Angela Del Toro

Origin

As a child, Angela was babysat by Luke Cage and Danny Rand, friends of her uncle, Hector Ayala. She considered them "uncles" and still does. She also found a surrogate aunt in Misty Knight. Angela earned a degree in political science and a master's in criminology. She initially served four years with the New York Police Department until recommended by her superiors as a candidate for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She graduated Quantico at the top ten percent of her class. Angela inherited the White Tiger amulet from her uncle Hector. She was uncertain what to do with It. Angela requested assignment to the team investigating lawyer Matthew Michael Murdock, suspected of being Daredevil. She actually wanted to find out why he acted as a hero.

Character Creation

Angela Del Toro was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. She first appeared in Daredevil #58.

Character Evolution

Angela started out as a character that was very unsure of herself and her abilities. When granted the White Tiger amulet she wasn't sure what it meant to be a hero, and she needed Daredevil to explain to her why he did it. Once Daredevil explained his reason for being a hero to her she attempted to carry out heroics on her own; however, due to her inexperience she ends up getting herself hurt quite a bit. She's always getting injured, but thanks to her White Tiger amulet she heals at an increased rate. This is not enough though, as she eventually is killed by Lady Bullseye. Later on she was resurrected by the Black Hand and brought back as an assassin.

Major Story Arcs

She and her partner Harold Driver questioned "Sano Ren"/Sano Orii of the Yakuza concerning his recent fight with Murdock. He claimed to be attacked by an unknown assailant while exiting a diner. The agents grew frustrated and promised to charge him for carrying concealed weaponry. Angela and Harold had to watch Sano and his gang let free. Recently partnered and still getting to know each other, the duo discussed how to handle the situation. Angela suggested contacting Daredevil for help but Harold refused to even consider it. He expected the Yakuza to back off for a while, giving them time to handle the Murdock case. However Sano had ordered a hit on the two FBI agents and Harold was killed in a drive-by shooting. Angela managed to avoid getting shot. Daredevil defeated Sano and had the police notify Angela.

Daredevil had become the self-declared Kingpin of crime following his defeat of Wilson Fisk. Jigsaw approached Murdock, trying to cut a deal with him. Murdock insisted on the facade of not being Daredevil and had Angela arrest Jigsaw. Angela investigated the murder of Slick Saul, a strip club owner. Amber, one of the strippers, helped identify the killer as Alexander Bont, a former mob boss who had recently been released from prison.

Angela dropped the pretense and visited Murdock at his home, directly asking him his reasons for being a hero. She revealed the White Tiger amulet to him. Angela confessed on her plans of leaving the FBI and possibly acting as a new White Tiger. But she was still confused and asked Murdock for answers. He agreed to meet her at night on the roof of a local church, challenging to find her own way up there. She put on the amulet, transforming to the White Tiger for the first time. She climbed on the roof and was led by Daredevil in jumping from roof to roof. He then challenged her to a sparring session. Before having a chance to accept or decline, Angela found herself having to evade a series of blows. She soon realized the amulet had increased her agility. She was knocked down by her sparring partner but just kept on sparring. Meanwhile Daredevil explained the history of the amulet. She at last managed to land a blow on her sparring partner but still was confused about his motivation. He instructed her to stop a gas station robbery. She shot one of the robbers with her gun and knocked the other one out with her fists, ending the robbery. The store manager thanked her. Daredevil explained that was the reason he acted the hero, helping people out. The account was given in flash-back pages.

Murdock had been abducted by Bont and Gladiator/Melvin Potter. Angela investigated and managed to track the three men down. She appeared just as Melvin was about to kill Matt. She engaged Gladiator in combat, preventing him from killing Murdock. Murdock and Bont fought each other, the conflict ending with Bont succumbing to a heart attack. Gladiator surrendered and Angela arrested him. Angela learned that prisoner Wilson Fisk was offering evidence confirming Murdock as Daredevil in exchange for a federal pardon. She confronted Leland Drummond, director of the FBI, who was negotiating the deal. She was disgusted to find out Leland was perfectly willing to let Fisk free. The verbal argument ended with her resignation as an agent. The official reasons for her resignation were "medical retirement, stress-related job disability". Leland ensured Angela would not receive a pension.

Angela learned the Kingpin's evidence on Daredevil were held in the office of lawyer Sam Baruch. She decided to act as White Tiger and remove said evidence. On a roof near said office, Angela was surprised to meet Daredevil, Black Widow and Elektra. All four were there for the same reason. They were unaware of this being a trap until Bullseye attacked. Angela was ready to fight but Daredevil considered her inexperience would get her killed. Murdock kicked her off the roof, removing her from the fight. Her rough landing broke her hand.

Her broken arm only took a few weeks to heal, her healing process accelerated by the amulet. She had to fake being still injured to avoid her doctor noticing an unusually quick recovery. She moved to Harold Driver's old apartment, left to her in his will. She started acting as a superhero/vigilante in a small area surrounding her apartment. She designed a new, black costume for herself for stealth reasons. She came across a new Daredevil, realizing he was not Murdock but failing to recognize her Uncle Danny in a new identity. At about the same time Angela stated investigating about a plot by Chaeyi, an international crime cartel, trying to expand their activities to the United States. She found out a new Cobra acted as their agent. (Said Cobra was Piet Voorhees, nephew and would-be successor to Cobra/Klaus Vorhees). She found a new white costume made for her by Li Ling Potter, a gift by the new Daredevil who thought black was for villains. She met Potter's fellow customers, Black Widow and Spider-Man. She later kept investigating the Chaeyi and came into conflict with Cobra. She held her own in physical combat and evaded his poison. She was infuriated to discover Cobra's new partner, Sano Orii. The two criminals attempted to escape by car. She managed to climb on the escape vehicle but was thrown off by a maneuver. She fell unconscious while a bullet grazed her shoulder.

Angela recovered her senses in time to find the two villains long gone but Eddie, one of their associates, about to attack her. She pinned him to a wall, pulled down his pants and left him to become a public spectacle (with several civilians taking pictures of Eddie in his partly undressed state). She later met the new Daredevil who helped bandage her injuries. She was surprised to find her shoulder almost completely recovered by morning, pointing to still getting used to her healing factor. She then went for a job interview with James Guererro, leader of 212 Security. His privately-owned agency partly worked security details for wealthy clients and partly conducted secret missions against criminal and/or terrorist organizations. Angela was hired and quite surprised to meet her other boss Veronique "Niki" Guerrero. Niki was a former supermodel but had rumored connections to Interpol, MI-6, CIA and SHIELD. That night Angela got her first security assignment, playing bodyguard to Nora Jackson and Amy Sheridan. The two were wealthy young socialites who wanted to attend various night clubs without getting attacked. Unfortunately, the girls were approached by an amorous Sano, followed closely by Cobra. Trying to get her charges away from the criminals, Angela briefly sparred with Sano. They both stopped before they attracted too much attention. Later on the same night, she changed to White Tiger and went looking for Sano. She met Spider-Man and the new Daredevil on the roofs. The latter joined her in tracking Sano. She started mentally working on clues concerning the identity of her new partner, certain she had met him before. The two later attacked Sano and various members of the Yakuza following him. She started recognizing Daredevil's moves but the police arrived at this moment. With both of them being unregistered superheroes, the two had to flee.

White Tiger and Daredevil fled the police. Spider-Man helped them with their escape. Spider-Man figured the new White Tiger was somehow related to Hector Ayala, informing Angela her identity may not be as secret as she thought. Later Angela tried visiting Murdock in prison but he refused to see her. Angela and Natasha (Black Widow) went out for a few drinks before Angela started investigating the Yakuza. At her job, Angela met Peregrine "Peri" Guerrero, daughter of her bosses. Peri was a ten-year-old genius with growing expertise in electronics and equipment. She routinely escorted Nora and Amy to their nights in town, then switched to White Tiger and started fighting low-key criminals while still investigating the activities of the Chaeyi and the Yakuza. She only slept two hours per night, claiming to be able to afford it (possibly her healing factor compensating for lack of sleep). She was ambushed and attacked by Cobra during one of her night patrols. He wrapped himself around her and burned her shoulder with the venom but she managed to knock him off a building. He landed on his feet and escaped. In the morning Angela attended a family gathering, the first she had had in a while. She was pestered with questions about her life but was still glad to see Uncle Danny (Iron Fist/Daredevil). A few days later the Daily Bugle published an article on the new White Tiger, mainly discussing her looks and costume. Reporter Trevor Parsons even commented on how "her white skintight outfit ... hugs her curves in all the right places".

White Tiger had to defend a civilian from the attacking Lizard/Curt Connors. He hit her with his tail and then escaped, aborting his attack. She later covertly witnessed Kenzo Orii, Yakuza boss and father of Sano, arriving at JFK airport. She was fluent in Japanese and managed to pick some of his conversation with others. Angela had to switch to White Tiger and stop an attack by Normal America, a terrorist group targeting foreign super-powered individuals who also arrived by plane. She learned that Nora and Amy were effectively grounded until being able to improve their grades. Her next assignment involved providing protection to some Chinese scientists. Out of leads for a while and with nothing else to do, Angela later sparred with her Uncle Luke (Cage). He had learned about the White Tiger amulets missing and wanted information on who might had them. She had to confess about being the new White Tiger. Later she continued her investigations, finding out Sano had contact with one Jessup Pyne of the State Department. She trailed Jessup for two days, briefly meeting Emma Frost. Finally Jessup delivered immigration documents to Sano and Cobra. White Tiger attacked, engaging Cobra in battle. Sano impulsively killed Jessup, possibly figuring he had led White Tiger to them. Cobra managed to bite Angela, injecting poison into her veins. He claimed she would die within minutes. The police arrived and both combatants had to flee, Sano having already escaped. Later she had the amulet placed directly on her wound to heal it.

White Tiger was unconscious on a roof for three days while the amulet healed the effects of the poison. Her costume helped her blend into her surroundings like a chameleon. She was found by Daredevil who helped her wake up. She was disoriented but confronted him with figuring out his identity as Uncle Danny (Iron Fist). She was right. He helped her return home. where she had a shower and something to eat. She was worried about losing her job when contacting her bosses. The Guerreros were revealed to already know Angela and the White Tiger were the same person. They offered her full-time employment and assistance against the Chaeyi. Meanwhile she was to keep escorting Nora and Amy. The girls had agreed to partying only one night of any given week, working to improve their grades on the rest of them. Angela did not really offer a reply, thinking her uncles Danny and Luke had betrayed her secret. That night she used the chameleon-like abilities of her costume to follow Eddie on whatever the henchman was up to. However she lost him when Deadpool attacked her, mistaking her for Black Cat for some reason. He lost interest in Angela when realizing she was not Felicia. The next she was visited at her own apartment by Kenzo Orii. She drew a gun on him but the older man was not looking for a fight ... yet. He realized she was interested in his son, attempting to bribe her to leave him alone. He also left vague threats if she refused to take the safe course of action. He left the apartment with no other incident. Angela later met Uncle Danny who protested that he had never revealed her secret to the Guerreros or anyone else. She was convinced. While walking alone, Angela was approached by an armed Sano. He knew his father had contacted her and demanded to know what was said in that conversation. She flipped him to the ground and jumped into the harbor waters to avoid his shots. She was attacked underwater by an old foe with a grudge, Lizard.

White Tiger attacked Lizard's eyes, disorienting him enough to escape safely. She decided to attack the Yakuza that night and contacted some allies to provide assistance. She confronted her boss about his interest in the Chaeyi and found out Guerrero held a personal grudge against them. She was glad to hear his reasons and took his offer of full-time employment. She later met her allies Black Widow, Iron Fist, Power Man and Spider-Man and explained the details concerning their targets.They took pictures of a Chaeyi-Yakuza meeting, intended as evidence, and then attacked the villains. She engaged Cobra in hand-to-hand combat until he decided to flee. Kenzo next offered her a sword and challenged her to a sword duel. Sano shot at her during the duel, accidentally killing his own father. Sano despaired and committed suicide. Angela later contacted the police with her evidence. After ending the relationship between the Yakuza and Chaeyi, the leader of Chaeyi vows to get revenge against the White Tiger and enlists the help of Omega Red.

Angela is later slain by Lady Bullseye and resurrected as a Hand assassin (in the manner of Elektra Natchios).After Shadowland, she gave the tiger amulet to Ava Ayala.

Powers and Abilities

Angela Del Toro possesses slightly superhuman strength, speed, coordination, agility, stamina, reflexes, resilience, and healing conferred upon her by the mystic tiger amulets. Further, the amulets provide her a vast practical knowledge of martial arts. Although difficult to measure, Angela's physical prowess and skills seem to have more than tripled with her transformation into the White Tiger. She also has the ability to blend in against various surfaces, becoming invisible to the naked eye, but this does not seem to be an ability shared by her predecessor. This ability stems from the amulets altering the appearance of her costume.

Angela has received the training of a police officer and an FBI agent and is a good shot with firearms. She speaks English, Spanish and Japanese fluently. She may have basic skills in other languages as well. She was able to hold her own in a sword duel with Kenzo Orii, an experienced swordsman.

Physical Characteristics

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 157 lbs

Hair: Dark Brown

Eyes: Brown

Equipment

The green jade in the form of a tiger's head and two claws possess mystical power which derives from the dimensions of the K'un-Lun. The tiger's head and paws, when connected to the jade figurine from which they were severed, enabled passage to K'un-Lun's dimension. Wielded by a sufficiently powerful sorcerer, the jade tiger could be enlarged and brought to a semblance of life. The particular significance of the White Tiger costume and whether it existed before Hector Ayala first donned it (and subsequently Angela Del Toro) are not known. The amulets, worn separately by the Sons of the Tiger, did not change their garb in any way nor provide them with as great a power as all three worn together gave the White Tigers (Hector and Angela).

Other Versions

Earth-58163

In the House of M reality Angela del Toro was a member of Luke Cage's Human Resistance Movement.

Other Media

Games

Marvel: War of Heroes

White Tiger appears in several cards in the mobile card game Marvel: War of Heroes. Her cards are:

• [Hands of the Tiger] White Tiger
• [Snakeroot Spy] White Tiger
• [For the Hand] White Tiger
• [Reluctant Heroine] White Tiger