Ava Ayala White Tiger

Created by Christos Gage and Tom Raney, the character first appeared in Avengers Academy issue #20 (December 2011). 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.

White Tiger
Ava Ayala (right) and Julie Power (left) on the cover of Avengers Academy #24 (January 2012).
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	Superhuman strength, speed, agility, durability, stamina, and senses Regenerative healing factor Razor sharp claws

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. She appeared in the 2015 New Avengers series, by Al Ewing. She appeared in the 2021 and 2022 Marvel's Voices: Comunidades anthology series.

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. She also criticizes classmate Reptil for not being more active in the Hispanic community. She has been living with her sister Awilda's family since the death of her parents.

White Tiger joined the Avengers Academy students into fighting the Purifiers.

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 ends up quitting the team. She later joined up with the Mighty Avengers.

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. This combination was enough to destroy Shuma-Gorath. White Tiger later repaid Power Man by transferring some of her chi into him. This combination event took out Cerberus where Power Man and White Tiger called it their "New York Tiger-Style Kung Fu." Power Man helped White Tiger when she tried to avenge her parents by killing Gideon Mace. The rest of the Mighty Avengers showed up to prevent White Tiger from crossing the line.

During the "Last Days" part of the Secret Wars storyline, White Tiger goes to reconcile with her surviving family members. They are mad that White Tiger has chosen a life that has led to so much death and threaten to kill her if she does not leave.

As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel event, White Tiger appears as a member of Sunspot's incarnation of the New Avengers.

Ava Ayala later fought with her niece Angela del Toro in Rome. During the fight, the Tiger God from Ava's amulet merged with the Tiger God from Angela's amulet, which was absorbed into it.

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.

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.

The White Tiger amulets augment Ava Ayala's strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, reactions, coordination, balance, and endurance to superhuman levels. It also endow her with formidable martial arts skills. The amulets can enhance her recuperative powers. She has the ability to blend in with her surroundings, using the amulets to camouflage herself. Additionally, Ava Ayala has razor sharp claws.

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."

Marvel Universe vs. The Avengers

An alternate version of Aya Ayala appears on Earth-11080. Ava Ayala was one of the remaining four survivors of the Avengers Academy, along with Mettle, Veil, and Striker. While each of them are infected, Ava, along with the remaining Avengers and students wear a Doomstone collar that prevents the virus from taking hold of them fully, while discussing Doctor Doom's motives. After it was revealed that the Doomstones allow the wearer to maintain their humanity, Doom activates the Doomstone, turning it red and allowing the virus to take over. Ava was among those killed while in a fight with the infected Red Hulk and the remaining infected students.

Television

• Ava Ayala / White Tiger appears in Ultimate Spider-Man, voiced by Caitlyn Taylor Love. This version is a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s training program for teenage superheroes along with Spider-Man, Iron Fist, Power Man and Nova. Additionally, she has history with Kraven the Hunter, who killed her grandfather and father, both previous White Tigers, for their familial amulet, which she inherited. However, her powers also have the risk of making her more aggressive and cat-like, which she constantly works to suppress. In the third season, she becomes a member of the New Warriors.
  • An alternate universe incarnation of Ava appears in the episode "Return to the Spider-Verse" Pt. 1, voiced by Cree Summer. This version is a vampire loyal to the Lizard King until Spider-Man, Kid Arachnid, and Blood Spider use a Siege Perilous fragment to cure the villain's victims.
• Aya Avala / White Tiger appears in Spidey and His Amazing Friends, voiced by Kylie Cantrall.

Video games

• Ava Ayala / White Tiger appears in Disney Infinity 2.0 and Disney Infinity 3.0, voiced by Courtnee Draper.
• Ava Ayala / White Tiger appears in Marvel: War of Heroes.
• Ava Ayala / White Tiger appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel's Avengers, voiced again by Caitlyn Taylor Love.
• Ava Ayala / White Tiger appears as a playable character in Marvel Future Fight.
• Ava Ayala / White Tiger appears in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.
• Ava Ayala / White Tiger appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2, voiced by Skye Bennett.
• Ava Ayala / White Tiger appears in Marvel Snap.