COMIC ART (SUPERHEROES) - VIXEN

Vixen is a fictional superhero created by Gerry Conway and Bob Oksner. Her real name is Mari McCabe, a Zambesi-born American businesswoman and model. She fights crime as Vixen with the aid of the Tantu Totem that allows her to wield the powers of the animal kingdom. She first appeared in Action Comics #521 (July 1981), published by DC Comics. 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. Vixen is a superheroine in possession of the Tantu Totem, a fox-shaped talisman, which enables her to tap into the "morphogenetic field" of the Earth, sometimes known as the Red. This contact with the "Red" allows her to draw upon the abilities of any animal that has ever lived on the planet, past or present. 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. 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. Occasionally, she has been known to physically transform into animals. 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. Vixen also has the ability to communicate with animals and can override the natural predator/prey instinct found in most wild animals 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. The longer she stays in contact with the Morphogenetic field, the less human and more animal she seems to become.