Who are Mexico’s Superheroes?

Dear Nerds,
As you read this, I am on a boat with my dad and my brother, sailing across the Gulf of Mexico for a male bonding adventure. It will be the first time I leave the country, as we are taking a cruise from New Orleans to 2 Mexican ports before returning.  As I was thinking about the trip and not wanting leave my fellow nerds with nothing to read, I stumbled into the idea of researching Mexico’s Superheroes.  Here are a few of my favorite ones!

 

Firebird

Firebird is the first character to come to my mind. As a long time fan of the West Coast Avengers, I knew Firebird to be a character of Mexican descent. After she appeared in the Incredible Hulk as a member of the Rangers (A wild west theme superhero team), the pyrotechnic made the jump over to the WCA.

Bonita Juarez, Firebird, also took on the name La Espirita, in a nod to her Roman Catholic devotion. Her powers came from an alien meteor that she interacted with and the alien nature of her powers gets explored occasionally. Most recently, post-Civil War storyline, she was a member of the Rangers (as one of the 50 state initiative) and the Rangers have recently encountered the Houston-based hero The Scarlet Spider.

 

Blue Beetle

Blue Beetle is the third character to use that moniker and there was a significant retcon around the whole Blue Bettle mythos, with the powers now coming from an alien scarab that gives a suit and powers to Jaime Reyes.

The teenaged version of the Blue Beetle is interesting and his interaction with other DC heroes is notable, most especially in his run on Justice League: Generation Lost and as member of the Teen Titans. He is an interesting character with a great deal of potential that I hope DC keeps working on!

In 2013, Geoff Johns, DC guru, hinted that they had done some live action screen tests for a Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle.

 

Hummingbird

Hummingbird, aka Maria Aracely Penalba, is a relatively new character in the Marvel universe, having first shown up when the Houston-based Scarlet Spider discovered her as a survivor of a human trafficking ring. Her story seems to still be unraveling with the current idea that she is a demi-god version of Hultzilopochtil reincarnation.

Hummingbird’s power set includes telepathy, empathy, some magic based “sacred fire” and flight. As a goof on her name, she is shown as always eating, having the appetite and metabolism of the hummingbird. She is currently on the New Warriors and is a great new character who has a lot of interesting potential, especially with her Aztec ties, the magical nature, and her youth, as she is only 15-16 years old.

 

Reptil

Reptil is the teenager who grew up loving superheroes only to wind up with superhero powers, his coming from a fossil amulet that was discovered on an archeological dig. Reptil is technically American, coming from a Mexican background.

Reptile has the power to turn into various reptiles and reptile-like creatures, gaining their powers, strength and, most notably, super healing.

Reptil is featured prominently in the Avengers Academy stories as well as the Avengers Arena story that we recently highlighted.

 

Rictor

Victor, Julio Esteban Richter, is a 90s Marvel mutant creation with seismic powers. With them, he can manipulate vibrations and can use them to various effects.

Rictor has a long and storied past in the Marvel Universe, mostly centered on the X books. He managed to be a part of the original X-Factor book, New Mutants, X-Force, X-Corporation and X-Factor Investigations.  It is in that last title that Rictor came out as an openly gay mutant man and is in a relationship with fellow hero Shatterstar.

Rictor lost his powers during the M-Day event but eventually had them restored, first by the Terrigen Mists and later by the Scarlet Witch.

 

Are there any Mexico specific superheroes that I should be reading out? Any favorite storylines? Talk to me in the comments.