Francisco Guerrero (comics)

Francisco Guerrero (comics)

Francisco "Pancho" Guerrero, Jr., also known as El Gato Negro, is a fictional character and comic book superhero created by Richard Dominguez and published by Azteca Productions. The character made his first appearance in El Gato Negro #1 (October 1993).

Grandson of the original El Gato Negro, a former luchador-turned-adventurer, Francisco works as a social worker in Edinburg, Texas and devotes most of his free time to community service. Driven by the gruesome murder of his best friend at the hands of drug-smugglers, Francisco becomes the new El Gato Negro in order to wage war on crime. Unlike most superheroes, he possesses no superpowers and instead makes use of his own athletic abilities, accumulative knowledge, detective skills to fight crime. Operating throughout Lower Rio Grande Valley, he is assisted by several supporting characters including his grandfather Agustin Guerrero and weapons-mechanic expert Antonio Trujillo, and fights an assortment of villains ranging from common criminals to outlandish supervillains. Despite being popular with the citizens of his community, El Gato Negro is constantly being hunted by local law enforcement and sensationalized as a menace to society by the media. El Gato Negro is known to perform his vigilante activities under the cover of darkness, earning him the nickname The Nocturnal Warrior, a term which first appeared in within the comics in El Gato Negro #3 (Nov. 1995).

The character's debut series was met with critical success but lasted only four issues. After a seven-year hiatus, El Gato Negro later returned to be published in a new second series entitled, "El Gato Negro: Nocturnal Warrior". El Gato Negro's popularity has landed him guest-starring roles in several publications and other media including being featured in Mountain Dew's "Do the Dew" Tour. Dominguez is currently in-talks for a possible live-action film adaption based on the character.