Vixen

Vixen

Background
In ancient Africa, the warrior Tantu asked Anansi the Spider; the African trickster god, to create a totem that would give the wearer all of the powers of the animal kingdom and Anansi complied only on the condition that the wearer of the totem would use the power to protect the innocent. Embued with such power, Tantu used the totem to become Africa's first legendary hero. The totem was passed down to Tantu's descendants until it reached the McCabes.

Growing up in a small African village in the nation of Zambesi, M'Changa province, Mari Jiwe McCabe heard the legend of the "Tantu Totem" from her mother until her 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 as Maksai wanted the Tantu Totem, which Jiwe had possessed.

Mari ultimately moved to America, where she established an identity as Mari McCabe and got a job 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 Maksai and took back the Tantu Totem, using its power to become the costumed superhero Vixen.

Trivia

 * Vixen first appeared in Action Comics #521 (July 1981).