VIXEN

Real Name: Mari Jiwe Macabe

Class: Human magic-user

Occupation: Superhero, fashion model

Group Affiliation: formerly Justice League of America, Ultramarine Corps

Known Relatives: Richard Jiwe (father), Mustapha Maksai (uncle), Tantu (ancestor), unnamed mother (deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: NYC, New York

First Appearance: Action Comics #521 (July, 1981)

Powers: Vixen was an accomplised athlete andhand-to-hand combatant who could use her Tantu Totem to draw on the abilities of the animal kingdom.

History: Mari's father Reverednd Richard Jiwewas a descendant of Tantu, a legendary African hero who recieved the Tantu Totem from the spider god Anansi to protect the innocent from the wicked ways of man. Mari's mother was killed by poachers, and her was murdered my her uncle General Mustapha, who couldn't abide his brother's quest to bring peace to his country. Mari fled to America, where she changed her name to Macabe and became a successful fashion model. She recovered the Tant Tomem, which had been stolen by Mustapha, under unrevealed circumstances, and created the superhero identity of Vixen.

(Green Arrow III #16 (fb)) - Vixen attended Oliver Queen's funeral in her civilian identity.

(JLA #26) - Vixen joined the Ultramarine Corps, who operated out of the independent nation of Superbia. They were gathering a superhuman army to act as global peacekeepers.

(JLA / JSA: Virtue and Vice) - Arusha, Tanzania; Vixen and President Luthor were about to start a keynote address at the Pan-African Conference on World Hunger when it was attacked by Doctor Bedlam. Vixen fared poorly against Bedlam until the JLA and JSA stepped in to defeat him.

(Identity Crisis #1) - Vixen was among the number of heroes who attended Sue Dibny’s funeral.

(Identity Crisis #5) - Vixen, Firestorm, Captain Marvel, and Shining Knight questioned Shadow Thief about Sue Dibny’s death. The villain snatched Shining Knight’s sword and impaled Firestorm, causing his nuclear energy to leak out, and he died.

(Day of Vengeance: Infinite Crisis Special #1) - The Shadowpact summoned Vixen and a number of other mystical entities to Gotham City so they could reconstruct the shattered Rock of Eternity and capture the Seven Deadly Sins that had been freed because of the Rock's destruction.

(Villains United: Infinite Crisis Special #1) - When the Society broke out virtually every incarcerated supervillain around the world Oracle sent Vixen and every available hero in Gotham to quell the breakout at Arkham Asylum. The Society massed in Metropolis, and Vixen and an army of virtually every hero on Earth confronted the villains and engaged in an epic battle with them.

(52 / WWIII Part Four: United We Stand #1) <Week 50, Day 7> Black Adam arrived in China, and prepared to destroy the entire country. He defeated China's superhero team the Great Ten before China allowed Vixen and the American superhero community to square off against him. Black Adam was a god with nothing left to lose, and each punch he threw was intended to kill. His savagery was winning the day until Martian Manhunter reappeared and flooded his brain with his own loss, the death of the entire Martian species. Black Adam was distracted long enough for Captain Marvel to hurl a Shazam bolt at him. Theo Adam was powerless, and left with amnesia. He staggered away unnoticed from the end of WWIII.

(Justice League of America II #1-6) - Vixen received a note purportedly from Question asking her out on a date, and went to a bar in Hub City to meet him. She learned from the bartender that the Question hadn't operated out of Hub City in years, and realized she'd walked into a trap. She was confronted by the Bomb Squad, who were in the employ of Solomon Grundy, and assembling components for a new Amazo. They stole her Tantu Totem before exploding the bar and teleporting off. She crawled from the wreckage and vowed to find the villains. Without the Tantu Totem to control her powers she felt her mind being subsumed into the animal kingdom. She flew with birds, perfectly oblivious, until she summoned the willpower to channel the human species and regain her intellect. She confronted the new Amazo and helped the new Justice League of America destroy him, retrieving her totem in the process.

(Justice League of America II #7) - Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman decided to form their new Justice League of America from Vixen and the other heroes present during their battle with Solomon Grundy. They built a Hall of Justice in Washington, D.C. on the former site of JSA hq. The Hall also had a teleport to the new JLA Satellite. The new members all accepted their invitations, and the group took a team photo.

(Green Lantern IV #15-17) -Vixen and the Justice League traveled to Russia to bring Green Lantern Hal Jordan back to America. Hal had violated the Freedom of Powers Act, which forbid superheroes from operating outside American soil, so they told Hal he was coming with them for his own good. Alan Scott was also present, and demanded an explanation, so Hal told him that his friend Cowgirl had been captured by Chechnyan terrorists. The League held off the Rocket Red Brigade, who wanted to arrest Hal, while Hal finished his rescue mission. Alan Scott used his Checkmate connections to clear Hal, but Russia demanded a formal apology from the League to the Rocket Red Brigade.

(Green Arrow III #75) - Vixen and the Justice League arrived in Star City in time to save Green Arrow and his family from being killed by Deathstroke and Drakon. The villains set off an explosives filled with kryptonite, making the decision to run away and fight another day. The league watched as Mayor Ollie Queen (Green Arrow) resigned from office

(Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special #1) - Green Lantern was investigating the newly formed Sinestro Corps, and recruited Vixen and the JlofA to help huim track down leads. They confronted Zoom, a former Society teammate of Sinestro, but he had no information for them and managed to flee. Green Lantern admitted that there was little evidence of the Corps presence on Earth at the present.

(Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Cyborg-Superman #1) - The Sinestro Corps planned their invasion of Earth, and intended to take out the JlofA. Cyborg-Superman and his Manhunters disabled the JlofA satellite’s defense systems, rendering the satellite inoperable, and the Sinestro Corps battered Vixen and the League, allowing their Warworld to enter Earth’s orbit.

(Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman-Prime #1) - An army of Earth’s heroes, including Vixen and the Justice League appeared to take Superboy down during the Sinestro Corps invasion of Earth. The heroes focused on wrecking his armor, because after a year on Oa, and away from a yellow sun his Kryptonian body still wasn’t at full strength, and his armor collected sunlight. Superboy bragged that once the sun rose on Earth he’d be at full power. Superboy was battered by Wonder Girl and Wonder Woman, who blamed him for Superboy’s death, as well as Supergirl and Power Girl, who blamed him for the death of the Superman of Earth-2. As the fight went against him, Superboy broke down in tears. He tried to wipe them away, saying that it was impossible for boys to cry, and then whining that no one ever thanked him for sacrificing his Earth to save the multiverse. The battle lasted until dawn, and he flew into the sunrise. As he achieved full power he declared himself the one, true Superman. The Guardians arrived with Sodam Yat, the new Ion, and pitted him against Superboy-Prime.

(Titans II #9, 10) - Jericho possessed Green Lantern Hal Jordan and tried to kill the candidates for president, but the Justice League foiled him. Jericho fled to Titans headquarters, possessing Nightwing, but the League was right behind him, and demanded that the Titans release the villain into their custody. Jericho panicked and jumped into Flash’s body and vibrated out of Titan headquarters, but he couldn’t evade the Justice League. The Titans joined the League in battling Jericho as he lept from body to body, until he ended up in Superman. Previously he would never have been able to enter Superman’s mind, but his power had grown immensely. He still wasn’t strong enough to take control of Superman, who expelled his astral form from his mind. Jericho’s astral form dissipated into the wind.

(Titans II #16) - Vixen invited Starfire to be part of the JLofA, but she replied that she wasn’t sure she wanted to be part of any team

(Titans II #35, 36) - Vixen went to Liberty City to offer the Tattooed Man a spot on her new super team, but found that his men had driven down crime in Liberty using force and intimidation. She told Tattooed Man he’d have to answer to the League. He told her he was no longer a hero, and that superheroes saved the world, but did little for the common man to alleviate crime or poverty. His gang attacked Vixen, and when she refused to stand down they clashed. She realized he was blinded by hate and bitterness at all the time he and his family had been victimized, so she told him their fight was over. She’d let him continue to do as he saw fit, and told him he could still be a hero if he changed his mind.

Comments: Created by Gerry Conway & Curt Swan.

Vixen received profiles in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #25 and Who's Who in the DC Universe #9. Vixen received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe under the Justice League of America entry. Vixen received profile in JLA-Z #2 under the JLA (Detroit) entry.

Vixen had cameos in Firestorm II #6, 22, JLA #119 and Justice League of America II #0.

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