Buenos días, amigos! Hoy estoy introduciendo de esta semana Z-Lister! For those of you with your subtitles turned off, I'm introducing this week's Z-Lister! Not only is he one of Marvel Comic's greatest martial artists, but this legacy hero also happens to be the first Puerto Rican superhero in mainstream comics. Please welcome, El Tigre Blanca! The White Tiger!
Created in 1975's "Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu", Hector Ayala was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He studied at Empire State University and it was there he discovered three mysterious tiger amulets. After he put these amulets on, his body became enriched with superpowers and Hector became The White Tiger. The three amulets Hector had found belonged to ancient warriors known as The Sons of the Tiger, who discarded the amulets because of their overwhelming power. These powers enhanced Hector's strength, speed, agility, durability, and much more. The amulets also transferred all the martial arts knowledge of the Sons to Hector, making him a master martial artist. White Tiger would go on to team up with heroes like Spider-Man, Iron Fist and Daredevil. The power of the amulets would cause physical and psychological addictions for Hector and he-after being nearly killed-decided to return the amulets to The Sons and live a normal life. This wasn't permanent as Hector lusted for the amulets once more. He re-donned the White Tiger persona, but his violent tendencies got him accused of murder. Defense Attorney Matt Murdock-the alter ego of Daredevil-tried to defend Hector, but failed to find the evidence needed to prove Hector innocent. While trying to escape conviction, Hector was shot and killed. It was only after Hector's death that Murdock could find proof of him being innocent of murder. The White Tiger mantle would eventually belong to Hector's younger sister Ava Ayala, using the amulets to avenge her brother's wrongful death.
You couldn't tell by looking at him, but White Tiger has strong roots to his heritage. In many stories, Hector has been shown to have a large family similar to real Hispanic families. I myself am Puerto Rican, if the Halloween pictures didn't tip you off. It is nice to see a character of hispanic nationally represented like White Tiger was. Yes, he eventually descended into madness, but I'd rather a racially diverse character be treated like any other character than get special treatment for being the token minority. As the legacy of White Tiger continues through Ava, I can only hope the future of the character and others like him shows potential. No digo mas, gracias por leer!
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