Esperanza Jimenez

## Esperanza

> No, Bueno
>
> Esperanza when Jonathan was picked with Dion Warren and her.

**Esperanza Jimenez** is one of the two deuteragonists (alongside Kat Neese) of Raising Dion.She is portrayed by Sammi Haney.

## Summary

Esperanza is a girl in Dion's class. She wears pink glasses. She has brittle bone disease and is thus a wheelchair user, so many of her classmates treat her as an outcast. Esperanza is a brilliant artist, wise beyond her years. She looks out for Dion in an endearing manner., even if he doesn't want her to. Because people tend to overlook her, she can easily observe everything around her. She “turns out to be a really cool kid and good friend to Dion.”

## Biography

Esperanza was the first girl to befriend Dion when he first came to McKoy Park Elementary, but Dion didn't immediately appreciate her efforts. In "ISSUE #101: How Do You Raise a Superhero?, she attempted to help Dion befriend Jonathan King, Chris and Steffi by advising him to go to the skatepark with them.

In "ISSUE #102: Fortress of Solitude", when Nicole wouldn't let Dion go to school because of his lack of control over his powers, Esperanza came to bring him his homework. Dion showed her his new superhero alter-ego, the Mind Mover, and his lair. Esperanza immediately told him that his lair needed to be wheelchair accessible, which Dion reluctantly arranged.

In "ISSUE #103: Watch Man", Esperanza informed Dion that, during his absence, she had picked him as her partner for the next Stem Stars Competition science fair.

At some point prior to ISSUE 105: Days of Mark's Future Past", Esperanza discovered that Dion has powers, but kept this information to herself. She only told him near the end of the party, after consoling him when the other kids made fun of his Reptile Repo-cake. This finally made Dion open up to her more, and the two shared Dion's birthday cake while Nicole drove them home.

Esperanza was the first person whom Dion told about The Crooked Man, and Esperanza stated that she and Dion should deal with this Crooked Man rather than tell Nicole. When Mr. Fry assigned Jonathan to Dion and Esperanza's group for the science fair, Esperanza and Jonathan quickly went along, to Dion's frustration. To impress Esperanza, Dion tried to use his powers to help her walk, but Esperanza didn't like it because he didn't ask her what she wanted first, and got upset with him. She forgave Dion when he apologized.

Esperanza was present when Dion took on The Crooked Man in a fight. She figured out the Crooked Man's weakness that normal people are invisible to him, when she saw him bump into Nicole and it reminded her of how people accidently bump into her. After Esperanza told her about this, Nicole made use of this weakness to help Dion defeat the Crooked Man.

In Season 2, which is set 2 years after Season 1, Esperanza has taken on the nickname Invisible Girl, and formed the Triangle of Justice with Dion and Jonathan. Her main plot in this season is her desire to participate in the School Musical, but getting a severe case of performance anxiety when Kwame gives her the lead role instead of assigning her to the chorus like she wanted. Dion, Jonathan and even Nicole all help her to get over this. In "ISSUE 206: 36 Good Hours", when Brayden Mills, under influence of the Crooked Energy, attacks the school, Esperanza proves to be somehow immune to his mental powers, shrugging off both his attempt to make her fall asleep and his attempt to turn her on Dion.

## Personality

She is a no-nonsense and hilarious kid. She is quite sassy, but always means well. She has a lot of patience with Dion, and stood up for him even when he tried to renounce her as a friend.

## Powers and Abilities

**Mind Control Negation** - Esperanza first demonstrated this power when Brayden put the entire class to sleep with his mind control powers to confront Dion she remained unaffected, she then demonstrated this power again when Brayden tried to use his powers to bring her to his side and she was unaffected once again, how she can do this has not been yet explained.

## Relationships

* **Dion Warren**: Esperanza is the first friend Dion made after the move forced him to switch schools. At first he didn't like her hanging out with him or coming over to his house. It got to the point he openly rejected her as a friend when his birthday party went south. When she stuck with him despite his harsh words, and revealed she knew about his powers, Dion finally warmed up to her. He even got jealous when she became friends with Jonathan.
* **Jonathan King**: Like many kids in school, Jonathan initially barely noticed Esperanza, but the two quickly got along after they became partners for the Science Fair.

## Trivia

* Like Dion, she loves Reptile Repo.
* Sammi Haney really has brittle bone disease, and the wheelchair Esperanza uses is thus not a prop but her actual wheelchair.
* Sammi Haney’s father plays Esperanza’s dad in one brief scene.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Casting Call: An upcoming Netflix series called RAISING DION is currently searching for 6-11 year old female wheelchair users who would like to submit a video audition for the role of ESPERANZA.". *Facebook*. June 20, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
2. ↑ "I play Esperanza on Netflix’s Raising Dion!". *Instagram*. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "About Sammi Haney's DisabilityShirts.com". *Sammi Haney's DisabilityShirts*. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "‘Raising Dion’: Netflix Sets Premiere Date & Unveils First Images Of Sci-Fi Family Drama". *Deadline*. August 16, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 “ISSUE #105: Days of Mark's Future Past”. *Raising Dion*. Season #1. Episode #5
6. ↑ "ISSUE #106: Super Friends". *Raising Dion*. Season #1. Episode #6
7. ↑ "ISSUE #108: You Won't Like Him When He's Angry". *Raising Dion*. Season #1. Episode #8
8. ↑ "ISSUE #109: Storm Killer". *Raising Dion*. Season #1. Episode #9