The Avengers is easily one of Marvel’s most diverse teams. With the team’s recent success in the box office and television, Marvel is making sure to capitalize on the Avenger’s phenomena as much as possible. One of the most iconic and recognizable roster will get another new addition to the team in 2015. Announced by Marvel’s Senior Vice President C.B. Cebulski at the DICON conference in Seoul, the Korean superhero White Fox is set to join the main Avengers team. This will be the first superhero of Korean-descent in the mainstream comic series and a new addition to the Marvel universe.

Though the hero White Fox may be new to some followers of the popular team, the character has already made a substantial appearance on the on-line series Avengers Electric Rain. Originally created by Korean artist Young Hoon Ko, Fox’s powers are based on the historic Korean mythology of the spiritual nine-tailed fox. The kumiho, also known as the nine-tailed fox, is a very familiar mythical creature that is most commonly known in Japanese and Chinese folklore as thousand year-old beast that can shape shift. The creature’s number of tails depend on how long it has been living and can typically transforms into a beautiful woman to seduce young boys to eat their liver or heart, depending on the tale. Not exactly an ability or story that makes a hero, but the character White Fox’s powers were tweaked before she made her premiere on the hit webtoon. In the series, it appears that she has the powers of super speed, retractable claws, a prehensile tail, and flight.

News that White Fox will be making her debut on the American team should come as no surprise to fans of the series. Since her premiere on the webtoon, White Fox’s fandom has increased at an exponential rate. Her unique style and interesting mix of folklore with modernized superhero crimefighting has made her one of the standout characters on Avengers Electric Rain. The news also comes on the heels of rumors about Marvel’s crossover into the Asian markets. In hopes to gain more notoriety overseas, Marvel has also teamed up with Attack on Titan creators to bring in a unique manga event. Though details still need to be revealed, it is clear that Marvel has its eyes set on making a name for themselves within Asian pop-culture.

There is no information about Avengers Electric Rain heading to the states anytime soon. Exclusively for Korean audiences, the webtoon series has already amassed a large following within the six episodes that have been released. The characters involved in the limited series are Black Widow, The Hulk, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the unique White Fox. Mysterious and new to the Marvel universe, White Fox’s background story and origin are set to be revealed later in the series. Young Hoon Ko has admitted that the ninth episode will focus mainly on this new character and her vague past.

This new event marks one of the first times that a character from Marvel’s overseas market has made it over to the mainstream. Unlike the events of the 1970’s that introduced a slew of diverse characters from all sorts of backgrounds and countries, the introduction of the White Fox is purely from sheer popularity and good marketing. The addition of this character to the Avengers line-up shall prove to be an exciting new chapter in the series and even a new character for the big screen.

By Tyler Cole

Sources:

ComicBook.com

Newsarama

PopMythology

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