The second of Marvel's "Spider-Man and his Ultimate Friends" reveals dropped today, showcasing Ava Ayala, the latest White Tiger. She joins Spidey (and Iron Fist and a character who looked a lot like Luke Cage this past summer at SDCC) as part of a team of young S.H.I.E.L.D. trainees on Disney XD's Ultimate Spider-Man animated series, which kicks off on April 1. A relatively new character in Marvel's comic book continuity as part of Avengers Academy, the Ultimate Spider-Man version of Ava is also the younger sister of Marvel's original White Tiger Hector Ayala."As a legacy heroine and the newest in a family of heroes to use the White Tiger name, Ava feels she has a lot to prove to S.H.I.E.L.D., to her teammates, and to herself," Ultimate Spider-Man Creative Consultant Paul Dini told Marvel.com. "It's important to her that she excels at everything she does, as she plans on leaving the team someday as a full super heroine in her own right. She was Fury's fair haired girl until Spider-Man showed up, and she wants to show the newbie that despite his rep as a solo hero, he still has a long way to go toward earning her respect."

Unlike Spider-Man and Iron Fist, who see the S.H.I.E.L.D. training program as more of a means to an end, Supervising Producer Cort Lane explained to Marvel.com that White Tiger enjoys her training and would love to be the next Black Widow.

Looking at the new White Tiger's costume, it's a pretty straight take on Ava's current look in Avengers Academy with the exception of her more streamlined approach to toting around her sources of Jade amulet power. I guess you can't blame the animators for not wanting to draw a necklace bouncing around all the time.

Click the below image for a closer look at Ultimate Spider-Man's White Tiger.


[Via Marvel]

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