El Aguila

El Águila (Alejandro Montoya) is a fictional mutant character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. El Águila is patterned after the literary hero, Zorro.[1] His name is Spanish for eagle.

For the professional wrestler, see Mr. Águila. For the baseball player, see Chris Aguila. For other uses, see Aguila (disambiguation).
El Águila
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearancePower Man and Iron Fist #58 (Aug 1979)
Created byDave Cockrum
Mary Jo Duffy
In-story information
Alter egoAlejandro Montoya
SpeciesHuman Mutant
AbilitiesSkilled fencer
Excellent acrobat and hand to hand combatant
Electrical generation

Publication history

El Águila was introduced as a recurring adversary of Power Man and Iron Fist. Power Man and Iron Fist writer Mary Jo Duffy recounted his creation:

El Aguila was designed by Dave Cockrum and he had this big Zorro thing, and Zorro was another one of these characters that I was just crazy about and Power Man and Iron Fist was tricky. These were not guys who could fly. Their superpowers were defensive and if they were offensive, it was going to be hands-on, and it’s remarkably tricky inventing a villain for somebody like that ... It seemed to me that someone like Zorro but with one or two powers would be about the right level and since Iron Fist was a little bit easygoing and unworldly, and Power Man was just so cranky and completely grounded in the here and now, giving him somebody with this playful panache would be frustrating. Iron Fist wouldn’t even get it, Power Man would be infuriated by it, and it would give El Aguila a certain amount of charm. So I wasn’t just thinking of the power problem, though it was a problem, but in terms of the characters—it had to interest me. And Power Man and Iron Fist were so well-realized as characters that if a villain wasn’t as equally well-realized, then what was the point in doing it?[1]

El Águila made his first appearance in Power Man and Iron Fist #58 (August 1979).[2] The character made several subsequent appearances in the title, including issues #58 (August 1979), 65 (October 1980), 78 (February 1982), and 99-100 (February–March 1982). He appeared in Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #1-3 (June–August 1982) and Marvel Fanfare #3 (July 1982), and after an appearance in Marvel Comics Presents #9 (December 1988) a few years later he was not seen for some time. He finally made a return with a cameo appearance in G.L.A. #2 (July 2005), as well as Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files (2006) and The New Avengers #18 (June 2006).

El Águila received an entry in the original Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #1, in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #1, and in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #12.

Fictional character biography

Alejandro Montoya was born in Madrid, Spain, and later moved to America. Upon discovering his mutant powers, Alejandro decided to use his unique abilities as a swashbuckler and costumed crime fighter, taking up the mantle of El Águila (The Eagle), an identity passed down by his ancestors. As El Águila, he preys upon drug dealers and criminals that take advantage of the poor and needy. He is not a certified law authority and is wanted by authorities.

Soon after launching his crime-fighting campaign against drug dealers, slumlords, brutal police, and other wrongdoers, Águila encountered Iron Fist, Power Man, and Misty Knight.[3] Águila aided Power Man and Iron Fist against female assassins out to kill Jeryn Hogarth.[4] He also battled Hawkeye while investigating Cross Technological Enterprises, when Hawkeye was serving as their head of security.[5] Águila teamed up with Power Man and Iron Fist to capture the Slasher, and fought the Constrictor.[6] Alongside Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, he battled mercenaries working for Ward Meachum and fought Fera.[6] He aided Power Man, Iron Fist, Colleen Wing, Bob Diamond, and Rafael Scarfe in an attempt to rescue Misty Knight and D.W. Griffith from captivity by Ward Meachum's mercenaries.[7] He returned to Spain briefly on a request of his cousin Migdalia to save her village from the mutant Conquistador.[8]

Águila was confirmed to have been depowered[9] following the events of "M-Day". Though Alejandro now has no powers, he was still considered a "potential recruit" for the Initiative program[10] because of his expertise in sword fighting and hand-to-hand combat.

Powers and abilities

Águila had the mutant power to generate electrostatic charges within his own body, and is able to discharge up to 100,000 volts through conductive metal. He most often uses his double-edged steel sword for this purpose, emulating his idol, Zorro. He is a skilled fencer with extraordinary swordsmanship skills, and an excellent hand-to-hand combatant and acrobat.

References
  1. Callahan, Timothy (December 2010). "Power Man and Iron Fist". Back Issue!. TwoMorrows Publishing (45): 3–11.
  2. El Aguila (marveldirectory.com)
  3. Duffy, Mary Jo (w), Von Eeden, Trevor (p), Green, Dan (i). "El Aguila Has Landed" Power Man and Iron Fist 58 (August 1979)
  4. Duffy, Mary Jo (w), Gammill, Kerry (p), Villamonte, Ricardo (i). "An Eagle in the Aerie" Power Man and Iron Fist 65 (October 1980)
  5. Boatner, Charlie (w), Von Eeden, Trevor (p), Rubinstein, Josef (i). "Swashbucklers" Marvel Fanfare 3 (July 1982)
  6. Duffy, Mary Jo (w), Gammill, Kerry (p), Villamonte, Ricardo (i). "Slasher" Power Man and Iron Fist 99 (February 1982)
  7. Duffy, Mary Jo (w), Gammill, Kerry (p), Villamonte, Ricardo (i). "Day of Dredlox" Power Man and Iron Fist 100 (March 1982)
  8. Lobdell, Scott (w), Alexander, Larry (p), Sinclair, Jim (i). "A Piece of Cake" Marvel Comics Presents 9 (Late December 1988)
  9. Bendis, Brian Michael (w), Deodato, Mike (p), Pimentel, Joe (i). "The Collective Part 2" The New Avengers 18 (June 2006)
  10. Byrd, Ronald; Flamini, Anthony (w), Kolins, Scott (p), Kolins, Scott (i). Civil War: Battle Damage Report 1 (March 2007)
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