Hector Ayala finds ancient amulets and in donning them becomes the White Tiger, master of martial arts. The amulets produce a costume and he uses a masked persona to fight crime. Though he often gets mistaken for a criminal, it never stops him from doing what’s right.
Double Life
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Hector Ayala and his family eventually live in a South Bronx, New York apartment. He lives there with his parents Nestor and Maria, his older sister Awilda and his drug addict brother, Filippo. While Hector is unemployed and directionless, his father works three jobs to support the family. During this time, Hector falls into the mysterious legacy of the Tiger Amulets.
Untold years ago, the extradimensional realm K’un-Lun’s sorcerer-god Khan, AKA Master Khan, uses a Jade Tiger to ride between Earth and K’un-Lun. When the Tiger is stolen by Khan’s enemies, they sever its head and forepaws and use spells of concealment to prevent Khan from locating them. At some point thereafter, the head and forepaws are obtained by Chinese martial arts expert Master Kee, who makes them into the three Tiger Amulets. More than 50 years ago, Kee’s students wield the Tiger Amulets (or replicas thereof) in all-white full body uniforms, operating out of Kee’s Tiger Dojo in Chinatown, San Francisco. Less than a decade ago, Kee grants the amulets to three students in his New York Tiger Dojo—Lin Sun, Abe Brown and Bob Diamond—who become the Sons of the Tiger. After a number of heroic adventures, the Sons break up, primarily due to strife regarding Bob and Lin’s mutual attraction to later member Lotus Shinchuko. Following a violent confrontation, each member angrily discards his amulet in the alley outside the Sons of the Tiger Kung Fu School.
Happening across the discarded Tiger Amulets in the alley, Hector impulsively dons them and is transforms into the White Tiger, master of the martial arts. Costumed in all white and perhaps embodying the Jade Tiger’s spirit or those of the Tiger Amulets’ previous wearers, the White Tiger is initially a separate persona. The Tiger soon saves a train yard security guard from the Nomads street gang, defeating the elder Nomads member, but youthful would-be Nomad Manuel “Kid” Lopez shot at the Tiger as he tried to talk Lopez out of a life of violence. The Tiger dodges so the bullet strikes him in the shoulder rather than the chest, and the dazed guard inadvertently and fatally bludgeons Lopez before he could fire again or surrender. Angrily striking down the guard, the Tiger flees, and with the guard badly concussed, the Tiger is implicated in Lopez’s murder.
Fleeing to his apartment, the Tiger reverts back to being Hector, who is overcome by nausea due to addiction to the amulets, though he does not initially know the cause and is unaware of his dual identity. As his family worries he is becoming hooked on drugs like Filippo, the presence of Lopez’s blood on Hector’s radio (left behind during Hector’s nauseated panic) leads NYPD Detective Jimmy D’Angelo to Hector’s apartment. Not remembering where he had been when questioned, Hector flees the apartment and becomes the White Tiger again. He is soon attacked by the vengeful Hobie Brown, AKA Prowler, who had been Lopez’s Big Brothers support group sponsor. Eventually, the Prowler realizes the Tiger’s innocence and departs peacefully, while the recovering guard exonerates the Tiger in Lopez’s death.
Fearing his family would be against him for fleeing the police, Hector keeps his distance, but seeing the White Tiger in the newspaper and recognizing the Tiger’s amulets around his neck makes him realize his dual identity.
Ancient Amulets
The White Tiger’s amulets grant Hector enhanced strength, speed, coordination, agility, durability and healing, as well as martial arts mastery, and allow him to manifest his White Tiger costume; initially, the White Tiger is a separate persona of unrevealed origin, but Hector eventually learns of and merges with this persona when costumed
Hector’s transformation into the White Tiger or vice versa neutralizes toxins present in the other’s system and possibly heals wounds. Removal of the amulets sends Hector into a painful withdrawal period, though this lessens in severity over time.
Being a native of Puerto Rico, Hector speaks fluent Spanish as well as English having grown up in the South Bronx in New York City.
Fierce and Familiar Foes
Seeking to murder all Super Heroes in New York City, Gideon Mace targets Hector. Hector is nearly killed and recovers from the attack. White Tiger also battles the Miles Warren clone, AKA Carrion, Randy Vale, AKA Darter, Dr. Otto Octavius, AKA Doctor Octopus, Lightmaster, and the Masked Marauder.
Hector’s brother Filippo is not only a drug addict, but also leads a faction of the criminal Corporation. In a plot to kill White Tiger, Filippo tricks a teenage fan of White Tiger’s which results in her death. When Filippo goes up against White Tiger and his heroic friends, he commits suicide.
Family Ties and Heroic Allies
Hector grows up in close quarters with his parents, Nestor and Maria Ayala, his brother Filippo and two sisters, Ava Ayala and Awilda Ayala-Del Toro. His niece Angela Del Toro later takes up his White Tiger mantle and his sister Ava after that. Hector marries a woman named Soledad but she was not supportive when he is accused of killing a police officer.
Hector as White Tiger joins Nathaniel Alexander “Blackbyrd” Byrd, AKA Blackbyrd, D’Angelo and Jonathon Hart, AKA Jack of Hearts, in stopping Corporation agents’ assassination attempt on Jack. He also teams up with Blackbyrd, Detective D’Angelo, Jack of Hearts and martial arts experts Danny Rand, AKA Iron Fist, and Shang-Chi to go up against Hector’s brother, Filippo.
The first time Hector and Peter Parker, AKA Spider-Man, meet, Spider-Man thinks him a thief and they spar. But shortly thereafter Hector as White Tiger saves innocent bystanders leading Spider-Man to believe otherwise. During his time at college, Hector and Peter become close friends and occasionally fight crime together.
Hector teams up with Rick Rojatt, AKA Human Fly, and Matt Murdock, AKA Daredevil, against Copperhead and later with Daredevil and Spider-Man again when they battle doctor Octopus and his gang. Afterward, Hector hastily joins Defenders for a Day when the Defenders call for new members and alongside several other vigilantes he battles Libra villainous “Defenders” and quits after getting knocked out.
A Hero's Harrowing Story
Hector’s two personae initially struggled for dominance when he was soon assaulted by novice hero Jack of Hearts who mistook him for "El Tigre," believed to be the person responsible for Hart’s father’s assassination; in actuality, El Tigre was the name of the ship from which a faction of the criminal Corporation operated under the secret direction of Hector’s brother, Filippo. After a fierce struggle, Jack began to doubt the Tiger’s guilt and was injured taking the brunt of the impact as the two men fell off a building. Confronted again by D’Angelo alongside Awilda and private investigator and former policeman Nathaniel Alexander “Blackbyrd” Byrd, the Tiger was questioned regarding his connections to Hector Ayala and the Sons of the Tiger. Unmasking as Hector, but not knowing of the fate of the Sons of the Tiger, the White Tiger joined Blackbyrd, D’Angelo and a briefly revived Jack of Hearts in stopping Corporation agents’ assassination attempt on Jack; however, Awilda turned her back on Hector after seeing the violent battle. To help Jack, Hector joined D’Angelo and Blackbyrd in investigating South Bronx’s El Tigre bar. This led to one of Filippo’s agents manipulating 13-year-old Marguerita Yvette “Cheeky” Molina, a White Tiger admirer, in an effort to kill the White Tiger, which instead resulted in Cheeky’s death. Distraught by Cheeky’s death and the resultant riot against the White Tiger and the police, Hector was led by Filippo to the El Tigre ship under false pretenses, but soon realized the truth. Aided by D’Angelo, Blackbyrd, Jack of Hearts and martial arts masters Shang-Chi and Iron Fist, White Tiger confronted Filippo, who committed suicide following a harsh rejection from the notorious Fu Manchu. Hector subsequently was befriended by Sun, Diamond and Shinchuko, who invited him into the Sons of the Tiger. Hoping to unravel their alliance’s mysteries, Hector instead decided to go his own way, and the Sons went to search for Abe Brown.
Resolving to make something of himself, Hector enrolled in Empire State University’s night school; on his first day of class, however, the school announced its closure due to budget cuts. Believing the school could be saved if ESU sold the valuable manuscripts of scientist Abraham Erskine, Ethnic Studies Professor Ramon Vasquez impersonated the White Tiger and stole them from ESU’s library; Hector, meanwhile, arrived at the library to find members of the criminal Black Hand gang looking for the manuscript. While battling them, he accidentally struck innocent passer-by Peter Parker, giving the Black Hand time to flee. The Tiger also fled; Hector followed Vasquez back to his office and confronted him, but was subsequently attacked by Spider-Man, who believed Hector to be the thief. Ultimately, the Tiger’s heroic rescue of several bystanders convinced Spider-Man that the Tiger had been framed. Meanwhile, Vasquez confessed his crimes and Blackbyrd collared the Black Hand, clearing the Tiger’s name, and ESU decided to keep the night school open. Soon after, the Tiger aided the acrobatic Rick Rojatt, AKA Human Fly, and Daredevil in preventing Arthur Reynolds, AKA Copperhead, from stealing a valuable urn from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
At ESU, Hector befriended Parker, and romanced art student Holly Gillis. While on a date in the Coffee Bean, Hector and Holly were taken hostage by the Enforcers Fancy Dan, Montana, and Ronald Bloch, AKA Ox, to draw out Spider-Man. Spider-Man defeated the Enforcers, but when Hector departed the building after the fight, the Enforcers’ employer, Edward Lansky, AKA Lightmaster, concluded Hector was Spider-Man. Lansky abducted Hector, inadvertently blasting his amulets off. Holly gave the amulets to Peter to give to the police as evidence; recognizing them, Peter realized Hector was the White Tiger. While Lansky prepared to broadcast his triumph via local TV broadcasts, Spider-Man tracked him to his Long Island City hideout and gave Hector the amulets. As Lansky was about to reveal Hector as Spider-Man, Hector announced his true secret identity to the TV audience and the shocked Lansky. In the subsequent battle, Lightmaster overloaded the power grid, causing a blackout and dissipating his light-dependent energy form. Dismayed that Hector had not told her the truth about himself, Holly left him; however, Hector continued his war on crime despite his slipping grades and the protestations of his sister Awilda. The Tiger later took down Doctor Octopus while Spider-Man and Daredevil helped defeat Octopus’ gang. Emboldened by this, Hector impulsively joined the Defenders alongside several other vigilantes after an unauthorized Defenders documentary put out a call for new members; however, he and many of his fellow “Defenders for a Day” quit when they were felled by an uncontrolled psychic attack from Patsy Walker, AKA Hellcat, while battling the android Libra’s villainous “Defenders.”
After Peter’s apartment was ransacked by Carrion (Warren’s clone), Hector offered to let Peter stay at his place; however, their intended rendezvous was interrupted by Carrion, who knocked Hector out with his “dust of death.” Holly, who had come to apologize to Hector, dragged him to safety while Peter held off Carrion. Recovering, Hector began shadowing Peter as the Tiger, hoping to protect him from Carrion, but was attacked by Carrion’s minion Darter. The Tiger maneuvered Darter into colliding with Carrion, but was knocked out by Carrion, allowing the villain to abduct Spider-Man. Following Darter back to Carrion’s lair, the Tiger arrived too late to save Darter from Carrion’s wrath, and fled when his struggle with Carrion set the building on fire. Spider-Man eventually overcame Carrion and escaped. Holly and Hector reconciled and subsequently went on assignment with ESU establishing a mobile campus in poor neighborhoods.
Hector’s parents and sister were later massacred by deranged ex-Army colonel Gideon Mace’s men to draw out the Tiger as part of his plan to murder every Super Hero in New York City. Hector located Mace and defeated his men, but Mace gunned him down and left his nearly lifeless body in front of the Daily Bugle building. While Hector recovered in hospital, Spider-Man confronted Mace, who was fatally shot by his own men upon ordering them to shoot Spider-Man despite Mace being in the way. Healing via the amulets’ energies, Hector nonetheless realized his unhealthy mental and physical addiction to the amulets, and gave them to Blackbyrd to return to the Sons of the Tiger. Hector and Holly left to find someplace where nobody would know the White Tiger. Master Khan later reassembled his Jade Tiger and returned with it to K’un-Lun.
Hector’s relationship with Holly eventually ended, and he returned to New York, marrying a woman named Soledad. Years later, he somehow reacquired the amulets and became the White Tiger once more; unfortunately, two days into his renewed vigilante career, he stumbled into a botched pawn shop robbery that had resulted in the murder of a cop. While the perpetrators fled, the Tiger was discovered standing over the cop’s body and was charged with murder. Despite the media circus surrounding Hector’s case, fellow vigilantes Luke Cage and Iron Fist convinced Matt Murdock to be Hector’s lawyer. Murdock mounted a strong case, as there was no evidence tying Hector to the murder weapon, but the jury’s minds had already been made up, and Hector was convicted. As the verdict was read, Hector, unwilling to go to jail, grabbed a bailiff’s gun, fled the courtroom and was gunned down by the police on the courthouse steps; later, Murdock as Daredevil tracked down one of the real criminals (the actual killer having died of an overdose) and convinced him to confess, clearing Hector’s name. Hector willed the amulets to Awilda’s daughter, FBI agent Angela Del Toro, who began using them to fight crime as the new White Tiger. Later, after Angela retires from vigilantism, her aunt and Hector’s sister Ava took up the family legacy as the new White Tiger.
