Comics

The Expansion of Comic Book Characters

”” Comic books used to be a predominantly white-representative medium, with little to no diversity in their characters. It wasn’t until the latter half of the 20th century when things began to change. Marvel comics introduced characters like Black Panther in the 1960s, as well as the X-men, who serve as a metaphor for minority groups all across the world still to this day. It wasn’t until 1975 when the first mainline Latino comic book character was introduced by Marvel. Hector Ayala A.K.A. White Tiger, a Puerto Rican college student, donned a white suit that, curiously enough, showed nothing of his skin. Whether this was intentional or not, the comic book world had now been introduced to a true Hispanic character for the first time ever, and his creation paved the way for many more beloved Hispanic characters today.