White Tiger | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Avengers Academy #20 (December 2011) |
Created by | Christos Gage Tom Raney |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Ava Ayala |
Species | Human mutate |
Team affiliations | Daughters of Liberty Avengers Academy Mighty Avengers Heroes for Hire S.H.I.E.L.D. |
Notable aliases | White Tiger |
Abilities |
|
White Tiger (Ava Ayala) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Christos Gage and Tom Raney, the character first appeared in Avengers Academy issue #20 (December 2011).[1] Ava Ayala is the fifth incarnation of White Tiger. She is the younger sister of Hector Ayala as well as the aunt of Angela del Toro.[2] The character has also been a member of the Mighty Avengers and the New Avengers at various points in her history.[3]
Ava Ayala debuted in the twentieth issue of the 2010 Avengers Academy series, created by writer Christos Gage and artist Tom Raney. She later appeared in the 2013 Mighty Avengers, by Al Ewing.[4] She appeared in the 2015 New Avengers series, by Al Ewing. She appeared in the 2021 and 2022 Marvel's Voices: Comunidades anthology series.[5][6][7][8][9]
Ava, the fifth White Tiger, is the sister of Hector Ayala and a student enrolled in the Avengers Academy. She inherited the White Tiger amulet from her brother and came to live with her sister Awilda's family after Gideon Mace killed her parents. Upon her introduction, Ava states the White Tiger is a family legacy that she intends to honor. She also criticizes classmate Reptil for not being more active in the Hispanic community.[10][11]
White Tiger joined the Avengers Academy students into fighting the Purifiers.[12]
During the Infinity storyline, White Tiger was seen with Heroes for Hire when they were seen preventing Plunderer's men from stealing robot parts. When the Superior Spider-Man (Doctor Octopus' mind in Spider-Man's body) stops Plunderer and considers the Heroes for Hire team as mercenaries, White Tiger quits the team and joins the Mighty Avengers.[13]
During the Inhumanity storyline, White Tiger bonded with Power Man where they discovered that they can combine their abilities to form a White Tiger Chi.[14] This combination was enough to destroy Shuma-Gorath.[15] White Tiger later repaid Power Man by transferring some of her chi into him to defeat Cerberus.[16] Power Man helped White Tiger when she tried to avenge her parents by killing Gideon Mace.[17] The rest of the Mighty Avengers showed up to prevent White Tiger from crossing the line.[18]
During the Secret Wars storyline, White Tiger goes to reconcile with her surviving family members. They are mad that she has chosen a violent lifestyle threaten to kill her if she does not leave.[19]
In the All-New, All-Different Marvel event, White Tiger appears as a member of Sunspot's incarnation of the New Avengers.[20]
Ava Ayala later fought with her niece Angela del Toro in Rome, during which their respective tiger gods and amulets are fused together.[21]
During the New Revengers' attack on the New Avengers at Avengers Base Two, Ava fought Angela again. As the two White Tigers fought, Ava managed to snatch the White Tiger amulet that Maker gave to Angela and destroys it to free Angela from the controls of the merged Tiger Gods and The Hand. They later help the New Avengers defeat the New Revengers and a rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who was hunting A.I.M.[22]
After defeating a rogue A.I.M. group, Ava and Angela discuss about their future, with Ava wondering who the Tiger God will choose to be the next White Tiger.[23]
The White Tiger amulet augments Ava Ayala's physical abilities to superhuman levels. Additionally, she possesses sharp claws and is trained in martial arts.[24]
Adam Barnhardt of ComicBook.com called Ava Ayala a "fan-favorite Avengers character," writing, "While mystical at heart, White Tiger has often found herself as one of the street-level characters Marvel fans have long hoped to see in live-action."[25] Evan Lewis of MovieWeb ranked Ava Ayala 6th in their "10 Female Characters the MCU Should Introduce in Future Phases" list, saying, "She would be refreshing and bring something new to the table."[26] Megan Nicole O'Brien of Comic Book Resources ranked Ava Ayala 8th in their "Every Member Of The Daughters Of Liberty" list,[27] Daniel Kurland while ranked her 15th in their "15 Obscure Marvel Characters Who Deserve Their Own Movie" list.[28] Jack Walters of Screen Rant called Ava Ayala the "White Tiger that most Marvel fans know and love from the comics."[29]
An alternate universe variant of Ava Ayala from Earth-11080 appears in Marvel Universe vs. The Avengers. This version is one of the last surviving students of the Avengers Academy following a virus outbreak. After she, Mettle, Veil, and Striker are infected, they begin wearing Doomstones to prevent it from taking over them before Ava is killed by an infected Red Hulk.[30][31]
Initial characters |
| ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Related series | |||||||||||
In other media |