Vixen

General Mustapha Maksai (uncle, deceased)

## **History**

### **Mari McCabe: 1981 - 1996**

In Africa, there is a legend of an ancient warrior named Tantu who asked Anansi the Spider to create a magical relic which would bestow the entire strength of the animal kingdom upon Tantu. It is said Anansi contained this great magic within a small totem medallion worn in a necklace and with its power, Tantu became the first legendary hero of Africa. With Tantu's death, the totem became an heirloom of the Jiwe tribe, being passed down from parent to child, who in return swore to use its power to protect the peaceful tribe of the Jiwe.

Mari Jiwe grew up in a small village in the Dagombi Plains of Zambesi, the daughter of Richard Jiwe, the village priest. Mari had no interest in the old legends, being more concerned with keeping herself and her father alive in the harsh environment they lived in. Mari’s father had raised her alone after poachers, led by a man named Kwesi, killed her mother when Mari was but a young child for trying to protect the sacred herd of animals that lived near the village. Mari used to think her mother was brave, but foolish, for dying in such a manner.

When Mari was fifteen, Mari’s uncle, Maksai, who had once been exiled from the village for his violent behavior, returned to their village as a self-made warlord at the head of an army of child soldiers. Maksai demanded that Richard hand over the Tantu Totem, which Mari learned Richard had in his possession for several years. Instead of handing the totem to Maksai, the priest gave the necklace to his daughter, telling young Mari that it had once belonged to her mother, and now belonged to her. Richard then urged Mari to run away so as to keep the magic of the totem out of Maksai's hands. As Mari did so, she found herself running faster than she ever had before, perhaps even faster than the cheetah of the plains. Maksai or his boys could not catch her, but Mari could not outrun the sound of Maksai's gun firing from reaching her ears. Knowing her father had given his life to protect this totem, Mari decided to honor her father’s wishes and kept running until she put Zambesi in her past. Unfortunately, Zambesi would not remain there for long.

### **Vixen: 1996 - Present**

Orphaned and alone, Marie befriended an American reverend and his wife, the McCabes, who were in Africa on an outreach program. At the conclusion of their year-long stay, the McCabes surprised Mari by revealing they had begun the necessary paperwork to adopt Mari. Mari gladly accepted their invitation to join them in America, knowing the Atlantic Ocean would be a good buffer from her bloodthirsty uncle. Living in Midway City with her new family, Mari found life much more relaxed and comfortable, yet she began to suspect that Maksai was around every corner. Believing that the Totem was the source of these emotions, Mari buried it in the McCabe's backyard and did her best to forget the relic even existed… and for a time, it worked.

Mari went to school and found she made friends quite easily thanks to her natural beauty and confidence (and unknown to her at the time, magical energy the Totem had given her the power of “animal magnetism,” giving her an instinctual appeal on a primal level). Armed with such talents, Mari found success as a model after high school and within just a few short years of leaving Zambesi, Mari had nearly forgotten the tragedies of her early life… but they had not forgotten her.

When Mari was twenty-nine, she returned home to visit her adoptive parents in Midway City to find their house ransacked and the McCabes being held hostage by Maksai and several of his followers. Knowing they were there to find the Totem, Mari sneaked into the backyard and quickly dug the Totem up, intending to hand it over in exchange for the lives of the McCabes. While she prepared to make her presence known, she made eye contact with Reverend McCabe through the window and saw the man quietly tell Mari to run; reminding her of the promise she had made to her first father. In that moment, Mari decided she was done running away and it was time she accepted her destiny. Mari donned the Totem and with the ferocity of the lioness, speed of the falcon, and strength of the rhino, Mari put an end to her uncle’s reign of terror. Now, calling herself by the apt name of Vixen, Mari is a member of the Justice League… Rawr!

## **Personality**

An independent and strong-willed woman, Mari McCabe is the heir of a millennial tradition of legendary warriors, a position that she not always likes to hold, but that she finds herself forced to. An extremely powerful, yet reluctant and insecure heroine, Vixen fights injustice wherever it manifests itself, faithful to a family legacy that had her destiny decided before she was even born…

## **Abilities, Equipment, and Weaknesses**

### **Equipment**

**Tantu Totem:** Vixen wields an object called the Tantu Totem, a fox-shaped talisman, which enables her to tap into the "morphogenetic field" of the Earth, known as the Red. This allows her to mimic the abilities of any animal she can think of, by simply focusing on a specific animal abilities and then drawing it directly from the field. She has demonstrated the ability to hold onto the Morphogenetic traits of an entire forest of animals.

* **Animal Imitation:** Mari has the power to mimic the abilities of any animal she knows of, She can run like an ostrich, swing like a monkey, sprint like a cheetah, take the strength of an ant, track like a dog, hide like a turtle, constrict like a snake, etc. This power only enables the her to mimic animalistic traits while still in her original form. She can mimic multiple animals at once.
* **Fauna Energy Manipulation:** Mari can harness the ashe, manifesting it to produce energy constructs of chosen animals. These manifestations she can physically interact with the world, acting as soldiers to aid the summoner. While the full extent of Vixen's control over the Morphogenetic field is unknown, she has on occasions drawn pure energy from it and displayed this energy as a force field and energy claws.
* **Power Replication:** On occasion Vixen has shown she can not only emulate the traits of animals but also the metaphysical attributes pertaining to higher forms of fauna. She once emulated the powers of several metahumans such as Geo-Force, The Streak, and Black Lighting and even extraterrestrials such as Superman. She can even copy the skills and abilities of other non-powered individuals such as Arsenal and Green Lantern  This was a process caused by Kwaku Anansi in order to prepare her for future battles.
* **Zoolingualism:** Mari is highly intuitive when it comes to dealing with animals, being really good at reading, understanding, and staying in tune to their body language, able to solve many of their behavioral problems in an effortless way, and having unique insights into their psychology and behavior. Mari by nature, has an amazing rapport with animals, a connection with them spiritually, a natural ability to handle them remarkably well, an uncanny ability to communicate with them on a direct level, and are automatically granted a genuine love and empathy for them as well.

## **Trivia**

* Vixen joined the Justice League in 2011 nominated by Wonder Woman.
* Her identity is known to the public.