Who is White Tiger In ‘Daredevil: Born Again’?

White Tiger as a mantle that has been taken by multiple characters in the comics. Daredevil: Born Again introduces this character into live action for the first time in the form of Hector Ayala.

Hector is played by Kamar de los Reyes who tragically passed away before the completion of the series.

White Tiger in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

White Tiger is initially introduced in episode 1. He’s shown in episode 1 on the TV during the bar scene at Josie’s. The headline reads: “White Tiger Busts Up Bodega Robbery.”. He beats up two robbers.

Daredevil: Born Again’s second episode introduces Hector Ayala. Hector gets to the subway station and finds two people beating up on some guy. He intervenes.

During the fight, one of the guys trips and falls into a moving train. The other guy reveals that he is a New York Police Department officer.

Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) finds Hector getting beat up by the cops and decides to represent him after he believes Hector’s story. As Cherry (Clark Johnson) tries to find out more about Hector, they find his White Tiger costume in his house.

Hector is set to be on trial in an upcoming episode of the series. Matt helps the witness of the assault escape from the cops who are after him.

What Are White Tiger’s Powers?

Hector himself as noted by the show doesn’t have any powers. However, he wears an amulet that gives him powers. It’s unclear how or where he got the amulet but it is a major part of him as a vigilante.

The power set in the comics are:

• Enhanced Strength
• Enhanced Speed
• Enhanced Agility
• Enhanced Senses
• Enhanced Durability

He’s got very similar powers to a super-soldier, or a Black Panther. It’s unclear if in the MCU the amulet gives him all these powers, but it is likely the same.

Hector Ayala in the Comics

Hector Ayala was introduced in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu issue #19. He was Marvel’s first Hispanic superhero. Like in the show, he is Puerto Rican.

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.

Source – marvel.com

The tiger is initially a separate entity that controls Hector while in his White Tiger uniform but Hector learns to control it eventually and merges with that entity to become one. It’s unclear if that is the story the MCU is going with or if there was never a separate entity.

One major difference is it sounds like the character in the MCU only has one amulet as it is referred as singular in the show, and in the comics it’s three amulets.

Other White Tigers

White Tiger has about five different incarnations, including Hector. Two of those are characters directly related to Hector.

The major names behind the mantle are Hector, Kasper Cole, Angela Del Toro, and Ava Ayala.

Kasper Cole was the White Tiger only by name. He impersonated Black Panther with no powers, he then ended up receiving the heart shape herb. He became White Tiger after this. He never had any amulet, so unlike the other White Tiger’s, he wasn’t quite the same.

Angela del Toro is perhaps the most popular character to don the costume. She’s the niece of Hector, and she inherits his amulets. Angela quit her job at the FBI in order to become the White Tiger. Ava Ayala was Hector’s sister. She also dons the mantle at one point.

Daredevil: Born Again stars Charlie Cox as Daredevil, Kamar de los Reyes as The White Tiger, Jon Bernthal as The Punisher, Vincent D’Onofrio as The Punisher, and Wilson Bethel as Bullseye. The first two episodes of the series are now streaming on Disney+, where you can check them out below:

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