Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness is coming out this week, so it’s time to get to know a few characters better and the comic influences!

We’ve already covered Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch, so today we’re going with America Chavez!

Name: America Chavez

Superhero Name: America Chavez (sometimes Miss America)

Created By: Joe Cassey and Nick Dragotta

Played By: Xochitl Gomez

Powers: Superhuman strength and speed, flight, star-shaped portal creation, inter-dimensional travel and invulnerability

Mini Bio: America thought she was born in a reality known as the Utopian Parallel, which was nearly destroyed when she was six years old, with the only hope of saving it being her mother’s. When they sacrificed themselves, America ran away and landed in the Marvel Comic Universe 616.

From there, she was found by the Santana family, who secretly adopted her when she washed up on the shore of Jones Beach. They told authorities that she was a relative from San Juan, so she would not be lost in the foster care system. The family was also told by a child psychiatrist that America’s memories of the Utopian Parallel were a coping mechanism from the trauma of losing her family.

When she was 16, America joined the Young Avengers, where she became good friends with heroes like Prodigy and Kate Bishop, she also joined the Ultimates, until she decided to go to Sotomayer University, where she moved in with Prodigy.

But, sometime later, America revealed to her girlfriend, Ramone, that her powers were failing. She was kidnapped by her sister, Catalina, where it was revealed that the Utopian Parallel was in fact something she had made up. America had actually grown up with her mum’s and her sister on a remote island, run by a scientist who was thought to be attempting to cure her of Edges Disease, which causes cellular degeneration.

The cure worked for 13 years and gave America her powers. Now that her powers are failing, America has been taking a step back from her superhero duties while she tries to find a cure.

First Comic Appearance: Vengeance issue 1 (2011)

Most Common Team Ups: Young Avengers, Ultimates, A-Force

Comic Recommendations: Young Avengers (2013) by Kieron Gillen, America (2017) by Gabby Rivera and America Chavez: Made In The USA (2021) by Kalinda Vazquez