lopez-manny-nomads-facef MANNY "KID" LOPEZlopez-manny-nomads-faceob

Real Name: Manuel "Manny" Lopez

Identity/Class: Human civilian;
    presumably an American citizen of Latino descent (nation of ancestry unrevealed)

Occupation: Presumably a student

Group Membership: Associated with but not a full member of Nomads gang (Afro, Cool, Duke, Eddy, and at least 2 others)

Affiliations: None known;
    the White Tiger (Hector Ayala) was trying to steer him away from a life of crime

Enemies: White Tiger, unidentified South Bronx train yard's security guard

Known Relatives: Unidentified mother

Aliases: Kid Lope

Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
    formerly East 177th Street, the south Bronx, New York

First Appearance: (As "Kid") Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#20/5 (January, 1976);
    (identified) Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21/5 (February, 1976)

   

lopez-manny-nomads-gunPowers/Abilities: Manny had no superhuman abilities or special training.

    Pressured into working with a violent gang by threats to his mother, he handled a handgun with some skill and marksmanship on his first use.

    Manny had a stammer, but that may have only been because of the stress of the violent confrontation.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 4'6")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 75 lbs.)
Eyes: Dark (likely brown or green)
Hair: Black or dark brown
   

History:
(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21/5 (fb) - BTS) <A year before the main story> - Hobie Brown took on Manny Lopez as a big brother.

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#20/5 (fb) - BTS) - Living in the south Bronx and intimidated by the Nomads gang, who were "kings on his block," Manny Lopez agreed to accompany them on a trip to the local train yard, fearing they would hurt his mother if they refused.

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#20/5) - As the Nomads looked over the fence, Cool told "Kid" to stick with him and he would be fine. As Duke sneaked up behind the security guard, Cool told Kid to call out and make the "pig" turn toward him so he wouldn't see Duke. The frightened Manny stammered out, "H-hey p-pig! T-urn around, c-cop!" and the guard turned toward him, allowing Duke to smash him from behind with a stick to the head.

    Eddy then then proudly spray-painted "Nomads" on the wall and then gave the spray paint can to the Kid and told him it was his turn. As Manny sprayed "Nomads" on the wall, the gang members praised his style, and Cool told them that they were going to make something out of them. Manny smiled and seemed pleased with that.lopez-manny-nomads-struck

    The guard, still prostrate on the ground, considered that the gang was going to make the kid dead, but as he slowly reached for his gun, but the Nomads noticed, and as the guard rose, Duke kicked him in the face, knocking him on his back. As Duke pulled his knife and prepared to kill him, Cool stopped him and instead called Manny over. He asked the kid if he had ever held a gun before as he handed him his, and Manny said he hadn't and asked Cool what he wanted him to do with it. Cool clearly told him, "I want you to point it at the pig's head, kid! Want you to squeeze down on the trigger! Want you to kill him! Then you'll be a Nomad!"

    As Manny put his head down and his hands shook as he pointed the gun at him, the guard begged not to kill him as he had a wife and a baby. However, they were then interrupted by the White Tiger, who took out the Nomads progressively. Afterward, Manny aimed his gun at the White Tiger and called out "M-m-mister?...I-I g-gotta shoot you, mister! If I don't, t-they'll get me l-later! D-do you understand, mister? T-the Nomads is...kings on my b-block!" The White Tiger told him that he did not understand but called the kid friend and asked him to hand him the weapon. Manny told him that he could not do that as they would hurt his mom and that he had to live there, but as the White Tiger repeated told him to give him the gun, but the kid finally replied that he couldn't before firing the gun.

    The White Tiger's superhuman reflexes allowed him to dodge a shot to the heart and instead take the bullet in his left shoulder, and he praised Manny for having very good aim for one so small. At that point, the guard, having gotten back on his feet, struck Manny in the back of the head with his nightstick, inadvertently striking a fatal blow. The guard stated that the White Tiger had saved his life and that he was returning the favor, noting that this was one street-punk who wouldn't try a stunt like this again.

    As the guard considered that he didn't mean to hit the kid so hard and noted that he must have lost his head, the White Tiger realized that Manny was dead.
lopez-manny-nomads-corpse
    The White Tiger then punched the guard down, after which he stated that he had tried to save the boy and guide him from a life of violence, and he told the guard that the boy would not have shot had he not seen the guard rise up behind "me" (see comments). The White Tiger further claimed that the boy had fired at the guard's uniform "from instinct," and he suggested that it may have been a foolish thing to have saved the guard.

    As the White Tiger departed, he told the guard, "Of you the night has made a murderer!" The shaking guard apparently cried for the first time in his life.

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21/5 (fb) - BTS) - NYPD detective Jimmy D'Angelo and two officers, Price and another, found Hector Ayala's radio near the train yard where "Kid" Lopez had been shot. Noticing the blood on the radio, they dusted it for prints and determined it to be Hector Ayala's.

 (Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21/5 (fb) - BTS) - Hobie Brown read in the newspaper of Manny's death and of the suspected involvement of the White Tiger. As the Prowler, Hobie sought to bring the White Tiger to justice.

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#20/5 - BTS) - Detective D'Angelo, Price and the officer showed up at the Ayala's door, asking about Hector in regards to a suspect in a gang war killing of Lopez. Hector denied any such activities, but then confessed that he didn't really remember.

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21/5 - BTS) - After D'Angelo explained how they had found Hector's radio, Hector felt the power of the amulets, fought off the police officers, transformed into the White Tiger and escaped.

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21/5 (fb) - BTS) - The White Tiger overheard that the night watchmen was in shock and could not tell the NYPD who had killed Lopez .

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21/5 - BTS) - Later, as the White Tiger hid from the NYPD, he was attacked by the Prowler who accused him of killing the "Kid."

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21/5 (fb) - BTS) - Recovering from his coma, the watchman admitted to killing the Kid, saying that the White Tiger had tried to stop him, that it was an accident and that he had never seen Hector Ayala.

(Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21/5 - BTS) - Eventually the Prowler relented. convinced of the Tiger's innocence, after which Det. D'Angelo revealed that the Tiger had been cleared of charges of killing Lopez.

Comments: Created by Bill Mantlo and George Perez.

    Based on how small Manny was compared to the rest of the Nomads (he looked 18-20 inches shorter than Cool), I would guess him to have only been 10-12 years old, but he certainly could have been small for his age.

    Yeah, the guard should have restrained himself better when taking down Manny, but the guard has just gotten knocked out from behind with a stick to the head, then as he got up, he was dropped kicked to the ground with a foot to the chin, after which the gang members were going to kill him (and the kid held the gun). The kid fired the gun (shooting the guard's savior in the shoulder -- the bullet would have hit the White Tiger in the heart had he not dodged), and the guard hit the gun wielder with his nightstick to stop him from firing again.
    However, the guard was likely concussed and dazed and acting to save his life. He afterward stated that he didn't mean to hit him so hard and that he "kinda lost my head." The next issue inferred that the guard was "in shock -- unable to speak the truth!", which seems consistent with him being concussed. The guard was subsequently noted to have come out of a coma and admitted his actions.
    The White Tiger claimed that Manny had only fired because he saw the guard getting up and reacted to his uniform, but the guard was behind Manny, and Manny was absolutely reacting to the White Tiger and not the guard.
    I guess he should have given the kid a chance to shoot again and maybe kill either himself or the White Tiger?
   There are absolutely cases of police brutality, racism, etc., but this really wasn't one of them. 

    Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21/5 has the White Tiger talking about the Kid being shot, but he died on panel from a nightstick blow to his head...unless the guard shot him afterwards to make it appear like someone else had killed him.

    The man beaten by the Nomads who accidentally killed Manny was referred to by the Nomads as "cop" and "pig," but his uniform was just a jacket and a hat. The text narrative refers to him as "a night-shift security guard," and the White Tiger referred to him as "the watchman."

    This profile was completed 06/07/2026, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary 's celebratory event to represent the White Tiger (Hector Ayala).

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Manny Lopez should be distinguished from:

images: (without ads)
Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#20/5, pg. 1, panel 11 (face, calling out to guard);
       pg. 2, panel 7 (face, main);
       pg. 8, panel 6 (with gun);
          panel 12 (struck);
       pg. 9. panel 7 (corpse)
Appearances:
 Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#20/5 "The Beginning" (January, 1976) - Bill Mantlo (writer), George Perez (penciler), Jack Able (inker), Archie Goodwin (editor)
 Deadly Hands of Kung Fu#21/5 "To Claw the Eyes of Night" (February, 1976) - Bill Mantlo (writer), George Perez (penciler), Jack Able (inker), Archie Goodwin (editor)

First posted: 09/02/2026
Last updated: 06/07/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and � 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters