Vixen (comics)

For other uses, see Vixen (disambiguation).

Vixen (Mari Jiwe McCabe) is a superhero created by Gerry Conway and Bob Oksner. She first appeared in Action Comics #521 (July 1981), published by DC Comics. Through the Tantu Totem, which allows her to harness the spirit (ashe) of any animal, past or present, and use its abilities.

Vixen
Vixen as depicted in Justice League of America: Vixen #1 (January 2017). Art by Ivan Reis.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Action Comics #521 (July 1981)
Created by	Gerry Conway Bob Oksner
In-story information
Alter ego	Mari Jiwe McCabe
Species	Metahuman
Team affiliations	Justice League Detroit Suicide Squad Checkmate Ultramarine Corps Justice League International Justice League of America II Justice Foundation Justice League Task Force Birds of Prey
Partnerships	Doctor Light Green Lantern Batman Wonder Woman Black Canary Black Lightning Aquaman Hawkgirl Animal Man
Abilities	Expert martial artist and hand-to hand combatant Indomitable will Use of mystical Tantu Totem grants: Animal imitation Enhanced strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, reflexes, and senses Enhanced vision Razor sharp claws Accelerated healing Morphogenetic field energy manipulation absorbed superpowers

Two versions of the character appeared in The CW's Arrowverse. The Mari McCabe version debuted in the CW Seed animated series Vixen, voiced by Megalyn Echikunwoke, who also reprised her role in an episode of the live-action parent series, Arrow. Legends of Tomorrow introduced a World War II-era Vixen and Mari's grandmother, Amaya Jiwe, portrayed by Maisie Richardson-Sellers.

Creation

In an interview, Conway discussed his reasoning for the character's creation:

"...what I was trying to address was what I perceived to be a lack of strong female leads in DC’s comics at the time. Or, let me put it this way: there was an opportunity, as DC was looking for additional books. Surveying the titles that they have, it seemed to me there were some obvious openings for characters that had been underrepresented. One of them had been lead female super-heroes. They had Wonder Woman. To a lesser degree they had Supergirl, Power Girl (who I also created), and Wonder Girl. There were a lot of girls, but not a lot of full-formed adult female super-heroes operating at DC, so I wanted to create one I also wanted to create a character who was a minority, and the idea of a female Black super-heroine hadn’t been played up to any great extent at that point. I think Storm (of the X-Men) was around, but I don’t think there were very many other representations of that type of character in the field...She was kind of based on what we called supermodels at the time. It was a very strange social phenomenon that was starting to occur back then. You had these women who were obviously objects of the male gaze, but they were also extremely empowered. They took charge of their own image, their own business, and identity. I wanted to show that. This was the 70s, so I hope female readers today will give us a bit of a pass on this. There were not that many active role models regarding careers for women at that time where you could reasonably say: this woman would have the resources to maintain a career as a super-heroine. What were the jobs available to women in the mid- to late-70s? Clerical work. Teaching jobs. There were very few potential jobs that would provide the potential resources and money that a character like Vixen would need to carry on a super-hero career. That’s a horribly sexist reality we were dealing with. Plus, she’s a minority, and that adds another whole layer of disadvantage that she has to overcome. So, it was a bit of wish fulfillment (for that character, not necessarily for me as the writer), and a bit of practicality to reflect something that was real in our society, i.e. the advent of these take-charge, supermodel/businesswomen."

Publication history

Page from Cancelled Comic Cavalcade showing the intended cover to The Vixen #1. Art by Bob Oskner and Vince Colletta.

Vixen was intended to be the first African female DC superhero to star in her own series, but the first issue of her series was cancelled in the DC Implosion in 1978, never to be released. The story was subsequently printed in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade.

Since her debut in Action Comics, she has primarily appeared in team books, most notably various incarnations of the Justice League and Suicide Squad.

In October 2008, G. Willow Wilson began a five-issue limited series, Vixen: Return of the Lion.

Character biography

In ancient Ghana, the warrior Tantu asked Anansi the Spider to create a totem that would give the wearer all of the powers of the animal kingdom, only if they would use the power to protect the innocent. Tantu used the totem to become Africa's first legendary hero. The totem was later passed down to Tantu's descendants until it reached the McCabes.

Growing up in a small village in the fictional nation of Zambesi, M'Changa province, Mari Jiwe McCabe heard the legend of the "Tantu Totem" from her mother. Sometime later, Mari's mother was killed by poachers and she was raised by her father Reverend Richard Jiwe, the village priest. Reverend Jiwe himself was killed by his half-brother (Mari's uncle) General Maksai. Maksai wanted the Tantu Totem, which Jiwe had possessed.

Vixen debuts in Action Comics #521.

Mari ultimately moved to America, where she established an identity as Mari McCabe and worked as a model in New York City. She used her newfound wealth to travel the world. On a trip back to Africa, she came across her uncle and took back the Tantu Totem, using its power to become the costumed superhero Vixen.

Fighting crime

Vixen made only two appearances as a solo crime fighter: once fighting poachers in India and once fighting against the techno-psycho criminal Admiral Cerebrus. She was a reluctant hero until the Justice League of America was reorganized by Aquaman. She applied for full-time League membership and was accepted. During her time with the JLA, the totem was taken from her by General Maksai, who still sought its power. The totem would only grant its full power to those who would use it to protect the innocent, and it caused Maksai to be transformed into a raging beast. Maksai died in battle with Vixen. When the team faced the killer android Amazo, Vixen and several of her teammates were beaten into unconsciousness and then left bound and gagged in a walled-off pit. Vixen saved the lives of herself and her fellow Leaguers by using her powers to shatter her bonds and dig to freedom. Vixen continued with that particular incarnation of the JLA until her teammates, Steel and Vibe, were killed, leading to Martian Manhunter disbanding the team.

Around this time, Vixen teamed up with Animal Man. She traveled to his suburban house with knowledge of a mysterious, murderous force that was affecting Animal Man's powers. He found himself unable to access his powers correctly.

Suicide Squad

Main article: Suicide Squad

Vixen returned to modeling, but a Caribbean photo session turned violent; Mari's colleagues were killed by drug smugglers. She appealed to the government, who turned the matter over to the Suicide Squad. She went undercover to capture the drug kingpin Cujo, whose appearance had been revealed by footage from the photo shoot. Along with Captain Boomerang and Black Orchid, she destroyed the operation, but not before she lost control and killed the criminal kingpin. Revolted by what she had become, she agreed to work with the Squad until her animal instincts could be curbed. She worked with the Squad for some time, again seeing more teammates and friends killed. When it was disbanded for a year, Mari returned to modeling and even launched a successful line of clothing. Her failed romance with Ben Turner (the Bronze Tiger) made Vixen decline an offer to rejoin the Squad. She realized that Turner needed mental support, and she reluctantly returned. She ultimately gave up on a future with the Tiger, sensing that he would never admit to needing help, and left the team.

Other adventures

After the Suicide Squad's heyday, Mari continued to do undercover work. She was drafted for at least one mission for Checkmate (the Squad's brother organization). At some point, she assisted Oracle and the Birds of Prey. She went undercover to investigate a strange "superhero" cult, where the leader was using mind control and wound up brainwashed by him herself. The Huntress tried to help her and was nearly killed. Vixen regained her senses by channeling the stubbornness of a mule to hold back the mind control of the cult leader. She and Huntress then rescued the other brainwashed heroes.

Vixen may still have had trouble controlling her animal side while using the totem, as witnessed when she worked alongside the Flash to stop Gorilla Grodd. She also served on one mission with the Justice League Task Force, helped Wonder Woman during a battle with Circe, and helped her former JLA comrades protect Lex Luthor. She then joined the loose-knit Ultramarine Corps. While part of the Corps, Mari was brainwashed by Gorilla Grodd who sent her and other heroes to battle the JLA. Ultimately, Vixen and the others were freed.

Infinite Crisis

Main article: Infinite Crisis

After Sue Dibny is killed in the Identity Crisis miniseries, Vixen rejoined her Justice League colleagues. She was present when the original Firestorm died during a battle with the Shadow Thief. Vixen adopted a new uniform in Infinite Crisis #7, resembling her Justice League Unlimited counterpart.

One Year Later

Main article: One Year Later

Vixen was tricked into battle in Hub City by Solomon Grundy, who had gained increased intelligence following his resurrection. Using her totem, Grundy planned to merge his spirit with Amazo's body and thus gain further power. Without her totem, Vixen found that her innate connection to the "Red", the 'essence' of animal life', was falling apart. She managed to 'lock onto' the totem, but her mind became lost in a flock of migrating birds. After mimicking the abilities of a young boy, Vixen managed to regain her mind and quickly flew to New York to retrieve her totem. Vixen literally dropped into the JLA battle against Amazo. After the villains were subdued, Vixen became a charter member of the newly revamped Justice League of America.

Justice League of America

Vixen's main story arc in the early issues of Justice League of America Vol. 2, revolved around a change in her powers; Vixen changed from no longer drawing on animal characteristics, but to drawing on the powers of those around her. She matched others' skill levels and, as she suspected, drained powers from them. Superman was first to catch on to this and she subsequently revealed it to Red Arrow.

Vixen sought out her former Suicide Squad teammate Bronze Tiger to discuss her situation, and subsequently admitted everything to the League. Chairperson Black Canary instructed her to hand in her credentials and removed her from the team. Afterward, Dinah discussed with Mari the possibility of fixing the properties of the totem with the assistance of Zatanna.

When Zatanna attempted to find the source of the problem, she saw a mystic image of Vixen and Animal Man as puppets. When she tried to break the spell, she was repelled by an unknown force. When Vixen attempted to defeat the newly restored Amazo by absorbing all his stolen powers, she became mysteriously weak. She then fell unconscious, with Amazo bearing down on her.

When Zatanna and Red Tornado finally resolved the crisis, Vixen went to seek Animal Man, since he had been affected by similar power fluctuations, and was left unable to tap into the powers of Earth-borne animals. There, they were both sucked into the Tantu Totem, where, like in Zatanna's vision, they were trapped in Anansi's net. Anansi revealed his powers and how being the god of stories, he changed Buddy and Mari's personal histories and sources of powers to test them.

In an attempt to keep them contained, Anansi restored their connection to the Red, but altered the personal histories of the Leaguers, to prevent them from ever founding the JLA. However, Vixen escaped and sought the new Leaguers to fight Anansi at their side. Although she succeeded in gathering allies, they were still no match for Anansi's power. Vixen held a gun to her totem, even though she knew that if the totem was destroyed, they would all be destroyed. This forced Anansi to return things to normal. Anansi then revealed to Mari that the whole thing was actually a test. He explained that reality had been changed on a fundamental level, and he needed someone to act as his agent against an individual who could take advantage of the situation. He restored Mari's powers, returned her and the JLA to their homes, and said that he would one day call upon her.

Return of the Lion

Vixen: Return of the Lion is a limited series detailing Vixen's return to her home village for the first time. In that series, Vixen found that a local warlord named Aku Kwesi and his men had taken over several Zambesi villages. It turned out that this was the same man who killed Vixen's mother years ago. When Vixen confronted him, she found that he had powers that rivaled, and possibly surpassed, hers. These powers were based on advanced technology and chemicals that were given to him by Intergang lieutenant Whisper A'Daire. The rest of the Justice League of America went to Africa to render assistance, only to have several members get doused with Kwesi's specially prepared Vodun zombie potion. This allowed A'daire to take control of Superman and Black Canary and pit them against the rest of the League.

Final Crisis

During the Final Crisis crossover event, Vixen attended Martian Manhunter's funeral, and was later at the Hall of Justice when Empress, Sparx, and Más y Menos came there seeking help after being attacked by Mirror Master and Arthur Light. She later participated in a massive battle with Darkseid's forces after he nearly conquered Earth with the Anti-Life Equation.

After Final Crisis

In the aftermath of Final Crisis, the JLA was in tatters, with many of its members having to leave. Mari and the remaining team members enlisted the aid of Hardware after Kimiyo Hoshi went missing in her search for Shadow Thief and Starbreaker. With help from Superman's friend Icon, the team emerged victorious in the battle with Starbreaker, with Mari having bright hopes for the future of the team.

A short while later, Vixen broke her leg in a battle between the JLA and the dangerous villain Prometheus with Hawkman's mace. While she and the rest of the team tried to recover, they were ambushed by Despero, who sought to destroy the weakened League. The JLA eventually defeated Despero, only to be informed by Zatanna of the horrific events of Blackest Night taking effect across the globe. After the Black Lanterns attacked, Vixen told Kimiyo that she was taking a leave of absence from the team to recover from her injuries.

According to writer James Robinson, Vixen was initially intended to have a significantly different exit from the team. According to him, issue #41 of Justice League of America was supposed to have Mari returning to Africa to help defend the continent in the wake of Freedom Beast's murder in Cry for Justice, eventually establishing a team of African superheroes known as the Justice League of Africa.

Despite no longer working with the League, Vixen was one of the heroes hunting down Maxwell Lord at the start of Justice League: Generation Lost, and was presumably mind-wiped by him along with most of the Earth's population. She and Black Canary later traveled to San Francisco to help Zatanna capture a group of humans who had been transformed into Were-Hyenas.

Sometime after her resignation from the JLA, Vixen traveled to the rundown neighborhood of Liberty Hill to recruit Tattooed Man for a new team of heroes she is putting together. However, Vixen discovered that a group of gang bangers who had formerly worked under Tattooed Man had taken control of the community and made a fortune for themselves through crime. Mistakenly believing that Tattooed Man was responsible for the acts of violence committed by his former thugs, Vixen rescinded her offer and attacked him. After a brutal fight, Vixen willingly surrendered and agreed to leave and let Tattooed Man take care of his neighborhood in his own way.

The New 52

In The New 52 (a 2011 reboot of the DC Comics universe), Vixen was recruited as part of the new Justice League International. Her tenure with the team proved short, since she was injured in an explosion and rendered comatose. Her old friend David Zavimbe later joined the team in her honor as Batwing.

After the JLI disbanded, Vixen was seen as one of Cyborg's new recruits for the main Justice League roster.

DC Rebirth

Vixen is recruited by Batman to join his new Justice League of America. Vixen is later seen working on behalf of the League, investigating a lead on a mysterious technology threatening America.

Powers and abilities

Due to her blood relationship to the Spider God Anansi, Vixen possesses the innate ability to make direct contact with the Earth's morphogenetic field, which is sometimes called "The Red". The Morphogenetic Field/Red is a primordial force that connects all life in the universe. This contact with "The Red" allows her to draw upon the abilities of any animal that has ever lived on the planet. By simply focusing on a specific animal, Vixen can draw its talent from the morphogenetic field and mimic its abilities, giving herself a variety of superhuman powers.

Her abilities have allowed her to channel the powers of extinct animals (such as the saber-toothed tiger and the Triceratops), domesticated animals (like the Doberman Pinscher), mutated animals like Gorilla Grodd, and even mystical beasts (like dragons). Her powers even allow her to twist some animal abilities, like when she used the bio-luminescence of a Marine hatchet fish and an Angler fish to produce light from her hand and to create a laser-like beam from her head. Vixen can enhance the abilities of the animals she is mimicking, once when her body was destroyed, she used the regenerative abilities of flatworms to reconstruct her entire body within minutes. Vixen’s abilities can also be proportional to her body, allowing her dramatic increase in strength and speed. By using the strength of a Rhinoceros Beetle she was able to increase her strength 850 times and while using the flight speed of a Housefly she easily broke Mach 2. Vixen's connection to the "Red" also allows her to combine the abilities of multiple animals, once holding onto the morphogenetic traits of an entire forest.

Vixen's claws/nails are particularly sharp and tough, enabling her to rend through a variety of substances, such as fabric, wood, cinder block and even soft metals with ease. Her claws are magically enhanced and have drawn blood from individuals who are considered highly resistant to damage or near invulnerable like Geo-Force, Despero, and Pre-Crisis Superman.

Occasionally, she has been known to physically transform into animals—for example, she has shapeshifted into a gray wolf, a great horned owl, and a cougar. Vixen can also assume a hybrid form, in which she maintains her humanoid form but with certain animal adaptations, like when she took on the gills, fins, and missing eyes of a blind cavefish in JSA Classified and later shapeshifted into a humanoid wolf (retaining the cave fish's blindness). Vixen also has the ability to communicate with animals and can override the natural predator/prey instinct found in most wild animals.

While the full extent of Vixen's control over the morphogenetic field is unknown, she has on occasion drawn pure energy from it and displayed this energy as a force field and energy constructions. While in cooperation with Animal Man and the woman known as Tristess, she helped to create an entire universe.

It is unknown what would happen if Vixen tried to use her magical abilities on an alien animal, or if she would gain access to the morphogenetic field of another planet. While assisting Hawkgirl during a mission on a distant planet, she was able to access her abilities. During the time when Vixen was mimicking human abilities, she was able to mimic the extraterrestrial abilities of Superman. This might indicate that she is able to mimic the abilities of aliens as long as she is aware of them. One apparent drawback of Vixen's powers is that she is not always able to control the inputs from the morphogenetic field. Sometimes, she has absorbed unwanted animal behavior, such as instinctive rage or killing frenzy. The longer she stays in contact with the morphogenetic field, the less human and more animal she seems to become.

Vixen wears a mystic artifact called the Tantu Totem, a fox-head shaped talisman given to her ancestors by the African trickster god Anansi. It was previously thought that the totem was the source of her powers but later stories, have shown that it merely prevents the morphogenetic field from overwhelming her mind. It can be assumed that the totem increased her natural mimicking range of 150 feet to worldwide, as she has been seen taking on the traits of animals from around the world. The full capability of the totem is unknown but Vixen once used the magic of the totem to heal bruises and wounds within seconds by simply touching it. The power of the totem has also allowed Vixen to tap into the Red and make mental contact with the "Wishers", a group of people around the world who were granted wishes by the Queen of Fable.

After losing the totem, Vixen was forced to tap into the human template as a way to purge herself of pure animalistic sensations and regain her humanity. Afterward, Vixen is left with a crippled connection with the morphogenetic field, unable to reach any animal except humans. In this state she shows the ability to mimic metahuman powers, such as Jay Garrick's speed, Geo-Force's earth-based powers, and Black Lightning's elemental control, as well as the Kryptonian superpowers of Superman, an extraterrestrial. Her abilities are not only limited to that of metahumans, as she was able to duplicate Red Arrow's archery skills and even Green Lantern's ring in an issue of Justice League of America, suggesting that she gained powers similar to those of Amazo. It is revealed that this is actually trickery on the part of Anansi the Spider God. Upon confronting him within the Tantu Totem, Anansi restores Vixen’s animal powers. For unknown reason, Anansi has made the Tantu Totem his current home and considers Vixen’s family the custodians and guardians of the totem. While Mari doesn't need to wear the totem to use her powers, she is expected to keep it safe for Anansi.

Other versions

• An alternate universe incarnation of Vixen appears in Flashpoint. This version is a member of Wonder Woman's Furies and former lover of Oliver Queen.
• An alternate universe incarnation of Vixen appears in DC Comics Bombshells. This version is a lesbian, lover of Hawkgirl, and ally of the eponymous group.

In other media

Television

Vixen as she appears in Justice League Unlimited.

Vixen (left) as depicted in Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

• Vixen appears in Justice League Unlimited, voiced by Gina Torres. This version is a member of the Justice League and in a relationship with Green Lantern.
• Vixen appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by Cree Summer. This version is in a relationship with B'wana Beast.
• Vixen makes non-speaking cameo appearances in Teen Titans Go!.
• Vixen appears in Justice League Action, voiced by Jasika Nicole. This version is a member of the Justice League.

Arrowverse

Megalyn Echikunwoke as Mari McCabe from the animated web series in the live-action Arrow (left) and Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Amaya Jiwe in DC's Legends of Tomorrow (right).

Characters inspired by Vixen appear in series set in the Arrowverse

• Mari McCabe / Vixen appears in an animated self-titled web series, voiced by Megalyn Echikunwoke as an adult and Kimberly Brooks as her younger self. This version hails from Detroit, Michigan.
  • Mari also appears in the live-action TV series Arrow episode "Taken", portrayed by Echikunwoke. By this time, she has become an experienced vigilante with extensive knowledge of mysticism, which she uses to assist Oliver Queen and his team in fighting Damien Darhk.
  • Mari also appears in the second season of the animated web series Freedom Fighters: The Ray, voiced again by Echikunwoke.
• Mari's grandmother and previous holder of the Vixen mantle, Amaya Jiwe, appears as a series regular in the second and third seasons of the live-action TV series Legends of Tomorrow, portrayed by Maisie Richardson-Sellers. Initially a member of the Justice Society of America, she was in a relationship with team leader Hourman before he is killed by the Reverse-Flash, resulting in her joining the Legends to avenge him. Throughout her time with the Legends, she enters a new relationship with teammate Nate Heywood, defeats the Reverse-Flash and the Legion of Doom, forms a bond with Zari Tomaz due to their use of Zambezi totems, clashes with her granddaughter and McCabe's sister Kuasa, and joins forces with her future daughter Esi to save their village from being destroyed in 1992. As a result of Jiwe's changes to the timeline, Mari and Kuasa share the Tantu Totem. By the end of the third season, Jiwe returns to her village in 1942.

Film

• A villainous, alternate universe incarnation of Vixen named Vamp makes a non-speaking appearance in Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths as a minor member of the Crime Syndicate who can shapeshift into animals.
• Vixen appears in films set in the Tomorrowverse, voiced by Keesha Sharp:
  • Vixen appears in Green Lantern: Beware My Power.
  • Vixen appears in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One.
• Vixen appears in Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, voiced by Ozioma Akagha. This version is a member of the Justice League.

Video games

• Vixen appears in DC Universe Online.
• Vixen appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.
• Vixen appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
• Vixen appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham via DLC.
• Vixen appears as a "premier skin" for the Cheetah in Injustice 2, voiced again by Megalyn Echikunwoke.
• Vixen appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains, voiced again by Megalyn Echikunwoke.

Miscellaneous

• The Justice League Unlimited incarnation of Vixen appears in a flashback in Justice League Beyond #7, in which she is murdered by the Shadow Thief on the night that Green Lantern planned to propose to her.
• Vixen appears in DC Super Hero Girls, voiced again by Kimberly Brooks. This version volunteers at the Metropolis Zoo.
• Vixen appears in the Injustice 2 prequel comic as an associate of Animal Man who initially supports Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins until Damian Wayne convinces her otherwise.
• Vixen appears in the Harley Quinn tie-in comic Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: The Eat. Bang! Kill Tour, in which she initially clashes with before eventually befriending Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy.

See also

• African characters in comics

External links

• World of Black Heroes: Vixen Biography
• The Unofficial Vixen Biography
• Unpublished Vixen #1 from Cancelled Comics Cavalcade
• Vixen—JLA Watchtower Profile
• Vixen—JLU Profile (World’s Finest)
• Vixen—JLU Profile (Burning Knights)
• The original Australian Vixen comic book creation. Created in 1970