Aztec of the City

Real Name: Tony Avalos

Identity/Class: Mystically empowered human

Occupation: College Freshman, former construction worker

Affiliations: None

Enemies: La Llorona

Known Relatives: Unidentified parents, Tony Torres (a.k.a. Super Chicano, cousin), Joachin (great-grandfather, deceased), unidentified grandmother, Cuauhtémoc (Aztec king, ancestor)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: San José, California

First Appearance: Aztec of the City #1 (El Salto, 1993)

Powers/Abilities: Whenever Tony Avalos loses conscioness, his astral projection of himself manifests as an Aztec warrior. He has been shown to be capable of flight and superhuman strength. He is also armed with traditional Aztec weaponry such as the Macuahuitl (wooden sword with obsidian blades) and bow and arrow. Taking on the persona of a 16th century Native American does seem to have its limitations though - the Aztec can't speak English and is often confused by modern day innovations.

History: Unwittingly a direct-descendant of Cuauhtémoc (the last Aztec ruler during the Spanish Conquest of Mexico), 19-year-old construction worker Tony Avalos was working on a skyscraper in his native San José, California, until a sabotaged plane crashed into the building (NB: the story predates 9/11 by several years). The sole survivor, Tony was left comatose, and when modern medicine could not revive him, Tony's parents asked his 112-year-old great-grandfather Joachin to use his knowledge of the old ways to save Tony.  Joachin 's body housed Cuauhtémoc's spirit, which he transferred to Tony at the cost of his own life, reviving him. Shortly thereafter, there were sightings of a ghostly apparition floating around the city, dubbed by locals the "Aztec of the City", as Tony began manifesting his consciouness as an astral projection of the long centuries-dead king.

Subsequently enrolling in college (see Comments), Tony learned of his ancestry and that he was the living reincarnation of Cuauhtémoc. Meanwhile his cousin, Tony Torres, a reformed criminal, became a local vigilante dubbed "Super Chicano". Unfortunately a local gang looking to retaliate mistook Tony for Super Chicano. In the ensuing drive-by shooting, Tony's supernatural powers manifest.

Comments: Created by Fernando Rodriguez (sometimes credited Fernando Balderas Rodriguez).

The first series of books were self-published sporadically in the early '90s - the first issue in 1993, and then a second volume, which ran to two issues, in 1995-1996; the second volume saw Tony's occupation and origin reimagined (construction worker, coma caused by plane crash, powers given to him by Joachin while saving his life in vol.1; student, unspecified accident and powers due to being a reincarnation of Cuauhtémoc and activated by the drive-by in vol.2). The Aztec occasionally fought against supernatural beings from Mexican folklore like La Llorona, but typically faced common criminals. Currently Fernando Rodriguez is working on a new revival series, and published issue 1 of volume 3 early in 2012 under his newly formed Delilia imprint.

Aztec of the City official Facebook page.

Thanks to Jack Shuster for much of the above information.

CLARIFICATIONS: None.

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

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