Power (and Darkness) in the Mirror

In the world of Indigenous Futurism, many stories rely on the image of the Mesoamerican pyramid. But in the How to Kill a Superhero (HTKS) mythos, the Aztec gods aren't buried inside a pyramid or templte. They are living, breathing, and often terrifying forces of the future, embedded into second skins of spandex, rubber and leather.

To understand Roland, you must understand Tezcatlipoca, the Lord of the Smoking Mirror.

Who is Tezcatlipoca?

Representation of Tezcatlipoca in Codex Tudela, where the *ezpitzal* is shown as a headband and garland

In Mexica (Aztec) philosophy, Tezcatlipoca is the god of the night sky, the protector of the marginalized, and the bringer of both fortune and disaster. Unlike Western "moral" deities, he is a tester of souls. He carries an obsidian mirror that reflects the secret thoughts and hidden truths of humanity. He is a trickster god, but also a god that was deeply venerated by the Mexicas. He was held in high regard, and when unfortunate events happened to people, it was his symbolic meaning that helped communities reconcile, cope and even transform the meaning of tragedies, cruelties, or bad luck. He is also the god of nagualismo, because he holds the power to transform at will. Most often he transforms into jaguar, but he was also known to transform into a wild turkey. But his power of transformation was vast; he changes into many shapes in myths.

For the smart reader, the connections are woven into the text and art. Tezcatlipoca is the "Structural Backbone" of Roland's world—the provider of his powers and the architect of his fate.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

The Queer "Second Skin"

There is a reason Cesar Torres’ HTKS series resonates so deeply with queer and leather subcultures. In these communities, gear—leather, spandex, rubber—isn't just a costume; it is a ritual transformation.

Tezcatlipoca is the master of Transgression. He exists in the "in-between" spaces. He is a lord of the liminal. For Roland, putting on the suit isn't about becoming a "good guy"; it’s about accessing a power that is ancient, powerful, and inherently fluid. And we must stress the word fluid. Rolan'd’s suit can change color, shape and texture, based on his will. At times it feels and looks like a membrane, and at others, it becomes the resplendent nylon spandex of Roland’s fantasies, which are derived from his obsession with superheroes in the comics. But his suit is inherently magical, a type of gift that he has been given by the Smoking Mirror. In the above dungeon scenes with Nathan, notice the art on the walls—Tezcatlipoca is there. This illustration was created in the late 2010s by Adam Graphite, in collaboration with myself as a way to bring Tezcatlipoca’s influence to life through illustration. I specifically asked Adam to include the image of Tezcatlipoca show up in the composition. Here, we see the true effect of this ancient Aztec god: He is the Lord of the Night Wind, overseeing the ritual of power exchange and the revealing of the shadow-self. He provides a type of blessing to Roland in his myriad leather and kink sexual encounters with gay and queer men in the series.

A Vision of Spandex, Mexican Skin and the Power of the Mirror

Photo by Cesar Torres, Copyright Cesar Torres

It’s important to share with you this archival photo from 2018, when I cosplayed as Roland as a way to embody themes and symbols of the HTKS book series. This suit is very special, because it matches the way that the suit is rendered by Adam Graphite on the cover of Gold. I had this suit custom made in spandex for me, in order to create new photos in my photo studio in Chicago. I share it with you to explain the concept of embodied text: as a book author and writer, I embody my books with everything I do, say and wear. And in this case, I entered my own Toxcatl festival by donning the skin of Tezcatlipoca/Roland. As you know, I have since retired from cosplay modeling and moved onto a new text embodiment by wearing the skin of another Aztec god, Xochipilli. That project is called Our Lord of the Flowers, and you can see my latest works over in the book’s photo galleries. In this sense, you can say that yet another Aztec deity has taken me over, but we can never forget that the first one to do so was Tezcatlipoca.

By retiring from the era of superhero cosplays, I in essence was sacrificed up to Tezcatlipoca in an act of Toxcatl ritual, which I will cover below.

A Modern Toxcatl

Cover of *Gold*, Book 4 of How to Kill a Superhero

The four HTKS books explore the Toxcatl ritual. In history, a beautiful youth was chosen to live as the personification of Tezcatlipoca—treated as a god for a year before the ultimate sacrifice. Roland is our modern Ixiptla (deity impersonator). He wears the spandex and the muscle not as a hero's uniform, but as a ritual garment for a cycle of sacrifice and rebirth that mirrors the mythic battle against the primordial monster, Cipactli. And as we close out the book series in the fourth volume Gold, we come to understand that Roland will not live forever, and the suit won’t save him. In keeping with the tradition of Toxcatl, he will be sacrificed and his heart ripped out to close out his tenure in the Toxcatl ritual, making way for another Ixiptla to step in.

Beyond Visual Nostalgia

Every book I have ever published in the Aztecverse is deeply woven by the Aztec gods and goddesses, and yet, you won’t find typical imagery like pyramids or codex art on my book covers. I avoid pyramids on my covers because the gods of the Aztecverse are active today. Their "portals" aren't stone arches; they are inner experiences, acts of indigenous insight, as well as acts of bravery against colonialism and fascism. In other words, I am always invoking Aztec thought and imagery, but through allegory and symbol. And what’s most important to remember is that there are many secret symbols in every visual and textual manifestation of my books, ranging from the covers, to my art phootography, to my Instagram captions, my Muscle and Spandex newsletter, as well as interviews I give to bloggers and journalists. The Aztecverse is in everything I make, if you know how to see it.

Explore the Lore

To dive deeper into the hierarchy of the gods and how they influence the HTKS universe, visit the official Tezcatlipoca Pantheon Page.

The Shadow and the Mirror: Why Tezcatlipoca is the Heart of the Aztecverse