Mighty Moments Celebrating Hispanic Latinx Heritage Month

Powering through with perseverance is part of the journey to becoming a bonafide super hero. This month Marvel celebrates Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month with characters who all have their fair share of mighty moments. With great power comes great responsibility, and for these super heroes, their power also lies in their ties to their heritage, as they preserve and build new legacies.

Hector Ayala

Hector Ayala became the first White Tiger after finding the Jade Tiger Amulets discarded by a group known as the Sons of the Tiger. The amulets gave Hector enhanced strength, speed, stamina, agility, and vast practical knowledge of martial arts. Still, the power was addictive and often made Hector sick when he took them off. 

As White Tiger, Hector used his powers to fight crime in his neighborhood. He would work with other super heroes, including Luke Cage, Danny Rand, Misty Knight, and Spider-Man—the two worked together frequently after discovering they had more in common both as super heroes and civilians.

Unfortunately for Hector, his time as White Tiger also brought him much pain as his family was murdered after his identity was revealed. He gave up the amulets after nearly dying but donned them again sometime later, only to be mistaken for killing a police officer after the actual assailant bested him and got away. He was wrongfully found guilty and died while fleeing the courthouse. 

Angela Del Toro

Angela Del Toro is the niece of Hector Ayala, the first White Tiger. Angela's uncle’s friends, Luke Cage, Danny Rand, and Misty Knight, often babysat her. After graduating with her master's in criminology and serving four years with the New York Police Department, Angela went on to join the FBI. When her uncle died, she inherited his White Tiger amulet.

At first, Angela was unsure of what to do with the amulets. Still, after a conversation with Daredevil and learning why he decided to be a hero, she chose to give heroics a try her own way, thus taking up the White Tiger mantle. Due to her inexperience, Angela found herself frequently injured; the amulet’s powers allowed her to heal from those injuries quickly. Angela was eventually slain by Lady Bullseye and then resurrected as a Hand assassin. After the events of Shadowland, she gave the Tiger Amulet to Ava Ayala.

Ava Ayala

Ava Ayala is the younger sister of the first White Tiger, Hector Ayala, and the aunt of Angela Del Toro, the second White Tiger. She is highly passionate about her heritage, ultimately deciding to honor her older brother’s legacy by donning the White Tiger amulets. Like Hector, she also has trouble controlling the power of the Tiger God dwelling within the amulet and is sometimes possessed by it.

As White Tiger, She enrolled into the Avengers Academy’s California-based Avengers Compound, receiving private lessons from Tigra to improve her combat prowess. Later Ava joined Luke Cage’s Heroes for Hire business as an intern. She soon after resigned because she had no genuine interest in being a hero for money.                                               

Miles Morales

Eleven months after Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales was bitten by an Oz-enhanced spider, he took on the role of Spider-Man shortly after the death of Peter Parker in the Ultimate Universe. Miles joined the Ultimates after impressing Captain America by helping subdue Hydra when they attacked the Triskelion during the events of the Super Hero Civil War. After the Secret Wars ended, Miles found himself on the newly formed Earth-616. He soon joined the Avengers and later became a founding member of the Champions with friends Ms. Marvel and Nova.

Anya Corazon (Spider-Girl)

Anya was born in Mexico and lived there until her mother died. She and her father immigrated to the United States, making Brooklyn, New York, their home. Anya later became a super-heroine after she gained powers when the sorcerer of the Spider Society, Miguel, transferred some of his ability to her to save her life. A symbiotic exoskeleton would emanate from the spider-shaped tattoo she received as a result of the energy transfer. She started going by Spider-Girl after she later lost her powers and then gained new powers similar to Spider-Man's.

Miguel O’Hara (Spider-Man 2099)

Miguel O’Hara hailed from Earth-928 and worked as the head of the genetics department for the Alchemax Corporation, specializing in genetic coding and splicing. Miguel chose to genetically cure himself of an addiction to Rapture, which his employer used to control employees. Due to a competitive coworker Aaron Delgato sabotaging his experiment, Miguel cured himself of his addiction to Rapture but gained spider-like powers. As Spider-Man of the year 2099, Miguel dedicates his life to protecting people from corporate corruption as Spider-Man.

America Chavez

America Chavez is an impulsive, no-nonsense super heroine with a genuine desire to do good and help others. Initially from an alternate reality, the Utopian Parallel, she found herself on Earth-616 after her two mothers sacrificed themselves to stabilize and save her home reality’s inhabitants. America’s powers include superhuman strength, speed, flight, invulnerability, and the ability to create star-shaped portals to other realities/dimensions with her kicks. She was recruited to join the Black Panther-funded super hero team Ultimates and later joined the West Coast Avengers.

Sam Alexander (Nova)

Sam Alexander, a teenager from Carefree, Arizona, believed his dad was a drunk because he would always share stories about his adventures in space and his time with the Nova Corps. Sam’s world was turned upside down when he learned of his father’s true legacy, and he was given his father’s Nova Corp helmet by Gamora and Rocket Raccoon. The Nova helmet gives Sam super strength, speed, energy projection and absorption, and the ability to create force fields. Sam is a member of the Nova Corps, Avengers, and the latest incarnation of the Champions team. He has also teamed up with his Dad to protect the galaxy and developed friendships with Uatu the Watcher and fellow young super heroes Kamala Khan and Miles Morales.

Robbie Reyes (Ghost Rider)

Robbie Reyes is a determined and talented mechanic with a fierce love for his younger disabled brother Gabe. Robbie’s plan to get them both out of East LA went fatally wrong for him and subsequently led to his resurrection by the Spirit of Eli Morrow into the supernatural being, Ghost Rider. As Ghost Rider, Robbie and his haunted 1969 Dodge Charger seek out and handle some of the darkest degenerate souls to walk the Earth, a deal he made with Eli Morrow to quench the vengeful spirits' bloodlust.

Rictor

Julio Esteban Richter is the mutant son of an arms dealer. His power to produce seismic waves manifested years after his father’s death and led to Julio being kidnapped by the criminal organization known as The Right. Their leader, Cameron Hodge, wanted to use Julio’s powers to destroy San Francisco. He was rescued by a group posing as mutant hunters and given a haven with them. As a member of X-Factor, Julio adopted the name Rictor. After M-Day, he joined X-Factor Investigations, and more recently, the newly formed Excalibur Team.

Now that you’re hopefully a little more familiar with the greatness of the first White Tiger to X-Factor's Rictor, you can keep the celebration of Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month going beyond September. Read these essential comic runs full of more marvelous moments from heroes who know what it takes to be super.