White Tiger: A Hero’s Compulsion

The Comicologist — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 05:31:03 +0000

White Tiger: A Hero's Compulsion was written by Tamora Pierce and Timothy Liebe, and began it's 6 issue mini-series in 2006, but has since been released in trade paper back form, White Tiger #1-6.

The White Tiger mini-series follows the emergence of the White Tiger, Angela Del Toro. Fans of the Daredevil series would know that Del Toro first appeared in a number of issues of Daredevil, as an FBI agent drawn into the investigation of the Daredevil's true identity, as well as the investigation into the death of her uncle Hector, the previous White Tiger. In Daredevil, Del Toro quit the FBI when she realised the good she could do with her new found power, inherited via her uncle's Jade Tiger amulets, eventually taking on the White Tiger moniker.

White Tiger: A Hero's Compulsion begins with Daredevil Matt Murdock in prison, leaving Del Toro seemingly on her own to figure out what to do with her new found power and responsibility. Del Toro, with the help of Black Widow, Luke Cage, Spider-Man and Iron Fist (who is doubling as Daredevil while Matt Murdock is in prison), eases herself into the role of White Tiger. While starting to clean up her neighbourhood, Del Toro finds herself investigating the shady activities of an organisation called Chaneyi.

In many respects White Tiger: A Hero's Compulsion is a standard superhero tale. An FBI agent, inherits powers that improve her ability to fight crime. In that regard, there is nothing revolutionary or ground breaking going on, yet still, it's an enjoyable enough story. The story concluded as most comic arcs do, leaving the door wide open for a followup. It's a bit of a shame that Marvel didn't decide to take White Tiger further, but I guess they too didn't see enough to set the title apart from a host of other comics hitting the stands at the time.

Don't hold your breath for any Del Toro/White Tiger follow up either, as, from what I've read, White Tiger is killed by Lady Bullseye in a relatively recent issue of Daredevil.

Overall, I'd give White Tiger: A Hero's Compulsion 6 out of 10