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El Tigre

(roars) El Tigre!
— El Tigre's battle cry during his transformation, turning into a tiger costume.

El Tigre (real name: Manuel "Manny" Pablo Gutierrez O'Brian Equihua Rivera) is the titular protagonist of the Nickelodeon series, El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera.

Manny uses his buckle to transform himself into his alter-ego El Tigre. He tries to become a superhero by stopping every supervillains and giant monsters invading Miracle City but, he also has committed evil deeds such as teaming up with other supervillains to cause destruction and havoc. He lives with his super heroic father, Rodolfo Rivera and his villainous grandfather, Granpapi Rivera on the roof of Casa del Macho. He attends Leone Middle School and hangs out with his best friend, Frida Suárez who is often a part of Manny's antics.

Description

"For the most part, Manny Rivera is a well-meaning kid with the energy and the spirit of a hero. But Manny is no goody-two-shoes. He's also got some serious supervillain potential. When he spins his mystical belt buckle, Manny transforms into the brave and powerful El Tigre, who struggles with whether to use his superpowers for good or evil. And sometimes evil wins. At times Manny will do the wrong things for the right reasons, at other times he'll do the wrong thing for the wrong reasons, and sometimes he'll even do the right thing for the right reasons. But mostly he's just looking for new and exciting adventures for himself and his best friend, Frida."[1]

Appearance

Manny Rivera is a teenage boy who has tan skin, freckles on his cheeks, black chocolate curly hair, brown eyebrows and eyes. He has a noticeable scar on his left eye that originated from the first time he got his belt. Manny Rivera is seen wearing an orange and yellow striped shirt with a black jacket that has a yellow line down the arms and a small red star on the left part of the jacket. In between that and his blue jeans, is where his El Tigre Belt stays. He also has a pair of brown shoes.

When he transforms into El Tigre, his eyes turn green, and he gain tiger ears and a tail. He wears a brown mask that has white furry sideburns and a letter "T" on the forehead. His suit is completely black with red stars on his gloves, brown boots, a red bandanna on his neck and grey metallic claws.

Personality

Enter-cuervo-2

Manny is friendly and outgoing. His personality usually gets him to want to do the fun stuff first, even if that means it could get him in trouble. However, if something really goes wrong, he won't hesitate to fix his mistake and will use his El Tigre powers to do so.

While he has mostly the personality of a hero, his tendency to want to choose the easier and sometimes destructive way is like a villain. He wants to be good for his father Rodolfo, but sometimes he can´t resist being bad like his grandfather Granpapi, because it looks cool. This gives him an antiheroic personality.

However, his family is more important for him, so he will always save them from any danger just like the rest of the Rivera family.

History

Early Years

Manny's history was revealed only by the creator himself and only slightly in the series. He was once taken care of by both Maria and Rodolfo until the former left since she could not cope with her husband ending up hurt with every battle. Afterwords, his Granpapi moved in, and Manny was taken care of by him and his father.

It was during this time that in pre-school, he was once friends with Zoe Aves. Their friendship continued until he met Frida in detention, who quickly became his best friend, thus beginning the feud between Frida and Zoe. When Frida first got kidnapped by Sartana, Manny used his El Tigre powers for the first time to save her. Unfortunately, he didn't watch what he was doing and accidentally scratched himself in the face, resulting in a scar on his face. Rodolfo warned Manny that this should be a lesson to him that his powers can hurt anyone, even himself.

Since then, Manny began to use his El Tigre powers, either for helping others or just for his own benefit. This also would take him to new experiences.

Series

Relationships

Rivera Family

Rodolfo Rivera/White Pantera

SOAH157

Rodolfo is Manny's father that teaches him about the side of good. He usually tries to get Manny to be his superhero partner, in which sometimes he is able to do so. However, since Manny hasn't quite chosen any side, Manny sometimes goes against his father's wishes and does bad stuff with his grandpa and will get into trouble. His father will usually lecture him about his bad behaviour and try to get him to see the error of his ways (though this is not always successful).

Manny respects his father very much and sometimes his father even has enough effect to be his good will. Despite pressures from the team in "Fool's Goal", his father's presence in the audience couldn't make him cheat to win his game against the Calavera Zombies. His father can be very protective of him at times - much to Manny's annoyance - but their father/son relationship remains strong in several episodes.

Granpapi Rivera/Puma Loco

Granpapi is Manny's grandfather that sometimes teaches him tricks in villainy or showing how good it is being a villain. These villainy tricks are often very useful for Manny when he confronts some enemy on many occasions. They sometimes commit crimes together, such as racing in an illegal street race, as shown in "Fool Speed Ahead". Manny loves and idolizes his grandfather. He will sometimes disobey his father (shown above) and instead go with his grandpa. When Manny is in danger, Granpapi will always jump in to help him and vice versa.

Maria Rivera/Plata Peligrosa

Maria is Manny's mother. She loves him very much, but she doesn't like the fact that he and Rodolfo are superheroes because she believes it is too dangerous and can't stand the thought of them being hurt. In "The Mother of All Tigres", Manny fears that Maria will take him with her to leave Miracle City, so he tries unsuccessfully to make Miracle City look like a secure place, but Maria then tells him that it doesn't matter how dangerous the city is - she will stay there to be with him.

Manny helped his mother in attempting to rehabilitate villains. At the end, he told her she was right about some villains changing. He was also content with just having her, after her home got destroyed.

El Tigre I

Two Tigres

Manny seems to be the only person that the original El Tigre relates with the most, as both share the same powers, superpowered alter-ego and irresolution towards choosing between good and evil. While he acted with hostility towards Manny at first, he quickly softened - clearly displaying his sudden personality shifts and conflicting morality.

During their time together, El Tigre I showed Manny some extra El Tigre powers, and even taught him how to summon and control the Ancient Tiger Spirit. Before parting ways, El Tigre I gives him some encouraging words on his future after he is unsure of his path.

Other Riveras

Con shot riveras

Before meeting them The Grave Escape, Manny disrespected them by eating their offerings even stating they were gone after dying. After being sent to Land of the Dead, he encountered them personally and saw that he was wrong as he excitedly introduced them to Frida knowing their legacies. He was forced to fight them after they brought up his previous disrespect but like them, he hated being called a coward as he readily joined them in attacking a trio of bandits who mocked them. After the fight, Manny earned praise from them for his skills, but they were still angry with him with Leon even deeming he was unworthy of carrying their name, much to his sadness.

Nonetheless, Manny got them to help him to save his family from Sartana of the Dead and they brought him to see El Tigre I who had helped them returned to the living world.

When the family starts squabbling amongst each other, Manny stops them by giving a touching speech about respect as a family. He then concocts a plan to defeat Sartana: using the Rivera Super Macho Blitz.

The Riveras are initially against this, as no Rivera hero/villain had ever survived it, but come to agree it is the only chance of saving Miracle City. His words cause the family to start working together, with their help the heroes and villains finally perform the blitz and were able to defeat Sartana and the beast.

The late Riveras were amazed by this feat and congratulated Manny on his victory taking back their insults and Leon deems him worthy of carrying their name though he warns Manny if he ever eats their offerings again, he's toast. They then left Manny on peaceful terms.

Suárez Family

Frida Suárez

Fistful-of-collars-2

Frida Suárez is Manny's best friend. They were friends since kindergarten after they first met in detention and since then they are almost inseparable. Both of them always get in trouble with their pranks. Frida sometimes tells Manny to do things he's not allowed to do, like buying a Tattoo Maker or lying to his father. She sometimes gets kidnapped by villains (especially Sartana of the Dead, who has a cell in her hideout with Frida's name on it) but El Tigre always comes to rescue her.

Frida also has romantic feelings towards Manny in few episodes. Manny's reaction to these feelings seems oblivious or sometimes confused. There are episodes where it is hinted that he has romantic feelings towards her as well. He ended their friendship to protect her from harm and became depressed in "Adios Amigos" and showed great jealousy and desperation to have Frida's attention again. When she was head over heels for a new supervillain she began to hang out with Silver Wolf, which caused Manny to be jealous of them in "Silver Wolf". Finally, at the end of "No Boots, No Belt, No Brero" Frida proclaims, "Kiss me, you fool!" and kisses Manny, much to his surprise. Due to this, Frida was Manny's first kiss.

Emiliano "Chief" Suárez

Although Manny has helped him to stop crime in Miracle City and saves his daughter in many episodes, Chief distrusts him because every time Frida hangs out with him, she gets hurt. In "Adios Amigos" he went as far as not allowing Frida to be with Manny anymore. After Manny saved her from the Titanium Titan] in the same episode, he let Frida be with him again, but his relationship with Manny didn't change very much after.

However, it can be implied that in the "No Boots, No Belt, No Brero", after ridding Miracle City of the supervillains, he had respect for Manny.

Supervillains

Throughout the series, Manny has faced many different villains, from little dangerous criminals to super-powered supervillains.

Zoe Aves/Black Cuervo

Con shot tigre cuervo

Manny and Zoe have a somewhat complicated relationship. As Black Cuervo, she is smitten by El Tigre but serves as a pseudo-nemesis and is more than a match for Tigre in most cases. The two carry a love/hate relationship throughout the series. Manny has a noticeable crush on Zoe Aves in "The Cuervo Project", but no feelings for Black Cuervo since "Enter the Cuervo".


Before Manny met Frida, he and Zoe were friends, and Zoe even fell in love with him. After Manny befriended Frida, Zoe developed a strong grudge against her and since then she has been an enemy and rival of Frida to obtain Manny's love, creating a love triangle between them and Manny.

Sartana of the Dead

Like his father and grandpa, Manny sees Sartana as an enemy and everytime she tries to make something evil, he will go and stop her before she can obtain her goal. She is one of Manny's strongest foes.

Diego/Dr. Chipotle Jr.

Diego hates Manny after he and White Pantera defeated his father and took him to prison. He also gets angry when Manny mispronounces or forgets his name. Diego creates strange weapons to battle him, like a giant guacamole monster or jalapeño chili pepper mutated into monsters.

Sergio/Señor Siniestro

Sergio also hates Manny after he unintentionally humiliated him when he was wearing his beloved cowboy costume during his first day at school. Using his robotic suit, he tries (always unsuccessful) to defeat Manny/El Tigre.

Django of the Dead

Django is Sartana's grandson. In "The Good, The Bad, and the Tigre" he introduces himself as an ally for El Tigre to stop Sartana, but then it's revealed that he only used El Tigre to defeat Sartana and obtain for himself Sartana's guitar.

In the bad ending of the same episode, Django offers Manny to become his ally to take over Miracle City and become as powerful as him, which Manny accepts but then he betrays Django and sends him and Sartana to the moon in a rocket.

Abilities and Powers

When Manny becomes El Tigre, he obtains the following powers:

  • Super strength: Manny has superhuman strength. He is strong enough to lift an adult with one arm. He also can lift heavier objects like rocks, cars, and giant monsters.
  • Jumping abilities: Manny can perform huge jumps from any surface. He can travel several kilometers just by jumping.
  • Coordination: El Tigre has excellent reflexes and agility when he's moving or fighting. This makes him very fast even for some enemies.
  • Combat skills: Although is unknown if he received any training, Manny is a great hand-to-hand fighter when he confronts an enemy.
  • Retractable sharp claws: El Tigre has sharp retractable metal claws in each hand. He can pull them out and hide them like a real feline. The claws can cut through almost anything, like flesh, wood and metal.
  • Grappling hook hand: El Tigre's hands are attached to chains, which he can shoot like a grappling hook and using his claws he can reach high places like mountains and buildings. In "The Good, The Bad, and the Tigre" its revealed that the chain is part of El Tigre's body and can feel pain if he cuts it.
  • Ancient Tiger Spirit: During the events of "The Grave Escape", El Tigre learns how to summon and control the Ancient Tiger Spirit. When using this power, Tigre is wrapped in a field of a glowing green tiger-shaped energy. In this shape, he becomes nearly invincible, as he can defeat many opponents with just one move.

Attacks

In the series

  • The Spinning Armadillo: A powerful move El Tigre learns from Black Cuervo. He runs up a wall, jumps, spins with his claws to make the shape of an armadillo, dives, does some poses and then kicks his opponent. He only uses this move in Enter the Cuervo.
  • Claw Shot: El Tigre shoots his claws like guns and can be shot from 2 to 4 at a time.
  • Spin Cyclone: El Tigre spins with his razor-sharp claws to make a shredding tornado.

In the game

  • Vicious Uppercut: El Tigre does multiple punches that send his enemies flying.
Hero Moves
  • Pounce Kick: El Tigre jumps, then does an air kick for a few seconds.
  • The Amazing Chain Claw: El Tigre launches his claw around him.
  • The Sensational Bowler: El Tigre spins into a ball and runs into his enemies.
  • Super Swipe: El Tigre uses his claws to make a wave which causes an earthquake.
  • Radical Ricochet: El Tigre bounces around and knocks out all his foes around him.
Villain Moves
  • Tijuana Tornado: El Tigre spins around in a tornado and runs into his foes.
  • Savage Slash: El Tigre slashes the air, then slashes his enemies.
  • Mega Quake: El Tigre pounds the ground to make a earthquake that sends his enemies flying.
  • Atomic Slam: El Tigre jumps into the air, then body slams into a foe.

Sightings

Season 1
1A. "Sole of a Hero": Debut 1B. "Night of the Living Guacamole": Appears
2A. "Enter the Cuervo": Appears 2B. "Fistful of Collars": Appears
3A. "Fool's Goal": Appears 3B. "El Tigre, El Jefe": Appears
4A. "Zebra Donkey": Appears 4B. "Adios Amigos": Appears
5A. "The Mother of All Tigres": Appears 5B. "Old Money": Appears
6A. "The Late Manny Rivera": Appears 6B. "Party Monsters": Appears
7A. "The Mustache Kid": Appears 7B. "Puma Licito": Appears
8A. "Miracle City Worker": Appears 8B. "Dia De Los Malos": Appears
9A. "Yellow Pantera": Appears 9B. "Rising Son": Appears
10A. "The Curse of the Albino Burrito": Appears 10B. "La Tigresa": Appears
11A. "Ballad of Frida Suárez": Appears 11B. "Fool Speed Ahead": Appears
12A. "Miracle City Undercover": Appears 12B. "Bride of Puma Loco": Appears
13A. "Eye Caramba": Appears 13B. "Clash of the Titan": Appears
14. "The Grave Escape": Appears
15A. "Burrito's Little Helper": Appears 15B. "Crouching Tigre, Hidden Dragon": Appears
16A. "The Cactus Kid": Appears 16B. "A Mother's Glove": Appears
17. "The Good, The Bad, and the Tigre": Appears
18A. "A Fistful of Nickels": Appears 18B. "Animales!": Appears
19A. "Tigre + Cuervo Forever": Appears 19B. "The Thing That Ate Frida's Brain": Appears
20A. "Stinking Badges!": Appears 20B. "Mech Daddy": Appears
21A. "The Return of Plata Peligrosa": Appears 21B. "Chupacabros!": Appears
22A. "Love and War": Appears 22B. "Wrong and Dance": Appears
23A. "Oso Solo Mio": Appears 23B. "Silver Wolf": Appears
24A. "The Cuervo Project": Appears 24B. "The Golden Eagle Twins": Appears
25A. "Dia De Los Padres": Appears 25B. "Mustache Love": Appears
26A. "Back to Escuela": Appears 26B. "No Boots, No Belt, No Brero": Appears

Gallery

Click here to view the gallery for El Tigre.
Click here to visit El Tigre's Gallery!

Trivia

  • Some parts of his full name are a reference to some family members of Jorge R. Gutierrez and Sandra Equihua.
    • Gutierrez comes from both Jorge's grandfather and Equihua is Sandra's grandmother.[2] Gutierrez and Equihua are also based on both of their last names, respectively.
    • O’Brien derives from an Irish surname.[2]
    • Pablo was chosen as the name based on influential and famous people such as Pablo Neruda, Pablo Picasso, and Pablo Escobar.[3]
  • His name is based on Tony Montana's best friend, Manny Ribera from a crime film, Scarface[4]
    • Manny's scar is also a reference to Scarface.
  • Manny's favorite video game is Super Macho Fighter 2.[5]
  • Manny was clearly based on Guiterrez's early childhood life and experiences, where in some situations in the show are portrayed when he was a child.[6]
    • Both Manny and Guiterrez share similar behavior when he was a child such as getting into trouble and serving detentions at school.
    • They also had curly hair and similar striped clothing.[7]
    • The choice between "Good" and "Evil" is based on career decisions. Jorge's father was an architect, which was in his opinion Good. His grandfather was a Military general, which was Evil in his opinion.
  • Manny’s name was chosen by Guiterrez since it has the word, “man”, in which it represents “the every man”.[6]
  • His surname is a reference to a famous, Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera.[6]
  • El Tigre's design is based on an Aztec Jaguar warrior, a Mexican Luchador, Batman, Wolverine, and the titular character from a famous anime, Tiger Mask, in which it combines all their designs into one.[6]
  • The "T" symbol on its forehead is a reference to a famous, Mexican Luchador, Mil Máscaras.[6]
  • The red bandanna is a reference to cowboy gangs in both western films, Tombstone and Django.[6]
  • Manny has a strong fondness for having jetpacks.[8]
  • He made a small cameo in the movie The Book of Life, which is Jorge R. Gutierrez' first feature-length film.
  • According to Gutierrez, it is revealed that he has autism since Gutierrez had autism throughout his life.[9]
  • His name translates from Spanish to "The Tiger".
    • Additionally, he was inspired by the idea of "tigers" in popular Mexican culture and medias.[10]
  • Before the series was in development, Jorge R. Gutierrez and Sandra Equihua originally conceived Manny as "Super Burrito" with zebra costume and he was originally younger.

References


ved Characters
Main Characters
Manny Rivera/El TigreFrida SuárezRodolfo Rivera/White PanteraGranpapi Rivera/Puma Loco
Superheroes
Davi Roccoco/The Albino BurritoEl CucharonEl Tigre IGolden LeonJustice JaguarLeague of Alliance Society (The IndustrialistCosmic CleopatraSilver Sombrero) • The Golden Eagle Twins (CarlaCarlito) • The Iron PiñataThe Seventh SamuraiToshiroEl Cucharon
Supervillains
Aztec Skeleton WarriorsAndroid El TigreCactus KidCheComrade ChaosDark LeopardDjango of the DeadDr. Chipotle Jr.Dr. Chipotle Sr.Dr. Chipotle Sr. Sr.El TarantulaEl Mal VerdeEl OsoForgotten Dead MonsterGeneral ChapuzaGiant Alebrije MonsterGiant Robot SanchezGuacamole MonsterLady LavaMano NegraMighty CheetarMiklaMonsterzumaMoon MenMustache MafiaNinja Monster ClanPuma Loco BotSartana of the DeadSeñor Siniestro/SergioSilver WolfCalavera BanditosGiant Skeleton MonsterSquidsThe Bad GirlsThe Flock of Fury (Black CuervoLady GobblerVoltura) • The Golden Eagle TwinsThe Serpent RobotTitanium Titan
Other Characters
Maria RiveraDora RiveraSeñor ChappiLittle MuleZebra DonkeyRaulChuiDr. Eugene L. ButtermanEmiliano SuárezCarmela SuárezAnita and Nikita SuárezRaheemPedroMarni