The Cast
Hector Ayala: Carlos PenaVega --- Ava Ayala: ?
We feature two White Tigers, here. The first, Hector, a "absurdly optimistic" college student, is played by Disney veteran Carlos PenaVega. He doesn't have much experience in drama, but he has the right look for Hector and can easily pull the audience into his story, leaving them unprepared for the coming twist. Ava was hard. There isn't exactly a wide array of teenage Latina actresses, much less ones who have appeared in anything to showcase the emotional range needed for Ava, Hector's jaded younger sister whose life is about to be torn to shreds by tragedy. So I left the spot blank, it's the perfect role for an unknown to step into.
Gideon Mace: Adam Baldwin --- Jason Quantrell: Coby Bell
The villain of our story is, of course, Gideon Mace. The racist, militant extremist sadly fits all too well into the modern political climate, particuarily his targeting of the L.A. immigrant community, which includes the Ayala family. Fan icon Adam Baldwin has all of the presence and attitude to bring the deplorable cyborg to life, while still being able to show the shreds of humanity left from the forgotten veteran who let himself be consumed by hate for a society that failed him. As for where he got his enhancements, the suave and menacing Coby Bell steps into the shoes of Jason Quantrell, the final piece of the Morningstar/Beyond Corporation puzzle.
Det. D’Angelo: Michael Imperioli --- Felipe Ayala: Diego Catańo
Despite serving as an antagonist for much of the show, Detective D'Angelo ultimately only wants what is best for Hector and Ayala, and his refusal to believe their wild stories is certainly understandable. Character actor Michael Imperioli is the perfect choice to play a good cop whose attempt to protect two troubled youths drags him into waters far beyond his wildest nightmares.
Narcos alum Diego Catańo then fills the role of the "black sheep" of the Ayala, gang member Felipe, whose return home throws the family into disarray. His quest for redemption and acceptance from the family he abandoned adds him to the pile of tragic lives in the crossfire of our plot.
Nestor and Maria Ayla: George Lopez and Mandy Perez
These two veteran stars not only lend some name-value to the cast, the provide an instantly likeable and memorable parenting duo to the Ayala family. Lopez as Nestor, the devout, never-resting patriarch working three jobs and Perez as the stern but loving mother desperately holding the family together. While the dead parent cliche is almost as used in superhero tales as Disney princess films, these are two I trust the audience will be hoping can make it to the end.
Dr. Philip Hart: Corbin Bernsen --- Dr. Sixty: Phil Davis
One a professor of arhaeology, the other an unhinged, outcast master of pseudo-science, the two doctors are pivotal to the plot. Corbin Bernsen can play both loving father figure and menacing threat, both roles nessecary for the part of the man whose mysterious death and resurrection kicks off the series. Phil Davis, meanwhile, caught my attention as a memorable villain on Amazon's
Mad Dogs carrying a quirky sort of villainy ideal for the man who "opened the door to the nightmare beyond".
The Tiger Goddess: Lucy Liu
Lastly comes the second of the Elder Gods to be introduced. While Liu as the Tiger Goddess won't be breaking into the mortal plane in this show, she'll be lending her vocal talents as a dark voice urging Hector and Ava to give into their deepest, violant urges.
The Plot
Hector Ayala is a bright young college student in Los Angeles, the first in his immigrant family to pursue higher education. He develops a bond with Dr. Philp Hart, his professor of ancient mythology, who encourages Hector to pursue his dreams in Archaeology and gets hims a position at the campus museum in time for a major visiting exhibit on the Cult of the Tiger God. One night, working late, Hector witnesses an argument between Dr. Hart and Jason Quantrell, the billionaire financier of the exhibition. Things go south when a gang raids the museum. In the chaos, Hector accidentally combines the three pieces of the Tiger Amulet, giving him the power to haphazardly fight off the intruders. In the aftermath, however, he discovers Dr. Hart’s dead body. Overwhelmed, he leaves the amulet, calls the police, and flees home.
Hector is shocked the next day when the news reports the failed break-in, complete with the very much alive Dr. Hart confirming nothing was wrong. Confused, he confronts LAPD detective Jim D’Angelo, who dismisses him as crazy. Hector, however, is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. Further complications arise with the return home of his prodigal brother Filipe. Hector becomes convinced a local hate group and militia led by extremist Gideon Mace was behind the break-in. Using Filipe’s gang ties to track Mace, Gideon’s snooping only gets him beaten and left to be found in the streets again by a frustrated D’Angelo, Non-deterred, Hector breaks back into the museum himself, steals the amulets, and concocts a make-shift costume. He returns to Mace’s base and witnesses the gang leader scheming with Jason Quantrell.
After his discovery is once again dismissed by the police as irrelevant, Hector applies for and receives an internship at Quantrell’s business: Cortex Inc. His sister Ava, meanwhile, convinces Filipe to help her investigate Hector’s new double life. In Cortex, Hector once again encounters Dr. Hart, who assures him nothing is wrong. After saving Ava and Filipe from his old gang-mates, Hector makes headline news as The White Tiger, L.A.’s own vigilante hero. Hart immediately recognizes the amulet and knows who must be wearing it. He confronts Hector and then attempts to kill him. The powers overwhelm Hector’s restraint and he kills Hart and flees. This time the police do find the body, and D’Angelo is immediately suspicious.
On the run, Filipe tries to help Hector out and get him to safety. Tragically, when he returns home for supplies, Gideon Mace is already there with his gang. They murder the whole family, except for Ava, who is saved by Filipe before the elder brother is gunned down. Furious at the news, Hector lets the amulet take over again and tears his way into Mace’s base, only to be surrounded by police and arrested. While Hector fights for safety in prison, D’Angelo reaches out to Ava and attempts to take her under his wing, but she is determined to take vengeance. Things suddenly change for the better when hotshot NYC lawyer Matt Murdock comes to Hector’s aid. However, all of their hopes are shattered when Gideon Mace returns to gun him down on the courthouse steps.
Against the warning of both D’Angelo and Murdock, who has to leave for NYC, a grief-stricken Ava gives them the slip to steal the amulet from police evidence. Powered up and filled with rage, she infiltrates Cortex, sneaking her way to the center of the complex, where all is revealed: Quantrell is a secret member of the Beyond Corporation, the shadowy cult led my Morningstar. Dr. Sixty successfully "opened a door" into the "outside", where the Elder Gods were imprisoned. Since then, the cult has been hunting the totems required to return the ancient demons to the mortal world. The real Quantrell was killed in the initial contact and has since served as a vessel for one of the various beings of Beyond, as was the case with the resurrected Dr. Hart. Realizing the amulet is one of the totems, Ava attacks. She destroys the "doorway", and Quantrell is dragged back to The Beyond. Sixty, however, escapes with his research. Ava nearly kills Mace before standing up to the Tiger Goddess and leaving the battered terrorist in the ruins of Cortex.
Brusied and shaken, Ava returns to her home, where D'Angelo is ready to arrest her. However, she recorded everything. The detective, overwhelmed, offers to put her in witness protection, but it is at that moment that Brother Voodoo appears along with Jack Russell and Ghost Rider to announce that the services of the White Tiger are needed to save the world.
----Hope you enjoyed the read! This rounds out the buildup to the Midnight Sons crossover! I really love White Tiger, and tried to build here a story that would do justice to all the generations of the character, as well as introducing a new city and culture to the Marvel Netflix world. For showrunner, I was looking at Chris Brancato (Narcos, Hannibal) or David Simon (The Wire) I hope you've enjoyed this journey so far and are looking forward to where the characters travel in Midnight Sons and beyond! As always, please leave and comments below, feedback is ALWAYS greatly appreciated!