Saturday, February 2, 2013

Latino Superheroes

In the past 10-15 years, comic book movies have become immensely popular.  One thing I have noticed, though, is a startling lack of Latino superheroes.  Can you name one?  So I decided to do some research, and discovered that, although Hollywood has not (yet) recognized Latino superheroes, they do exist in comic books.  Here's a brief introduction to some Latino superheroes:

From the DC Universe...


Aztek is the champion of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl.  He was briefly a member of the Justice League.


A member of the Teen Titans, the Blue Beetle is the alter-ego of Jaime Reyes.


El Diablo is the alter-ego of Rafael Sandoval, a member of the city council of Dos Rios, Texas.



A native of Peru, Extrano is a gay magician, and a member of Guardians of the Universe.


Fire is the alter-ego of Beatriz da Costa, a Brazilian mystic, and the president of the Brazilian branch of Wayne Enterprises.


Mas y Menos are twins from Guatemala who can move at super speeds, but only when they are in contact with each other.  Their battle cry is, "Mas y menos, si podemos!"  ("Plus and minus, yes we can!")



The Question is the alter-ego of former Gotham City police detective Renee Montoya.  She resigned from the department because she was disgusted by the corruption, and now she operates out of a lighthouse in North Carolina.  She is a lesbian.


Wildcat is the alter-ego of Mexican-American superhero Yolanda Montez.

From the Marvel Universe...


Formerly known as Arana, Spider-Girl is the alter ego of Anya Corazon.


Antonio Rodriguez was transformed into Armadillo after a freak experiment.


Darwin is the the alter-ego of half-African, half-Latino Armando Munoz.  Darwin appeared in the recent movie X-Men: First Class.  But he was killed off.


Echo, aka Maya Lopez, is an associate of Daredevil.


Firebird, aka Bonita Juarez, has pyrokinetic abilities.  She was once a member of The Avengers.


Rafael Carago was the lone survivor of a chemical attack on his hometown of Springdale, Pennsylvania.  He became Helix.


A former members of The Avengers West Coast, Miguel Santos, aka Living Lightning, is currently a member of a Texas-based super team, The Rangers.


After the death of Peter Parker, the mantle of Spider-Man was taken up by a half-black, half-Latino named Miles Morales.


A former student of Xavier's school, Sofia Mantega, aka Renascence, is a member of the New Mutants.  She was formerly known as Wind Dancer.


Reptil, aka Humberto Lopez, is a member of the Avengers Academy.


Risque, aka Gloria Dolores Munoz, is half Seminole Indian and half Cuban.


Silverclaw, aka Maria de Guadelupe Santiago, is the daughter of a South American volcano goddess.


Skin, aka Angelo Espinosa, was a former East LA gang member who faked his own death to leave that life and become a super hero.


Sunspot, aka Roberto de Costa, is a Brazilian mutant who can harness solar power.  He has been a member of both the X-Men and X-Force.


Tag (Brian Cruz) is a Puerto Rican mutant who is a member of the Hellions squad of Xavier's Institute.


Angel Salvatore (aka Tempest or Angel) was portrayed in the recent film X-Men: First Class.  She has insect-like wings and can fly.


Thornn (Lucia Callasantos) is from the X-Force comics.  She was one of the few Morlocks to sruvive the Mutant Massacre.


Victor Mancha is a cyborg whose father is the super villain robot Ultron.  His mother is a human named Marianella Mancha.  He is the only Latino member of the super group The Runaways.  


Angela del Toro is the fourth person to adopt the alter-ego White Tiger.  Her uncle, Hector Ayala, was the original White Tiger.

For a fairly complete list of Latino Superheroes, click HERE.