El Aguila

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caption=El Águila (Montoya)
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=El Águila
real_name=Alejandro Montoya
species=Human Mutant
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Power Man and Iron Fist" #58 (Aug 1979)
creators=Dave Cockrum and Mary-Jo Duffy [ [http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=17430&highlight=Aguila x-mencomics.com forum] ]
alliance_color=background:#cccccc
alliances=
aliases=The Eagle ("El Águila" in English), The Master, Flashing Sword of Justice
powers= Electrical generation,
Skilled fencer|

El Águila (Alejandro Montoya) is a fictional mutant character in the Marvel Comics Universe. El Águila is patterned after the literary hero, Zorro.Fact|date=May 2008

Publication history

El Águila made his first appearance in "Power Man and Iron Fist" #58 (August 1979). [ [http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/a/aguila.htm El Aguila] (marveldirectory.com)] The character made several subsequent appearances in the title, including issues #58 (August 1979), 65 (October 1980), 78 (February 1982), and 99-100 (February-March 1982). He appeared in "Marvel Super-Heroes: Contest of Champions" #1-3 (June-August 1982) and "Marvel Fanfare" vol. 2 #3 (July 1982), and after an appearance in "Marvel Comics Presents" #9 (December 1988) a few years later he was not seen for some time. He finally made a return with a cameo appearance in "G.L.A." #2 (July 2005), as well as "Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files" (2006) and "New Avengers" #18 (June 2006).

El Águila received an entry in the original "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe" #1, in the "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition" #1, and in the "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition" #12.

Controversy

The comics' rendition of El Águila's native Spain and its people is considered highly stereotypical and inaccurate by many Spanish readers.Fact|date=May 2008 This is due to the fact that the usual depiction of "Spanish" landscapes, cities and people in El Águila's exploits are evidently influenced by those in Zorro's (whose adventures were set in 19th Century California). This is made evident by the depiction of the highly populated present-day Madrid as a tiny village full of peasants and donkeys.

Fictional character biography

Alejandro Montoya was born in Madrid, Spain, and later moved to America. Upon discovering his mutant powers, Alejandro decided to use his unique abilities as a swashbuckler and costumed crime fighter, taking up the mantle of El Águila (The Eagle), an identity passed down by his ancestors. As El Águila, he preys upon drug dealers and criminals that take advantage of the poor and needy. He is not a certified law authority and is wanted by authorities.

Soon after launching his crime-fighting campaign against drug dealers, slumlords, brutal police, and other wrongdoers, Águila encountered Iron Fist, Power Man, and Misty Knight.Comic book reference | Writer = Mary Jo Duffy | Penciller = Trevor Van Eeden | Inker = Dan Green | Story = El Aguila Has Landed | Title = Power Man & Iron Fist | Issue = 58 | Date = August 1979 | Publisher = Marvel Comics | ] Águila aided Power Man and Iron Fist against female assassins out to kill Jeryn Hogarth.Comic book reference | Writer = Mary Jo Duffy | Penciller = Kerry Gammell | Inker = Ricardo Villamonte | Story = An Eagle in the Aerie | Title = Power Man & Iron Fist | Issue = 65 | Date = October 1980 | Publisher = Marvel Comics | ] He also battled Hawkeye while investigating Cross Technological Enterprises, when Hawkeye was serving as their head of security.Comic book reference | Writer = Charlie Boatner | Penciller = Trevor von Eeden | Inker = Joe Rubinstein | Story = Swashbucklers | Title = Marvel Fanfare vol. 1 | Issue = 3 | Date = July 1982 | Publisher = Marvel Comics | ] Águila teamed up with Power Man and Iron Fist to capture the Slasher, and fought the Constrictor.Comic book reference | Writer = Mary Jo Duffy | Penciller = Kerry Gammell | Inker = Ricardo Villamonte | Story = Slasher | Title = Power Man & Iron Fist | Issue = 99 | Date = February 1982 | Publisher = Marvel Comics | ] Alongside Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, he battled mercenaries working for Ward Meachum and fought Fera. He aided Power Man, Iron Fist, Colleen Wing, Bob Diamond, and Rafael Scarfe in an attempt to rescue Misty Knight and D.W. Griffith from captivity by Ward Meachum's mercenaries.Comic book reference | Writer = Mary Jo Duffy | Penciller = Kerry Gammell | Inker = Ricardo Villamonte | Story = Day of Dredlox | Title = Power Man & Iron Fist | Issue = 100 | Date = March 1982 | Publisher = Marvel Comics | ] He returned to Spain briefly on a request of his cousin Migdalia to save her village from the mutant Conquistador. ["Marvel Comics Presents" #9 (Dec 1988, "A Piece of Cake")]

Águila was confirmed to have been depoweredComic book reference | Writer = Brian Michael Bendis | Penciller = Mike Deodata Jr | Inker = Joe Pimentel | Story = The Collective Part 2 | Title = New Avengers | Issue = 18 | Date = June 2006 | Publisher = Marvel Comics | ] following the events of "M-Day." Though Alejandro now has no powers, he was still considered a "potential recruit" for the programComic book reference | Writer = Ronald Byrd & Anthony Flamini | Penciller = Scott Kolins | Inker = Scott Kolins | Story = | Title = Civil War: Battle Damage Report | Issue = 1 | Date = March 2007 | Publisher = Marvel Comics | ] because of his expertise in swordfighting and hand-to-hand combat.

Powers and abilities

Águila had the mutant power to generate electrostatic charges within his own body, and is able to discharge up to 100,000 volts through conductive metal. He most often uses his double-edged steel sword for this purpose, emulating his idol, Zorro. He is a skilled fencer with extaordinary swordsmanship skills, an excellent hand-to-hand combatant, and an excellent acrobat.

Predecessors

*In Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files", the first known Águila precursor was an Aztec hero known as both Cuauhtli and the "Eagle. He had the identity over 1000 years prior to Montoya.
*"Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files" also identifies the first Spanish speaking Águila to use the name. Not much is known of this Águila.
*Paco Montoya was the Águila of the Old West. He was a Spaniard and the brother of Enrique. He is Alejandro's ancestor. He disappeared in the 1880s but apparently perished in battle with Devadia's Tarantula in the 1890s. He first appeared in "The Original Ghost Rider Rides Again" #15 and appeared right through until issue #20. Also had an entry in the "Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files".
*A Delvadian friend of Paco Montoya took on the mantle of Águila after Montoya's death in the 1890s. First mentioned in "Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files".
*The son of the friend of Paco took the role of Águila after his father. He traveled to Spain in the 1930s to oppose the USSR-supported Loyalists. He clashed with and seemingly slew Captain Terror during the Spanish Civil War and eventually returned to Central America and settled in Oroco. He passed the title on to another. First mentioned in "Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files".
*In the 1950s, the mantle of Águila was taken on by another descendant while vacationing in the Sierra Madres during the mid-1950s. He encountered and defeated the Ambassador of Terror and vanished soon after while investigating a subterranean coral city beneath the Gulf of Mexico. First mentioned in "Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files".
*A Santo Rican, took the mantle of Águila in the 1970s and was an agent of their communist regime. First mentioned in "Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files".
*In the 1980s, the next "Águila" assisted the leftist freedom fighters in Terra Verde and was executed by Caridad's death squads. First mentioned in "Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files".

References

External links

* [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/aguilamontoyapaco.htm Paco Montoya bio]
* [http://marvel.com/universe/Aguila_%28Alejandro_Montoya%29 Aguila on the Marvel universe bio wiki]