[[{“value”:”
The highly anticipated return of Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), and co. is less than two months away from hitting TV screens worldwide with the series Daredevil: Born Again. While the trailer features the return of many familiar faces, it also shows glimpses of new heroes and villains that will be featured in the series. One of those fresh faces belongs to Hector Ayala aka the White Tiger, a New York City-based street-level hero, much like Spider-Man, Daredevil, and the other Defenders. But will this iteration of the White Tiger in Daredevil: Born Again be a hero like the comics, or a villain?
Who Is the White Tiger in Marvel Comics?
Hector Ayala debuted in the 1975 comic Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #19 by Bill Mantlo and George Pérez. Ayala was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which makes White Tiger the first Latin American superhero in Marvel Comics. Ayala came to America to attend college at Empire State University, where he stumbled upon three Jade Tiger amulets, comprised of the two front paws and head of a tiger. The amulets were originally worn by the Sons of the Tiger, a group of three martial artists who fought side-by-side to utilize the powers imbued within the amulets. The trio disbanded over a love triangle, throwing away the amulets in a trash can in an alley, where Ayala discovered them.
Unlike the Sons of the Tiger, the White Tiger dawns all three Jade Tiger amulets, granting Ayala superhuman abilities — including enhanced speed, agility, strength, durability, dexterity, stamina, the inherent mastery of martial arts with zero prior training, and accelerated healing. At first, the White Tiger is a separate entity that takes over Ayala’s body unknowingly, but eventually, he combines the two personas and becomes a distinguished crime-fighter. Ayala is forced to give up the mantle when his vigilante justice catches up with his loved ones, resulting in their deaths. Tragically, Ayala becomes addicted to the power the amulets granted him, and shortly after he returns to his crime-fighting ways, he is framed for murder. Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, ends up being his defender, but after he is wrongly convicted as guilty, he is gunned down in front of the courthouse.
Related
Who Is Muse? ‘Daredevil: Born Again’s Baddie in the White Mask, Explained
Get ready for a blood-soaked season of television.
That is not the end of the White Tiger legacy, as the White Tiger mantle lived through various incarnations in the comics. The second version of the White Tiger was created by Roger Stern and Pascual Ferry in Heroes for Hire #1 in 1997. Strangely enough, this version didn’t have a name because she was a white Bengal tigress who was evolved into a human woman by the High Evolutionary. She eventually joined forces with Iron Fist as a member of Heroes for Hire, but there was no relation to the amulets at all since her abilities came from her bestial origins. The third White Tiger was Kevin “Kasper” Cole, who debuted in Black Panther Vol. 3 #50 in 2002, created by Dan Fraga and Christopher Priest. Cole was a police officer who impersonated the Black Panther when he discovered his costume. Later on, he becomes the White Tiger of the Panther Cult, under Erik Killmonger, who gifts him a synthetic version of the heart-shaped herb, conferring superhuman abilities to match his new Vibranium suit.
The amulet saga of the White Tiger continues with Angela Del Toro, Hector’s niece, inheriting the amulets after Hector’s death in Daredevil (1998) #58 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev in 2004. Angela quits her job as an FBI agent to master the amulets and even trains under the tutelage of Daredevil. Angela also suffers a tragic fate, as she is killed by the Hand and resurrected to become their servant. Hector’s youngest sister, Ava Ayala, is the most recent addition to the White Tiger lineage, debuting in Avengers Academy #20 in 2011, created by Christos Gage and Tom Rane. Ava wants nothing more than to carry on the legacy her brother started as a Latin superhero. She eventually holds her own against the likes of She-Hulk, Luke Cage, and plays a role in Secret Wars, which the Marvel Cinematic Universe could follow suit by carrying on the White Tiger mantle in the future. Daredevil: Born Again will be introducing the original version of the White Tiger, Hector Ayala, played by the late Kamar de los Reyes.
How Will ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Adapt the White Tiger?
While there are only a few shots of Hector Ayala in the trailer for Daredevil: Born Again, there seem to be some key differences from his comic counterpart. Fans get a glimpse of his live-action suit, which appears hand-made, but the shot also shows off one of the Jade Tiger amulets, not all three of them — hinting that the series may be toning down his powers a bit if he has powers at all. The footage also displays Ayala viciously throwing someone in front of a train, which is a stark comparison to his comic iteration, who is always wrongfully framed for crimes he did not commit.
It is very possible we will see Hector Ayala as a defendant of Matt Murdock, just like in the comics, as we’ve seen Matt Murdock’s role in the MCU primarily defending high-profile super-powered clients, with, of course, his biggest client to date being Peter Parker (Tom Holland) in the events that took place in Spider-Man: No Way Home. If this version of the White Tiger falls to a similar fate as he did in the comics, there’s a high probability the mantle will be passed on to carry on its legacy in the future of the MCU.
Daredevil: Born Again will premiere on Disney+ on March 4 in the U.S.
“}]] The White Tiger mantle has a deep history in Marvel Comics. Read More