled, Johnson and Lennox (now Right-Winger and Left-Winger), felt upset at being abandoned by their friends. As such, they revealed Walker’s identity to the world, leading to Walker’s parents’ deaths. Both Lemar and Walker fought the disgruntled pair until the Secret Service intervened and arrested them.
Walker and Battlestar went on to fight the Resistants and Serpent Society, and when Karl Morgenthau, AKA Flag-Smasher, captured Walker, Battlestar defied the CSA by bringing in Rogers (now “the Captain”) to rescue his partner. After the CSA finally returned the Captain America identity to Rogers, they faked Walker’s death and gave him a new identity as U.S.Agent.
Suspecting a cover-up, Lemar quit the CSA, becoming a free agent based in Chicago. Aided by his brother Leon, Battlestar uncovered evidence regarding Walker’s fate and confronted U.S.Agent, who initially denied being Walker who had his memories altered. However, when the Power Broker sought to reverse his own accidental over-augmentation, and had his Power Tools capture Battlestar, with help from Lemar’s former wrestling manager Ethan Thurm. Battlestar found himself among other captured wrestlers. When he was forcibly taken to a lab, he encountered the scientist who originally experimented upon him, Dr. Karlin “Karl” Malus, and finally learned his name, as well as Power Broker. Lemar then went through Malus’ tests and he became the scientist’s first successful de-augmentation. U.S.Agent, tailed Lemar after their fight, rescued him and forced Malus to restore his powers. Lemar and U.S.Agent helped restore the powers to all the other kidnapped victims and destroyed Malus’ and Power Broker’s lab so that they’d never be able to Afterward, U.S.Agent revealed that his new identity was Jack Daniels, but Lemar insisted he was Walker and drove him to his parent’s gravesite in Georgia to prove it. Despite it being a difficult realization for Walker, Lemar had his friend’s back like always.
When the mercenary Silver Sablinova, AKA Silver Sable, was hired to protect Reverend Donald Smithfield from the Watchdogs and assassin Gattling, Battlestar offered his services, citing his experience with the Watchdogs. During the case, Battlestar impressed Sable by tackling Gattling in mid-air, surviving the resultant fall due to his superhuman durability. Sable hired Battlestar into her personal task force, the Wild Pack. Lemar was quickly at odds with racist teammate Douglas Powell, a situation that worsened when Powell’s sister Samantha became interested in Lemar. Becoming one of Sable’s most trusted employees, Battlestar occasionally served as Wild Pack field leader. His Wild Pack missions included battles against Cathode, the Cyberwarriors, Hydra, Viper, Eddie Brock, AKA Venom, and Bram Velsing, AKA Dreadknight.
While battling the Genesis Coalition terrorist cabal, Lemar befriended Malcolm Murphy, AKA Man-Eater, a victim of their experiments, and helped him join Sable’s Intruders team. Lemar was also romantically involved with the Intruders’ Somali mutant member Obax Majid, AKA Lightbright. When Man-Eater went wild due to his part-animal nature, Battlestar helped retrieve him.
When the CIA imprisoned Sable on false criminal charges and threatened to go after Battlestar for his earlier criminal career, Sable eventually made a deal with the CIA. After a lengthy stint with the Wild Pack, Lemar joined the Anti-Registration Underground to oppose adoption of the Superhuman Registration Act. Captured by S.H.I.E.L.D., he was incarcerated in the Negative Zone’s “42” prison, but escaped during a mass breakout arranged by Captain America and helped fight pro-registration forces. At last report, Battlestar was a fugitive wanted by the CSA.
He later assisted the Guardsman Alpha Squad as back-up and fought a the Squadron Supreme from Earth-712. Later, Howard the Duck recruited him for his Ducky Dozen, a team gathered to prevent an invasion of Nazi Zombies from Earth-12591. He helped to successfully wipe out the Nazi Zombies.
After Captain America perished, Sam Wilson, AKA Falcon, took over Cap’s mantle and became the new Captain America. Wilson attended a UCW charity wrestling match, featuring wrestler Lemar as Battlestar and his enemy in the ring, and sometimes outside of it, Dennis Dunphy, AKA Demolition Man. Lemar fought Dunphy, making a good show of force, until they noticed that the UCW head Edward Gardner was making out with all the charity money! Lemar and Dunphy shot into action, leaping out of the ring and tackling the agent and his goons. Lemar then reassured Dunphy, who had thought their past would cloud the present, that their fight in the ring was all a show and that he’d learned from the best, from Dunphy himself. They felt like heroes at the end of the night.
During Hydra’s takeover of the U.S. led by an altered Captain America, Battlestar fought against them with the Underground forces.
