Power Man (Víctor Álvarez)

Power Man (real name Víctor Hernán Álvarez), is a fictional character and superhero from Marvel comics, appearing as one of the main characters of the Champions comics, and a supporting character in the Avengers Academy comics.
The son of the reformed criminal Shades, Álvarez can channel Chi and cultural energy from the environment, which grants him anyone's abilities or power. Becoming a vigilante under the name "Power Man", he initially worked self-employed on craigslist until Iron Fist became his teacher. The two soon became partners, and Power Man soon find himself becoming a member of several teams, such as the Heroes for Hire, the Champions, the Mighty Avengers, and the Avengers Academy.
He was created by Fred Van Lente and Mahmud Asrar, and first appeared in Dark Reign: The List - Daredevil #1 in September of 2009.
==Biography==
===Early Life===
Víctor Hernán Álvarez was born in Harlem, New York to Reina Álvarez and the criminal Shades, who was imprisoned in Seagate when Víctor was only a child. Shades would return to his family after reforming himself and became a father to his son, but it would end after it was revealed that he was cheating on Reina. Víctor was taken to his uncle's home with his mother, but Shades tried to stay in contact with his son.
===Becoming Power Man===
When Norman Osborn wanted to remove the community of Harlem so he could build his own building there, he tasked Bullseye to destroy a building while he dealt with the vigilante Daredevil. Víctor and Shades were inside the building with other residents when it exploded, but Álvarez survived when his father's visors shattered into fragments. He absorbed the fragments, and proceeded to absorb his father and the resident's Chi life forces, which allowed him to escape from the rubble. Afterward, Álvarez decided to adopt the name "Power Man" and protect his neighborhood after the Hand started to gain control over Hell's Kitchen. His actions as a superhero gained the attention of the duo Iron Fist and Luke Cage, but Álvarez expressed his dislike for the two, but Rand decided to stay to learn how he can channel Chi.
It's later revealed by Nightshade that she created Shades' visor, which could emitted optic blasts from environmental energy, and that the optic blasts came from a crystal embedded within. The crystal would travel through Víctor when the visor shattered into fragments, and allowed him to take anyone's life force via Chi energy. Once Víctor learned of this, he decided to work with Iron Fist and Nightshade to stop threats, such as Cottonmouth. Power Man later learned that he has the abilities of anyone he's absorb, such as Iron Fist's student, Javier de Paz (who was killed in the building Bullseye destroyed), thus granting him his martial art skills. He decided to honor those who were dead when he went to save his cousin at the Hand's shadowland fortress, and used his power to fight back with some support from his father's ghost.
Once the shadowland incident was over, Power Man agreed to become one of Iron Fist's students, but was also given a job at the Round Foundation. During his training, Álvarez learned that Spider-Man is the only person his teacher never defeated, and he decided to defeat the superhero to show his worth. Power Man attacked Spider-Man when he was given the key of the city, but was quickly subdued before the two heroes realized that the key was stolen. Power Man then worked with Spider-Man to stop the Looter and the criminals, but the former had to stop an alien that hatched from egg from a fallen star.
Later on, Power Man was recruited into the Avengers Academy where he studied as a trainee, but later left after battling the Phoenix Five. Returning to Iron Fist and Luke Cage, Álvarez joined the Heroes for Hire before becoming a member of Cage's Mighty Avengers alongside White Tiger. He formed a bond with her, and managed to use his chi powers to give her abilities that allowed her to defeat Shuma-Gorath. Víctor and White Tiger then joined Avengers Idea Mechanics after the Mighty Avengers was shut down, and then went on to form a part of A.I.M.'s New Avengers.
==Trivia==
*He is considered by a Gamma-level threat by Tony Stark and Sam Wilson.
*He is the third person to take the name "Power Man", after Erik Josten and Luke Cage.
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