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White Tiger Reading Order (Hector Ayala, Angela del Toro, and Ava Ayala)

In 1974, Marvel Comics was in the business of publishing magazines. One of them was The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, a black-and-white martial arts comics magazine that introduced in its first issue The Sons of the Tiger, a trio of crime fighters. Created by Gerry Conway and Dick Giordano, these characters each possessed an amulet (a tiger’s head and two tiger claws) that increased their fighting skills.

But this didn’t last and after many adventures, the three sons call it quits and throw away their amulets. However, in The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #19, an issue from writer Bill Mantlo and artist George Pérez, they are found by a young Puerto Rican named Hector Ayala who combined them and gained the power that transformed him into the hero called White Tiger!

Like the three sons, Hector Ayala used martial arts but acted like a more traditional superhero with a costume and a secret identity. With The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #33, the comics magazine ended, and the black-and-white adventures of White Tiger with it (his ended in #32 though). A few months later, he made his comeback, in color this time, in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #9 written by Bill Mantlo who kept using the character that way.

During his time next to Spidey, Hector’s real identity is made public and he becomes a celebrity, showing Peter Parker why having a secret identity is primordial. Still, the two heroes fight together multiple times, until he and his girlfriend Holly are written out of the title, sent to the South Bronx, and not seen for more than a year. When he came back, it was a dark story that led him to renounce the amulets. Hector eventually resurfaced a few years later in Daredevil #38 (2002) and this ended tragically for him.

This was not the end for White Tiger. As it happens at Marvel Comics, multiple heroes have used this name after Hector lets the amulets go. Some were not connected to Hector, but in recent years, it was members of his family (Angela del Toro and Ava Ayala) who took up the mantle.

White Tiger Reading Order

Where to Start Reading White Tiger Comics?

It depends on what you are searching for. You can go with the original, Hector Ayala, who was mostly a supporting character for Spider-Man. Then came Hector Ayala’s niece, Angela del Toro. She was also mainly a supporting character in Bendis and Maleev’s Daredevil run but got her own miniseries at some point. Finally, there is Ava Ayala, the youngest sister of Hector Ayala, created by writer Christos Gage and artist Tom Raney in Avengers Academy #20. She’s still the one in activity.

Two other White Tigers exist in the Marvel Comics Universe. In fact, the second character to use the name was a creation of the supergenetist High Evolutionary. Then there was Kasper Cole, a biracial (Jewish and African-American) NYPD police officer working in Harlem, who was introduced during Christopher Priest’s run on Black Panther. Their stories are not linked to Hector and his family, or the White Tiger amulet.

White Tiger Comics: The Hector Ayala Era

No need to reintroduce Hector Ayala’s story, just read the introduction of this article if you skipped it. Hector’s adventures started in the black-and-white The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu magazine that has been collected in recent years:

Then, Hector Ayala’s White Tiger joined the color world of the Spectacular Spider-Man, starting with issues #9 and 10 before taking a break. He came back and was a recurring character in the series from issue #18 to #32.

Those stories have also been collected in the Spectacular Spider-Man Masterworks collection (The Marvel Epic Collection doesn’t cover this part yet, but this will come soon).

Hector came back in Spectacular Spider-Man #49-52 for his final adventures as White Tiger.

His story didn’t end there though, as he made a comeback in Daredevil two decades later–in Daredevil (1998) #38-40.

This was the end of Hector Ayala’s story.


White Tiger Comics: The Angela del Toro Era

Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev in Daredevil (Vol. 2) #58 (2004), Angela del Toro is an FBI agent and the niece of Hector Ayala. After he died, she inherited the mystical White Tiger Amulets. One of her main struggles was dealing with honoring her uncle’s legacy. She mainly worked with Daredevil, battling against organized crime and attempting to find her place in the superhero community.

Most of Angela del Toro’s apparitions, as White Tiger or just as herself, were in the Daredevil comics. She was heavily recurring at a time–she appeared in Daredevil (1998) #58-70, then 77-79.

After the end of Bendis & Maleex’s run, Angela del Toro’s status changed, disappearing from the Daredevil comics for a while, but she got her own limited series written by Tamora Pierce and Timothy Liebe with art by Phil Briones. That’s when she finally got her own White Tiger costume.

After that, Angela del Toro came back in the Daredevil Comics (starting with issue #113), now written by Ed Brubaker. Her story took an important turn that led her to play a part in the Shadowland storyline by Andy Diggle and Billy Tan.

Following the events of Shadowland, Angela del Toro was no longer White Tiger. However, she made a comeback five years later, facing off with the new White Tiger during the Civil War II event (see below).


White Tiger Comics: The Ava Ayala Era

Created in Avengers Academy #20 (2011) by Christos Gage and Tom Raney, Ava Ayala is the youngest member of the Ayala family, the little sister of Hector and the aunt of Angela del Toro. Her story diverges from the others as she joins the Avengers Academy to learn to hone her abilities and work as part of a team.

After that, White Tiger joins the Mighty Avengers led by Luke Cage.

The Secret Wars put an end to the Marvel Comics Universe which was relaunched as part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel publishing initiative. Ava Ayala is still White Tiger and still an Avenger. In fact, she joins Sunspot’s incarnation of the New Avengers.

As it is shown in New Avengers #7, Angela del Toro is still facing the consequences of what she went through during the Shadowland event when the Maker comes to her with an offer she can’t refuse (a new Amulet!). During the Civil War II event, we learn what has happened as she faces her aunt, Ava Ayala.

For a while, there was no White Tiger in circulation, but Ava Ayala finally resurfaced in Ta-​Nehisi Coates’s Captain America #7-9 as a member of the Daughters of Liberty, a group of women crime fighters, but she’s more a background character here, also in issue #29. However, she soon has a real team-up with Cap in issues #13-14.

As a Latina superheroïne, White Tiger recently appeared in short stories that are collected in the anthology Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades (Community).

Still mostly absent from the regular Marvel line, White Tiger was the star of two issues (#78-79) in the digital series Marvel’s Voices Infinity Comic.

That’s it for now!

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