CRUZ BUSHMASTER

Real Name: Cruz Bushmaster

Identity/Class: human mutate

Occupation: wealthy entrepreneur

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Hardcore (agent);
    he secretly funded and ran the Black Hole, employing the Power Men, including Power Man Steele

Enemies: Noah Burstein (former pawn), John Bushmaster, Cage, Micky Hamilton (former pawn)

Known Relatives: John Bushmaster, Quincy McIver (Bushmaster, uncle)

Aliases: none

Base of Operations: last seen on his island fortress, off the coast of St. Croix, in the Virgin Islands;

First Appearance: (BTS) Cage I#1 (April, 1992)
    Cage I#12 (March, 1993)

Powers/Abilities: Cruz BRIEFLY gained superhuman strength and durability roughly on par with that of Cage.
    Other than that, he was very wealthy and used others to accomplish his goals. He had a large number of men in his employ willing to perform any criminal acts he required.

History:
(Cage I#12 (fb) - BTS) - Cruz Bushmaster was heir to the international criminal empire of John Bushmaster.

(Cage I#6 (fb)) - Cruz Bushmaster sought to gain the power which his father, John Bushmaster, had once obtained, though it had apparently proved fatal to his father. Via his primary agent, Hardcore, Cruz had Noah Burstein (inventor of the Power Man process) and his wife Emma kidnapped. With Emma held hostage, Noah was forced to agree to continue to try to perfect his Power Man process. Hardcore collected a few test subjects. Those who survived the initial process had an unspecified amount of time to live. With the knowledge that only be perfecting the process could they survive, these men became the Power Men, who served both as guards of the Black Hole as well as gatherers of further test subjects

(Cage I#12 (fb)) - Cruz Bushmaster had his father's remains located and brought to his island fortress, off the coast of St. Croix, in the Virgin Islands.

(Cage I#1-5 - BTS) - Primarily through Hardcore, Cruz manipulated events to achieve his goals. Manipulating Cage's ally, Micky Hamilton, via promises to cure his cancer, he led Cage to the Black Hole.

(Cage#6-8) - Cruz was present in the shadows as Cage's physiology mixed with the modified Power Man process to eliminate the lethal side effects.

(Cage#11/12(fb) - BTS) - Agents of Cruz faked the death of Cage and brought him to his St. Croix base.

(Cage I#12) - Having taken numerous steps to perfect the "Power Man" treatment, Cruz Bushmaster had his father's remains and Cage placed in transfer chambers to absorb the negative effects of the process. Things worked beautifully, and Cruz emerged a powerhouse, but as he climbed free, preparing to kill Micky Hamilton for his recent attempts a betrayal, a large arm reached out and pulled him back into his chamber. John Bushmaster, revived by the energies, used the viral aspects--that Burstein had created in the variant process--to siphon the power and life from his son.

Comments: Created by Marc McLaurin, Dwayne Turner, and Christopher Ivy.

CLARIFICATIONS:
He should be distinguished from:

 

Appearances:
Cage I#1-8 (April-November, 1992) - Marc McLaurin (writer), Dwayne Turner (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Cage I#11 (February, 1993) - Marc McLaurin (writer), Gordon Purcell (pencils), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Cage I#12 (March, 1993) - Marc McLaurin (writer), Dwayne Turner (pencils), Chris Ivy (inks), Kelly Corvese (editor)

First Posted: 01/03/2004
Last updated: 01/03/2004

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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