Written by Kalinda Vazquez
Art by Carlos Gomez
Published by Marvel Comics
“My moms would get what I’m doing. They’re my real family anyway.”
America was in elementary school when she began to recover memories of her mothers and her time with them in the Utopian Parallel. It was around the same time she started to beat up bullies.
As she got older, America beat up more than just bullies.
She embraced her power of righting wrongs, but it came at a cost.
The toll on her family was tremendous. It was painful enough for her parents when the cops would bring her home after a street fight at night.
It was so much worse when America could fly around the world fighting injustice. Her family never knew where she was, if she was okay, when she would come home.
After one particularly explosive fight, America realized that she could no longer live between Mamí and Papí’s expectations and the destiny her mothers laid out before her. She was America Santana no more. She was America Chavez, and she would make her moms proud. It was a painful choice, but the only one that she could make.
She hadn’t seen anyone from her family in the years that followed.
All of that history leads us here: America at her family’s apartment, after the fire that nearly destroyed their block.
Despite the chaos that led to her arrival, America’s extended family is thrilled to see her again. It’s been years. Her nephew who wasn’t even born last time they were all together is three years old now. Everyone has aged, but her tías, tíos, and cousins are as full of life as ever. They are all ecstatic at her return, eager to connect.
Mamí, Papí, and her brother Berto have a far more complicated reunion with America. Berto’s pain at not seeing his sister for so long is written across his face. Papí’s regret at how she left is palpable. Mamí’s long-simmering anger erupts. Time and again America’s selfish refusal to keep her head down and stay out of trouble has endangered her family. Mamí always believed that it would be the family that paid the price for America’s heroics. The fire on their block was just the most extreme example of it.
It’s all too much for America. She can’t face this, not now. She heads to the family bodega with her father, but even there it’s not truly safe. She’s been left a mysterious invitation of sorts from a mysterious figure. She follows their clues and finally encounters them in a local bowling alley. America is ready to take them down and bring an end to this sordid family business.
Unfortunately, she’s the one who gets taken down. And the sordid family business? It’s just getting started.
