White Tiger (Hector Ayala)

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caption=
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=White Tiger
real_name=Hector Ayala
species=
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Deadly Hands of Kung Fu" #19 (Dec 1975)
creators=Bill Mantlo and George Pérez
alliance_color=background:#c0c0ff
alliances=Sons of the Tiger
aliases=El Tigre Blanco
powers=|

White Tiger is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe.

Publication history

White Tiger first appeared in "Deadly Hands of Kung Fu" #19 (December1975), and was created by Bill Mantlo and George Pérez.

The character subsequently appears in "The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu" #20-24 (January-May 1976), #26-27 (July-August 1976), #29-32 (October 1976-January 1977), "The Spectacular Spider-Man" #9-10 (August-September 1977), "Human Fly" #8-9 (April-May 1978), "The Spectacular Spider-Man" #18-21 (May-August 1978), "The Defenders" #62-64 (August-October 1978), "The Spectacular Spider-Man" #22-23 (September-October 1978), #25-26 (December 1978-January 1979), #29-31 (April-June 1979), #51-52 (February-March 1981), "Spidery Super Stories" #57 (March 1982), "Thunderbolts" #8 (November 1997), "Daredevil" #38-40 (December 2002-February 2003), "The Crew" 33 (September 2003), and "Daredevil" #69 (March 2005).

White Tiger received an entry in the original "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe" #14. He appeared as part of the "Sons of the Tiger" entry in the "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition" #12. White Tiger received his own entry in the "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition" #11.

Fictional character biography

Hector Ayala was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. As a college student at New York's Empire State University,cite book | last = Sanderson | first = Peter | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Marvel Comics Guide to New York City | publisher = Pocket Books | date = 2007 | location = New York City | pages = 30-33 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 1-14653-141-6] he discovered the tiger amulets that were formerly worn by the Sons of the Tiger. Donning all three amulets, he transformed into the superhuman White Tiger. He discovered that wearing all the pendants at once increased his strength and provided him and gave him nearly superhuman skill in the martial arts.

In his alter-ego, Ayala fought foes such as the Corporation crime cartel and teamed with heroes including Daredevil and Spider-Man. After many years of fighting crime and nearly being killed, having his secret identity publicly exposed by the villainous Lightmaster and gaining an unhealthy psychological and physical addiction to the tiger amulets, Hector eventually abandoned his identity as the White Tiger. He gave the amulets to a private detective named Blackbyrd, who returned them to the Sons of the Tiger. [Spectacular Spider-Man #52]

After a while, the call to don the amulets and fight evil became too strong and Hector once again became the White Tiger. Soon after, Hector was framed for murder and convicted despite the efforts of his lawyer, Matt Murdock (a.k.a. Daredevil). Ayala was shot dead trying to escape, shortly before evidence emerged that belatedly proved his innocence.

Angela Del Toro, Hector’s niece and an FBI agent, inherited the Jade Tiger amulets. Angela quit the FBI to understand the amulets, and was trained in the use of their powers by Daredevil, becoming the latest person to assume the White Tiger identity.

Other versions

House of M

Hector appears in the House of M. He is captured by the Brotherhood, who threaten his family. He sends his family to South America and sends, in the mail, his amulet to Angela Del Toro. ["House of M: Avengers" #3]

References