El Paso’s Surprising Roster of Superheroes From Comics to the Sun City Streets

When people think of superhero cities, they think Gotham, Metropolis, or New York. El Paso does not usually come up in that conversation. I am not even sure if it really should, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be proud of the heroes we do have. The Sun City has quietly built a small but unique collection of comic book heroes and larger-than-life figures spanning both Marvel and DC, and even one legendary action icon who earned his bones right here in our streets. In honor of National Superhero Day, here is a look at every hero El Paso can officially call its own. There really aren't many, but they are definitely worth talking about!

El Paso's Marvel Hero: Shooting Star Brought the Sun City to the Comics in 1981

Before anyone knew Blue Beetle's address, Marvel Comics was already putting El Paso on the map. Shooting Star, real name Victoria Starwin, is a born-and-raised El Pasoan and a founding member of The Rangers, Marvel's Southwest superhero team. She is not a mutant or a gamma-powered giant. Her weapons are twin pistols, rodeo-trained acrobatics, and an aim that has held its own against Skrulls and supernatural threats alike. She debuted in The Incredible Hulk #265 in 1981 alongside teammates Firebird, Texas Twister, Red Wolf, and Living Lightning, and their very first mission was a showdown with the Hulk himself. El Paso has been in the Marvel universe for over four decades and most people have no idea.

READ MORE: THE SOUTHWEST MARVEL SUPERHERO TEAM, THE RANGERS

El Paso's DC Hero: Blue Beetle Was Always Supposed to Be Ours

On the DC side, Jaime Reyes is a high school student from El Paso, Texas who stumbled across an alien scarab and became one of the most important Latino superheroes in comics history. Created in 2006, Jaime attends El Paso High School, lives with his family in the Sun City, and fights everything from local crime bosses to alien conquerors in the streets of our city. When the 2023 Blue Beetle film moved the setting to the fictional Palmera City, fans across the country pushed back hard, and for good reason. El Paso is not just a backdrop. It is the point. The border culture, the Mexican-American identity, and the specific spirit of this place are baked into who Jaime Reyes is as a character. The comics version has always been and will always be one of us.

READ MORE: WHY THE BLUE BEETLE MOVIE SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN EL PASO

El Paso's Action Legend: John Wick Became the Baba Yaga Right Here

John Wick is not a superhero in the traditional sense. The man does not fly, he does not have a cape, and his superpower is mostly that he cannot be stopped by anything short of an act of God. But if we are handing out honorary titles, the Baba Yaga more than qualifies. The official 2017 John Wick prequel comic series from Dynamite Entertainment, written by Planet Hulk writer Greg Pak, reveals that John's first great vendetta exploded in the streets of El Paso. This is where a young John Wick, fresh out of prison, hunted down a trio of criminals known as The Three Bills and first collided with the assassin underworld. This is where he encountered the Continental Hotel for the first time and learned the Book of Rules that would define his entire existence. Before he was a legend, he was an El Pasoan. That is confirmed canon.

READ MORE: JOHN WICKS ASSASSIN ORIGINS STARTED IN EL PASO

El Paso's Own Hero: Amigo Man Has Been Protecting the Sun City Since 1976

Every great city has its guardian, and El Paso's is a smiling yellow sun in a mariachi sombrero and red cowboy boots. Amigo Man has been the official mascot and ambassador of El Paso since 1976, created by graphic designer Clive Cochran as part of a city tourism campaign that asked El Pasoans to share their pride in the Sun City. Nearly fifty years later he is still showing up to community events, handing roses to grandmothers, and doing what no Marvel or DC hero has ever managed: making every single person who meets him feel genuinely welcome. His outfit is El Paso in a costume, a mariachi sombrero representing the deep Mexican cultural roots of the city and cowboy boots representing the Texan spirit that runs just as deep. Amigo Man turned 50 this past February and a new statue of him now stands in front of the Visit El Paso center on Santa Fe Street downtown. The Hulk has never once handed anyone a rose. Advantage: Amigo Man.

El Paso is a city that tends to get overlooked in the big national conversations. But the next time someone asks which city has the most interesting collection of heroes to call its own, you know the answer. Marvel claimed us in 1981. DC always knew we were the right fit. John Wick was born here. And Amigo Man has been holding it down longer than any of them.