With the return of Matt Murdock as Daredevil to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the revival series Daredevil: Born Again now out on Disney+, it’s the perfect time to look at one of the series new additions, Hector Ayala aka the White Tiger. This is The White Tiger in the MC2.
First some of the basics: created by Bill Mantlo and George
Perez, Hector Ayala first appeared in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #19
from 1975, where he becomes the White Tiger. Strap in for some
pre-history! First appearing in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1, Abraham
‘Abe’ Brown, Lin Sun and Robert Diamond were
martial artists trained by Master Kee in San Francisco.
When their master is slain, the three set out to avenge him, each wearing one
of the three Jade Tiger Amulet pieces (originating from K’un
Lun) as the Sons
of the Tiger. Eventually, the Sons would part ways and
all three of their Amulet pieces were used by Hector Ayala to
become the White Tiger, though the trio would occasionally reunite
and work alongside the likes of Luke
Cage, Iron Fist and
the Daughters of the Dragon, Misty
Knight and Colleen Wing.
Hector becomes a student at Empire State
University where he became friends with Peter
Parker, secretly the fellow superhero Spider-Man
and the two share several adventures together including confronting the villainous
Carrion
(Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #9 - #10). After his
identity becomes public, Hector’s family are murdered when he is
targeted by the maniacal Gideon Mace, causing him to permanently retire as
the White Tiger (#20 - #21, #49 - #52).
The White Tiger makes his solitary appearance in
the MC2 in a story written by Tom Defalco and
pencilled by Ron Lim from J2 #11. When American
Dream of the Avengers turns
down an invitation to participate in a martial arts contest, J2 aka Zane Yama takes
it upon himself to attend in her place. Travelling via mystical amulet to a
small island, J2 meets the (apparently) blind Howard
the Duck, the self-proclaimed Master of Quack-Fu.
From Howard we learn that a few dozen of
the world's greatest martial artists were invited to the contest, but only a
few of the previous generation's 'old fogies' showed up. Among these ‘old
fogies’ is Shang-Chi,
sparring with Shen Kuei aka Cat. Other characters
glimpsed include Iron Fist,
the Sons
of the Tiger and Hector Ayala aka the White
Tiger.
Suspecting a trap, Howard had hoped
to stack the deck in his favour with American Dream, Stuck
with J2 instead, Howard attempts to train the
big lug to defend himself but has no success. When J2 reverts
back to Zane Yama after his powers temporarily wear off, he
encounters Blind Al. Concerned for Zane's well-being
in the upcoming contest, Al attempts to get past Weasel to
talk to the mystery person who organised the contest: Wade Wilson aka Deadpool.
Having followed Blind Al, Zane learns
the contest will have a deadly ending. Encountering Deadpool, Zane turns
back into J2 to duke it out with the mercenary. Deadpool reveals
he set up the contest to alleviate his boredom. Having overheard his
plans, Shang-Chi, Iron Fist, White Tiger, Cat and
the Sons of the Tiger proceed to kick Wade’s butt
off-panel.
While that’s it for White Tiger in the MC2, it
does offer a more hopeful fate for Hector when compared to his Main
Marvel Universe counterpart. There is the small question of how and when Ayala
regained the Jade Tiger Amulet after sending it back to the Sons of
the Tiger, but it’s not like that was addressed in the Main Marvel
Universe either.
Until I have my entire family killed only to have more
previously unmentioned family members take up my mantle after I’m killed, I
remain
frogoat