Character: El Aguila
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Artist: Ryan Estrada
Reviewers: Dean Trippe

If you’re not familiar with El Aguila, then you are pretty much everyone reading this sentence. Alejandro Montoya is a background mutant character from the Marvel U., a supporting character introduced in Power Man and Iron Fist’s team-up title at the end of the 70s, sharing many of the problematic stereotypical fallacies of the title and time. Clearly modeled as a Zorro analogue (with added mutant electicity powers!), El Aguila’s costume had a swashbuckler-meets-superhero vibe, with a blue blouse and red tights.

Ryan’s design here is a huge leap forward from the complicated and unoriginal costume worn by the character originally. This simplified red and black color scheme plays up the eagle symbol and introduces a strong matador influence, which feels more original than the earlier Zorro-reliant vibe. El Aguila is currently listed as a de-powered mutant (Post M-Day, check your Official Handbooks), so I could see this sort of rebranding of identity working well for the character, whose heroic impulses would not be deterred by a lack of superpowers. Judging from this design, I’d guess El Aguila had spent some time honing his martial arts skills with his pal Iron Fist to become El Aguila, the ninja matador!