White Tiger (Ava Ayala)


White Tiger 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. 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. The character has also been a member of the Mighty Avengers and the New Avengers at various points in her history.
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Publication history

Ava Ayala debuted in the twentieth issue of the 2010 Avengers Academy series, and was created by writer Christos Gage and artist Tom Raney. She later appeared in the 2013 Mighty Avengers, by Al Ewing. She appeared in the 2015 New Avengers series, by Al Ewing. She appeared in the 2021 and 2022 Marvel's Voices: Comunidades anthology series.

Fictional character biography

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 following the death of her family members at the hands of Gideon Mace. Upon her introduction, Ava states the White Tiger is a family legacy that she intends to honor.
During the Infinity storyline, White Tiger and Heroes for Hire thwart Plunderer's plan to steal robot parts. When the Superior Spider-Man stops Plunderer and considers the Heroes for Hire team as mercenaries, White Tiger quits the team and joins the Mighty Avengers.
During the Inhumanity storyline, White Tiger bonds with Power Man and the two discover that they can combine their abilities to form a White Tiger Chi. White Tiger attempts to avenge her parents by killing Gideon Mace, but the rest of the Mighty Avengers stop her from doing so.
During the Secret Wars storyline, White Tiger attempts to reconcile with her surviving family members. They are angered that she has chosen a violent lifestyle and threaten to kill her if she does not leave.
In the All-New, All-Different Marvel event, White Tiger joins Sunspot's incarnation of the New Avengers.
Ava later battles her niece Angela del Toro in Rome, during which their respective tiger gods and amulets merge. During the New Revengers' attack on the New Avengers at Avengers Base Two, Ava battles Angela again, destroys her amulet, and frees her from the Tiger God's influence. The two 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. After defeating a rogue A.I.M. group, Ava and Angela discuss their future, with Ava wondering who the Tiger God will choose to be the next White Tiger.
While attempting to reconnect with the Tiger God, Ava is visited by Hector's ghost, who appears to her in agony. Ava believes that there is more to their parents' murder and returns to their place of death to investigate, believing that it would put Hector's ghost to rest. However, D'Spayre reveals himself to be controlling Hector and uses Hector's and Ava's combined grief to take a physical form. Without the amulets' power, Ava is nearly overwhelmed by D'Spayre, but finds herself in the Tiger God's realm and reunites with the freed Hector. The Tiger God makes Ava his permanent host, which allows her to use her powers without her amulet and enables her to destroy D'Spayre.

Powers and abilities

The White Tiger amulet augments Ava Ayala's physical abilities to superhuman levels. Additionally, she possesses sharp claws and is trained in martial arts.
After becoming a permanent host of the Tiger God, Ava became able to use her powers without the tiger amulet. She gained the ability to generate a mystical green aura which she can use to enhance her attacks, particularly infusing it with her claws.

Reception

Critical response

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." 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." Megan Nicole O'Brien of Comic Book Resources ranked Ava Ayala 8th in their "Every Member Of The Daughters Of Liberty" list, Daniel Kurland while ranked her 15th in their "15 Obscure Marvel Characters Who Deserve Their Own Movie" list. Jack Walters of Screen Rant called Ava Ayala the "White Tiger that most Marvel fans know and love from the comics."

Other versions

An alternate universe version 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.

In other media

Television

Video games