Origin

High school dropout Lemar Hoskins befriended John Walker, Jerome Johnson and Hector Lennox while serving in the US Army. When their service was completed, the foursome underwent superhuman strength treatments supplied by the illicit entrepreneur the Power Broker. They intended to pay off their debt to the Broker by joining the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation, but talent manager Ethan Thurm convinced them to operate independently with him as their agent. Walker became the masked patriotic hero Super-Patriot and Hoskins, Johnson and Lennox became his "Buckies", who would commit crimes and face him in staged battles to enhance Walker's reputation. The Buckies fought Captain America when he investigated their operation.

Creation

Battle Star was created by Mark Gruenwald and Paul Neary and first appeared in Captain America #323 (1986).

Mayor Story Arcs

Becoming a superhero

After the Commission on Superhuman Activities replaced Rogers with Walker as the new Captain America, Walker brought Lemar as his sidekick, the new Bucky, though Lennox and Johnson failed to meet FBI approval. Objecting to his initial lack of weaponry, Lemar was issued his own Adamantium shield. After enduring intensive training with Walker and completing his education (eventually earning a high school diploma), Lemar went into the field with him, facing threats such as the Watchdogs and Professor Power.

After learning "buck" was a derogatory term for African-Americans, Lemar adopted a new costumed identity as Battlestar. At a rally where Lemar's new costumed guise was publicly unveiled, Johnson and Lennox (now Right-Winger and Left-Winger), upset at being abandoned by their friends, revealed Walker's identity to the world, leading to Walker's parents' deaths. Walker and Battlestar went on to fight the Resistants and Serpent Society, and when Flag-Smasher captured Walker, Battlestar defied the CSA by bringing in Rogers (now "the Captain") and the Avengers 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 US 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 confront US Agent, who initially denied being Walker; however, when the Power Broker sought to reverse his own accidental over-augmentation, and had his Power Tools capture Battlestar and other past clients to test his depowering process, US Agent rescued Battlestar and afterward, he finally admitted his true identity to Lemar.

Silver Sable and the Wild Pack

When the mercenary Silver Sable was hired to protect Reverend Donald Smithfield fromm 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, surivivng 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, Venom and Dreadknight. While battling the Genesis Coalition terrorist cabal, Lemar befriended Man-Eater, a victim of their experiments, and helped him join Sable's Intruders team. Leam was also romantically involved with the Intruders' 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, Battlestar eventually left the team for undisclosed reasons.

Civil War

When the Superhuman Registration Act was brought into effect, despite the government already knowing his real identity, he refused to sign believing people are entitled to their own privacy and that while this law is being passed the real bad guys remain at large. Lemar joined Solo and Typeface to form an underground opposition to the Superhuman Registration Act. Soon, other heroes and villains who opposed the act joined the group such as Network, Gladiatrix, and others. Hoping to eventually join up with Captain America's underground resistance, the group arranged a meeting with the reporter Sally Floyd. During the meeting, they were raided by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who managed to capture several individuals including Battlestar, Solo, and Typeface. Shipped off to Prison 42 in the Negative Zone, Battlestar was gravely injured by a piece of shrapnel that landed in his spine. Battlestar served a long sentence in agony.

Dark Reign and Zombies

After Norman Osborn's Dark Reign, Battlestar was released from prison having healed. He began working with the Guardsman Alpha Squad, a responseteam to superhuman threats, alongside Jill Harper. One mission brought them to Project: P.E.G.A.S.U.S.'s central headquarters in upstate New York and into conflict with flesh-hungry clones of the the Squadron Supreme. Battlestar was one of the few surviving members of the team after a tiring ordeal which saw an entire town nuked and the return of Jack of Hearts.

Marvel Zombies Destroy

When Howard the Duck starts his Ducky's Dozen team, Battlestar is enlisted. He goes with the team to Earth-12591 to stop the Nazi-Zombies of that reality from coming over into his reality. Battlestar is one of the few to make it back with Taxi Taylor and the zombie corpse of Captain America.

Powers and Abilities

Lemar has superhuman strength and stamina. Can lift 10 tons. Excels at hand-to-hand combat, gymnastics and acrobatics. Lemar carries an indestructible adamantium shield much like Captain America's first version of his shield.

Other Media

Television

• Battlestar appeared as a member of the Wild Pack in the Spider-Man: The Animated Series episodes "Six Forgotten Warriors: Chapters I, II, IV & V."
• Battlestar appears as a member of Silver Sable's Wild Pack in the Marvel's Spider-Man episode "Take Two."
• Battlestar appears in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, portrayed by Clé Bennett. This version of the character is a military veteran and John Walker's close friend from high school. When John is chosen by the government as the new Captain America following the disappearance of Steve Rogers, Lemar becomes his sidekick under the name Battlestar.