Daredevil: Born Again Departs From White Tiger's Comic Book Origin In An Intriguing Way
Angela del Toro's journey to becoming a hero is a little different on the page.
One of the best parts about Daredevil: Born Again across two seasons so far is its aptitude for remixing storylines lifted from the comics in mostly clever ways (along with introducing its own intriguing creations). Season 1 opened with a gripping and emotionally challenging adaptation of The Trial of the Century (one of the best arcs from Brian Michael Bendis’ seminal early 2000s Daredevil run), the fallout of which directly leads into the show’s adaptation of Chip Zdarsky’s Mayor Fisk arc. Three episodes into Season 2, it looks like the show is already gearing up to adapt another piece of Bendis’ contributions to the character’s mythos.
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Daredevil Born Again Season 2, Episodes 2-3!
In Season 1 of Born Again, Hector Ayala, the original White Tiger vigilante, is murdered by the same crooked cops who would go on to make up Fisk’s Anti-Vigilante Task Force, the exact same night he was released from custody after Matt cleared him of a false murder charge. Hector’s niece, Angela Del Toro, rightly guesses who murdered her uncle, and after being saved from the serial murderer Muse by Daredevil, she becomes more convinced than ever of the necessity of costumed heroes. Finally, after the most recent episode, we see where that conviction leads her — having donned her uncle's mystical amulet, it seems obvious that Angela is being set up to become the next White Tiger, although with some big departures from her origin in the comics.
Who is Angela Del Toro in the Comics?
Angela's on a journey to adopting her uncle's mantle, but it'll look different from her 2004 origin.
Angela del Toro makes her first appearance in Daredevil Volume 2 Issue #58, as an FBI agent assigned to the investigation into Matt Murdock after his secret identity is leaked to the public. She receives Hector Ayala’s amulet (in the comics it's a relic from the mythical city of K’un-L’un, the adoptive home of Iron Fist) after he commits suicide by cop as a response to being declared guilty. And, after some prodding from Matt, she decides to put it on initially as an attempt to understand what drives people to vigilantism. After successfully stopping a robbery in progress and seeing the gratitude of the would-be victim, however, Angela fully becomes the new White Tiger and frequently teams up with Daredevil, Iron Fist, and even Spider-Man.
There's obviously a huge diversion from the comics, in that Angela del Toro on-screen is both not an FBI agent and much younger. But the show has already paid homage to her origin in the source material in a subtle, reworked way. While Matt is the one who convinces her to become the White Tiger on the page, in the TV show, Angela is the one who goads Matt into donning the mask again, similarly reminding him that the real purpose of his vigilantism is what it means to the people he helps.
Could White Tiger Join The Young Avengers?
This time around, Angela was the one to inspire Matt.
Even though Angela’s age doesn't match up to her comics counterpart, that might be an advantage for the MCU moving forward. There's actually another White Tiger after Angela — Ava Ayala, Hector’s younger sister, took up the mantle in 2011 as part of the short-lived Avengers Academy series, which followed a group of young heroes in training. It's highly likely that the writing team folded Angela and Ava into one character, and although there's no Avengers Academy equivalent right now, there are already several members of the Young Avengers running around in-universe. Who's to say the MCU’s version of Angela won't be one of them?
For now, it's clear at the very least that Angela is wearing her uncle’s amulet and considering the possibility of becoming a vigilante herself. Of course that decision would put her right at odds with Wilson Fisk’s ruthless AVTF, but that might be the perfect situation by which to get White Tiger’s first official team-up with the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. Where Angela ends up next or if she'll show up outside of Daredevil at all remains to be seen, but at this point it's obvious she'll have some role to play in the downfall of Wilson Fisk and hopefully she'll get to help bring her uncle’s murderers to justice.
