By Ben Morse
In the world we know, the name "Avenger" comes with a certain amount of distinction. It labels one as a member of an elite fraternity also called "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" and represents the apex of what a champion for good can achieve.
Beginning next Wednesday, November 14, writer Christos Gage and artist Mike Perkins, the creative team behind last year's UNION JACK mini-series, reunite for a return to the alternate reality ruled by mutants introduced in 2005's landmark "House of M" event. The five-issue HOUSE OF M: AVENGERS will explore what it means to be an Avenger in a very different kind of world.
For the next week leading into the debut of HOUSE OF M: AVENGERS, each day Marvel.com will spotlight two of the book's cast of familiar but changed faces with Gage and Perkins exploring the journey they took to re-imagine these classic Marvel characters.
Today we focus on the bearers of two martial arts legacies and how their paths cross those of the Avengers in the House of M in Shang-Chi and the White Tiger(s).
In a place where everything we know has changed, one thing remains the same: the world still needs Avengers.
SHANG-CHI
IN OUR WORLD: The son of an evil Chinese crime lord, Shang-Chi trained extensively over the course of his childhood and young adult years to become worthy of the title "Master of Kung Fu." However, young Shang-Chi knew not of his father's malevolent ambitions to conquer the world and rather than follow in his footsteps as his second-in-command and eventual heir. The martial artist rebelled and rededicated his life to stopping his father's evil plans.
CHRISTOS GAGE: "He is a very different character in the House of M. In the mainline Marvel Universe, he is a deeply spiritual man of peace. In this world, he is the head of the Dragons criminal organization and he is an angry violent man. The difference being that this Shang-Chi never found out that his father was an evil crime boss before his father was killed by Magneto. So, he believes that his father was a great man and he is consumed with anger and a desire for vengeance. He is determined to rebuild the glory of his father's empire. He is a 180 degree turn around from our Shang-Chi, but they both kick ass equally."
MIKE PERKINS: "No inner peace for this House of M version. He's a streetfighter, following no rules, getting down and dirty."
THE WHITE TIGER
IN OUR WORLD: When native Puerto Rican Hector Ayala discovered and donned the three sacred amulets once used by the heroic martial arts trio the Sons of the Tiger, he gained immense fighting skill and became the White Tiger. After a brief career fighting crime, Hector retired and returned his amulets to the Sons of the Tiger. But the allure of the White Tiger followed him, and he took back the mantel only to be framed for murder and then shot after a failed trial defense by Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil. Hector's niece, F.B.I. agent Angela Del Toro, later came into contact with the amulets and
with training from Daredevil, became the new White Tiger.
CHRISTOS GAGE: "Well, there are two White Tigers: the original male White Tiger and the current female White Tiger. You're going to see both of them. The original White Tiger is never a member of the Avengers, but his niece, Angela Del Toro, does become one, and her [relative's] fate has something to do with it. Wait and see.
MIKE PERKINS: "[The White Tiger] has only been in two panels so far, but he's in a fair few more. Plus, he wears some spanglin' jewelry—ain't nothing wrong with that!"
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