Silverclaw (Maria De Guadalupe "Lupe" Santiago), is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a reserve member of the Avengers and regards Edwin Jarvis as an uncle figure. Publication history Silverclaw first appeared in Avengers vol. 3 #8 (September, 1998) and was created by writer Kurt Busiek and illustrator George Pérez. Fictional character biography Maria de Guadalupe Santiago was born near the village of the Kamekeri in the (fictional) South American nation of Costa Verde. The Kamekeri are a simple people whose ancestors worshipped the ancient gods until the arrival of the Spaniards. The Spanish missionaries helped to modernize the Kamekeri's lives and taught them their Christian beliefs. The conversion of the Kamekeri led to an abandonment of the ancient beliefs and gods. Legends say that the Kamekeri's gods left for the heavens, except for one. Peliali, the Volcano goddess, vowed to stay among her chosen people and to provide them with her protection. Silverclaw's father, Jaime Santiago, was a Kamekeri villager who studied the ancient beliefs and pantheon. He traveled into the mountains where Peliali was said to dwell and returned with stories of encountering the volcano goddess. Santiago was ridiculed and denounced by the church for his reports of Peliali, but despite the mocking of the Kamekeri, he continued to visit her mountain. Months passed, and Santiago returned with an infant who he claimed was his daughter and the daughter of Peliali. The child was given a Christian name and baptized. During the baptism, little Lupe's ability to transform into were-forms manifested. Due to her bizarre and often uncontrolled transformations, she was the target of constant teasing and whispered fear from the Kamekeri. As she grew up, Lupe's father taught her of her heritage and told her stories of her mother. But each time he would take her to visit Peliali's mountain home, there was no sign of the volcano goddess. When Lupe was still a child, her father died and she was taken in by the local church orphanage which was funded by ChildCare, an American charity for international orphans. The sisters that ran the orphanage were nervous about Lupe's strange powers and considered them ungodly. When Edwin Jarvis, the butler to Tony Stark and the world-famous Avengers, saw a commercial for the charitable organization ChildCare he decided to use part of his salary to