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| Silverclaw | |
|---|---|
 Silverclaw of the Avengers | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Avengers vol. 3 #8 (September 1998) |
| Created by | Kurt Busiek (writer) George Pérez (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Maria De Guadalupe "Lupe" Santiago |
| Team affiliations | Avengers Empire State University |
| Notable aliases | La Garra Argentado, Daughter of the Volcano God |
| Abilities | Ability to change into various metal were-animal forms |
Silverclaw (Maria De Guadalupe "Lupe"Santiago) is asuperhero appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The character is depicted as a reserve member of theAvengers and regardsEdwin Jarvis as an uncle figure.
Busiek spoke on the creation of the character stating,
"I'd had an idea years ago for a different way to handleAnimal Man's powers, visually, and wanted to try it. It didn't work — George wanted to draw her transformations like he hadBeast Boy's. So maybe I'll try it again some other time.
Bob Harras had also challenged us to come up with new Avengers, so I thought I'd try to create someone with third to Jarvis, which is where a lot of the character came from as well."[1]
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Silverclaw first appeared inAvengers vol. 3 #8 (September 1998), and was created by writerKurt Busiek and artistGeorge Pérez.[2][3][4][5]
Maria de Guadalupe Santiago was born near the village of the Kamekeri in the country of Costa Verde. The Kamekeri formerly worshiped their own pantheon of gods until Spanish missionaries taught them Christianity. As a result, most of the Kamekari's gods left them, except for the volcano goddess Peliali, who vowed to remain with and protect them.[6][7]
Lupe is the daughter of Jaime Santiago, who studied the ancient beliefs and pantheon and claimed that she was the daughter of him and Peliali. At a young age, she developed the ability to transform into various animals, leading her to be ostracized.[2][3][8][9][10][11][12][13]
Following Jaime's death, Lupe is taken to live in an orphanage sponsored byEdwin Jarvis. The two regularly communicate and become friends, with Lupe regarding him as an adoptive uncle.[2][14][15]
Years later, Lupe comes to the United States to attendEmpire State University and meet Jarvis.[16] However, her plane is hijacked by terrorists led byMoses Magnum. She works with the Avengers to stop them and becomes an honorary member of the group.[17][9]
Silverclaw later discovers that the wizardKulan Gath has conquered Costa Verde and intends to kill Peliali to gain her power. She and the Avengers manage to stop him, but are unable to stop him from killing Peliali. Afterwards, Silverclaw becomes a full member of the Avengers.[4][18][19][20][21]
InCivil War, Silverclaw battlesMs. Marvel when she attempts to make her support theSuperhuman Registration Act. She is later captured by thePuppet Master before Marvel frees her.[22][23][9]
Silverclaw's last major appearance is in theHulk story arc "Mayan Rule", where she helps battle the Mayapan, a group ofInhumans who pose as gods.[24]
Silverclaw possesses the superhuman ability to mimic the physical characteristics of various animals native to rainforests and jungles, which includesjaguars,anacondas,cockatoos,monkeys,sloths,pumas,cheetahs, andcrocodiles.[6][10][25][26][27]
| This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(September 2017) |
George Marston ofNewsarama ranked Silverclaw as the sixth worstAvengers member, describing her story as "a little better thanTriathlon's, but the character was infinitely lamer" and that she had the power to "dress like an extra from aTarzan film".[28] Darren Franich ofEntertainment Weekly ranked Silverclaw 20 out of 85 when ranking every Avenger, calling her an uninteresting character but praising her unusual powers.[29]
