Vixen (character)

Vixen is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Gerry Conway and Bob Oksner, she first appeared in Action Comics #521 (July 1981), in a Superman story, working alongside the superhero to catch a poacher. An African superhero, she is considered one of the earliest created black superheroes in comics. Hailing from the fictional African nation of Zambesi, Mari Jiwe (Mari McCabe after she emigrated to America) is the wielder of the Tantu Totem, a totem passed down in her family that allows her to take the attributes of any animal on Earth. Her role as a fashion model and a superheroine has made her operate in different cities, the main ones being Metropolis and New York. Having varied backgrounds over her publication history as a descendant of the warrior Tantu while connected to Anansi, the African trickster god who has been her family's patron for generations, the character serves as a fashion model, businesswoman, animal rights activist, and public superheroine affiliated with the Justice League, its derivative groups (Justice League Detroit and Justice League International), Birds of Prey, and Suicide Squad, at times taking a leadership position. The character has been adapted in various DC Comics–related media, including the DCAU Justice League Unlimited and Injustice 2 as an alternate "skin" of Cheetah with her own lines while sharing a move-set. 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 Arrowverse series, Arrow. Legends of Tomorrow introduced a World War II–era Vixen and Mari's grandmother, Amaya Jiwe, portrayed by Maisie Richardson-Sellers.