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Silverclaw

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Silverclaw
Silverclaw of the Avengers
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceAvengers vol. 3 #8 (September 1998)
Created byKurt Busiek (writer)
George Pérez (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoMaria De Guadalupe "Lupe" Santiago
Team affiliationsAvengers
Empire State University
Notable aliasesLa Garra Argentado, Daughter of the Volcano God
AbilitiesAbility to change into various metal were-animal forms

Silverclaw (Maria De Guadalupe "Lupe" Santiago) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a reserve member of the Avengers and regards Edwin Jarvis as an uncle figure.


Creation

[edit]

Busiek spoke on the creation of the character stating,

"I'd had an idea years ago for a different way to handle Animal Man's powers, visually, and wanted to try it. It didn't work — George wanted to draw her transformations like he had Beast 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]

Publication history

[edit]

Silverclaw first appeared in Avengers vol. 3 #8 (September 1998), and was created by writer Kurt Busiek and artist George Pérez.[2]

Fictional character biography

[edit]

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, causing them to abandon their gods. Most of the gods left for the heavens except for the volcano goddess Peliali, who vowed to remain with and protect the Kamekeri.[3]

Lupe is the daughter of Jaime Santiago, who studied the Kamekeri's ancient beliefs and pantheon. Jaime claimed that Lupe was his daughter with Peliali, with the two having met in the mountains of Costa Verde.[3] During Lupe's baptism, she manifests the ability to transform into various animals native to Costa Verde, which causes her to be ostracized.[2][4]

Jaime Santiago dies when Lupe is a child, with her being taken in by a local orphanage funded by the American charity ChildCare. Edwin Jarvis, butler to Tony Stark and the Avengers, decides to sponsor ChildCare and is specifically assigned to help Lupe in case her powers grow out of control.[2]

Years later, Lupe comes to the United States to attend Empire State University and meet Jarvis. En route, the plane Lupe is traveling on is hijacked by terrorists working for Moses Magnum. When the terrorists take hostages, Lupe is forced into helping them. Lupe explains to the Avengers that she was forced into helping the terrorists and accompanies the group in defeating Magnum. Lupe begins studying at Empire State University, helping the Avengers whenever needed and becoming the hero Silverclaw.[5][6][7]

Silverclaw later discovers that the wizard Kulan Gath has conquered Costa Verde and intends to kill Peliali to gain her power. Gath's forces overwhelm the assembled heroes, who are captured and forced to watch as Gath fatally wounds Peliali. The Avengers stop Gath, but Peliali dies from her wounds.[8][9]

In Civil War, Silverclaw battles Ms. Marvel when she attempts to make her support the Superhuman Registration Act (SHRA). Silverclaw opposes the SHRA because it is not legal in Costa Verde.[10][11]

Silverclaw's last major appearance is in the Hulk story arc "Mayan Rule", where she helps battle the Mayapan, a group of Inhumans who pose as gods.[12]

Powers and abilities

[edit]

Silverclaw possesses the superhuman ability to mimic the physical characteristics of various animals native to rainforests and jungles, which includes jaguars, anacondas, cockatoos, monkeys, sloths, pumas, cheetahs, and crocodiles.[3]

Reception

[edit]

George Marston of Newsarama ranked Silverclaw as the sixth worst Avengers member, describing her story as "a little better than Triathlon's, but the character was infinitely lamer" and that she had the power to "dress like an extra from a Tarzan film".[13] Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly ranked Silverclaw 20 out of 85 when ranking every Avenger, calling her an uninteresting character but praising her unusual powers.[14]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Reddit - the heart of the internet".
  2. 1 2 3 Elsmere, George (October 6, 2022). "10 Avengers The World Forgot". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2025. Silverclaw was created by Kurt Busiek and George Perez during their now legendary '90s run on the Avengers. Unfortunately for her, when her creators moved on from the series, she was promptly forgotten. Silverclaw was born in Costa Verde and was initiated into the local mythology by her father. The Avengers' butler, Edwin Jarvis, saw her village on a television piece about a children's charity and sponsored the local orphanage Silverclaw grew up. Silverclaw can shape-shift into various jungle animals, making her a formidable fighter.
  3. 1 2 3 Ashford, Sage (September 11, 2024). "10 Best Reserve Avengers, Ranked". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on October 26, 2025. Retrieved February 23, 2025. Introduced in the famous Busiek/Perez run of the Avengers comic, Silverclaw was originally Jarvis' adopted niece, Maria de Guadalupe Santiago, also known as Lupe. However, Lupe's birth mother was the volcano goddess Peliali, who remained with her people even when the other gods in her pantheon left humanity alone...With her ability to transform into any animal, Silverclaw has the potential to become one of Marvel's best shapeshifters. She can also draw on their unique abilities in her humanoid form, showing off the mastery of her powers even despite her inexperience as a hero.
  4. ↑ Benns, Tristan (February 9, 2025). "Marvel's Best Heroes Have Great Backstories, But 10 Avengers Didn't Get the Memo". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on January 21, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2025. Hailing from a village within the small nation of Costa Verde, Maria de Guadalupe Santiago is the daughter of the volcano goddess Peliali and villager James Santiago, later orphaned and sponsored by Avengers butler Edwin Jarvis via an international outreach program. Born with mystical shapeshifting abilities that allow her to assume the physical characteristics of any animal native to the rainforests of her home, the future hero was obsessed with her sponsor's tales of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
  5. ↑ Sanderson, Peter (2007). The Marvel Comics Guide to New York City. New York City: Pocket Books. pp. 30–33. ISBN 978-1-4165-3141-8.
  6. ↑ Corley, Shaun (December 14, 2020). "Marvel's Forgotten Avenger Had The Weirdest Origin". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  7. ↑ Avengers (vol. 3) #8 (September 1998)
  8. ↑ Weiner, Robert G. (December 11, 2009). Marvel Graphic Novels and Related Publications: An Annotated Guide to Comics, Prose Novels, Children's Books, Articles, Criticism and Reference Works, 1965-2005. McFarland & Company. p. 21. ISBN 9780786451159.
  9. ↑ Avengers (vol. 3) #28 - 29 (May - June 2000)
  10. ↑ Fantastic Four #538 (August 2006)
  11. ↑ Sawan, Amer (January 27, 2021). "Avengers: What Happened to Silverclaw, Marvel's SHARPEST Young Hero?". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  12. ↑ Hulk (vol. 2) #55 - 57 (September - October 2012)
  13. ↑ Marston, George (July 25, 2012). "The 10 WORST AVENGERS of All Time". Newsarama. Archived from the original on May 13, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2017. Yet another Busiek/Perez creation, Silverclaw's story was a little better than Triathlon's, but the character was infinitely lamer. Adopted remotely by Avengers butler Jarvis, Maria de Guadalupe Santiago was the daughter of a volcano goddess, which naturally gave her the power to take on aspects of wild animals and dress like an extra from a Tarzan film. After helping the Avengers save her village from the ancient sorcerer Kulan Gath, Silverclaw only stuck around a little while, attempting to balance her life as an Avenger with her life as a college exchange-student before being unceremoniously dropped from the book when Kurt Busiek ended his run.
  14. ↑ Franich, Darren (April 29, 2015). "Let's rank every Avenger ever". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 30, 2025. Retrieved August 27, 2024. [Silverclaw] barely registers as a blip in the history of revolving-door randoms, except for the minor fact that their superpower is next-level unusual. I quote directly from Wikipedia: Silverclaw has the "ability to change into various metal were-animal forms." METAL WERE-ANIMAL. Think of what Jack Kirby could do with Metal Were-Animals!
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