Vixen Appreciation 2020

[HandofPrometheus]

Were there any issues where She actually shape-shifted into animals?

yes but one of them was in some forgotten hawk and dove book. I hate when she shape shifts.

[skyvolt2000]

yeah, I think because of the contrast between Storms dark skin and her light eyes & hair that it's more noticeable when they lighten her tone, but it's honestly a problem with almost all black heroes at the big two. personally I think there needs to be character bibles at DC and Marvel that include exact color codes for the black characters skin tone or at least something that will say "this character is this complexion, that character is darker than this complexion, and these other characters are lighter than those characters' complexion". something to keep it consistent and avoid lightening them up because x, y, or z editor or colorist favors a lighter shade of brown.

I think there is one that most folks ignore.

I think a lot of that comes down to the colorist in question and what they use.

I mean Static was Wesley Snipes dark in the first 3 issues of Static. Issue 4 had him at his normal color.

[LordAllMIghty]

Hallelujah, idk how she has stayed looking the same in the future lol, but idc I see her in Future State, and I'm happy she's involved.

You know black don't crack till we get around 60...lol

Also, she can recreate her entire body, so "Age, ain't nothing but a number". This could also be her daughter.

[Rosa Snarks]

https://www.cbr.com/warner-bros-dc-vixen-film/

I came back just in time!

[nj06]

No she appears in two of the images for a Future State comic, I'm just happy they're doing something with her.



In Future State she's in her Rebirth costume, but a book of some kind for the regular main line is looking likely.

This is what I'm talking about guys:

Is the Creeper a villain? I thought he was one of the good guys.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Is the Creeper a villain? I thought he was one of the good guys.

He traditionally is but he could've "broke bad" in the future.

For a potential Vixen family, I'd go with the totems from the Legends show instead of a bunch of animal masters. I tend not to care for a team of Hulks/Flashes/Spiders etc. Its the Shonen anime fan in me. Everyone with their own distinct powers appeals to me more than everyone with the same set.

[lemonpeace]

well I did it over in the Black Lightning thread, we did it again in the Cyborg thread, so let's try it for Vixen:

if DC were building a "Vixen Family" like the Flash Family or the Batfamily who would you recruit to roll over to expand Vixen's world?

look at it like your populating her personal city/domain with characters, like it's her Gotham, Metropolis, or Central City. including Vixen you need at least 7 additional characters, so 8 family members minimum. Since the Vixen conversation has steered toward rogues, let's also recruit 5 villains for her rogues gallery. so Vixen + 7 family members + 5 villains; so 13 characters in total. I'm gonna post my pitch in a bit, once I think of it

alright, because DC has so little to work with with Vixen and African heroes it was a little harder creating this list. so my angle for the Vixen family's niche is two fold; their reason for being and their brand aesthetic. So in the New 52 Batwing title they introduced a team called The Kingdom, who were the first superhero team to come out of Africa; think of them as Africa's Justice Society of America.



The Kingdom eventually fell (read the run, it's pretty cool) and is currently still defunct. I would have Vixen work for the AU (African Union) and spearhead the a revitalized iteration of The Kingdom as a panafrican superhero institution that's mission is to dismantle the lingering legacy of colonialism, african exploitation, and attempts at neo-colonialism. now I'll admit, it's a lofty concept to tackle. it's a hard sell but, speaking from my own experience as an african person who grew up in a relatively political household in regards to african cultural issues, I feel this would be the most compelling and genuine motivation to explore for an African superhero or an "African Justice League", since we rarely see it (sans Black Panther from time to time obviously). So that would be their reason to assemble under Vixen, she's the Superman that they all rally around, The Queen. as for their aesthetic niche (maybe thematic connection would be better wording? meh I like aesthetic), I would have the Vixen family focus on heroes who use the occult and mythology, specifically animals themed and natural life-giving elements to compliment Vixen's connection and mastery of The Red.

Vixen - head of the family, Queen of the Red and Queen of The Kingdom


Kuasa - I did like the idea of Vixen having a sister, the addition of her and Mari's grandmother were probably the most interesting thing Legends of Tomorrow did with Vixen. I wouldn't want her to be jealous of Mari or a villain or an antihero, just a team of two sisters fighting crime. I don't know what her ability will be, maybe she takes one of the names of the OG Kingdom mantles like Diety or Dawnfire. they could keep her closer to her Legends character and have her be an avatar for Oshimiri (aka Mamiwota) because it has the potential to touch on how African stories are told; if you know the history of mamiwota you know what I'm talking about. Think of her as their Aquaman or Mera.

Benjamin Turner (Bronze Tiger) - I know people who grew up on JLU love Vixen with John Stewart but I'm a firm believer that Bronze Tiger is her true love. I would like to use Ben as our dispora avatar who we can watch gradually acclimate to African culture. plus, if we really wanna get wild with it, I like the idea of him having a solo story of some kind where he's rediscovering and refining African martial arts to push his limits as a martial artist and becoming like an African Iron Fist via some kind of african esotericism. While I'm tempted to change his name to make him feel more afrocentric, I find it funny and kinda fitting that there are no tigers in Africa and the dude from the diaspora is named "Bronze Tiger", and that would push the character too far from himself for my liking.

David Zavimbe - I would have him be the Batman of the group, he's Vixen's first recruit, and the right-hand in the field. He currently doesn't have a hero identity, he only retired Batwing because he wanted to be his own symbol of justice not Bruce's, so we know he's out there doing his thing and he's a blank slate to work with. so my proposal? ANANSI FROM STATIC SHOCK BABY! (I will always pitch Anansi no matter what until DC makes my dreams come true!) anyway, anansi pipedream aside, I love David Zavimbe and I see him as the human element, no superhuman martial arts skills, no superpowers, no magical abilities, just grit, whatever gadgets or magic items he can get, and the human spirit. also, I want him to have Lord Battle be his benefactor because DC inadvertently made Biafra an afrofuturistic reality and in my mind Lord Battle is an igbo man and I love that

Freedom Beast - I know I'm alone on this but I always read the post-Flashpoint Freedom Beast as a young hero, like the anime young head of the company prodigy trope. I like the idea of Vixen being his mentor training the next generation Red avatars. he was Bwana Beast's sidekick/protege, so I see nothing wrong with having him be Vixen's. if done correctly, it both strengthens Vixen position as a hero by giving her a young hero to stick on the mini league teams (like Young Justice or Teen Titans or Titans) and it gives Freedom Beast an excuse and a place to pop up more.

Bloodwynd - Necromancer = King of the Dead anyone? I love Bloodwynd and the idea of a black superhero who draws his power from his ancesteral heritage and his history; especially because of the long lasting legacy of colonial iconoclasm is Africa. think it would be a fun twist to have Bloodwynd be a Liberian superhero, who's family dedescended from one of the early african american colonials and the natives, and the blood gem came about from his indigenous side's rage from colonialism.

Doctor Mist - Doctor Mist is one of the most interesting African heroes because he has such an interesting set up but we know nothing about him. I would love for the Lost Kingdom of Kor to be fleshed out, I think someone once pitched that he could be the one who created various magical items throughout the DC universe including Vixen's totem, I would go with that (and have him create the spider totem too). He can be the Doctor Strange of their team and Vixen's mentor in fulfilling her destiny as the wearer of the Zambezi totem.

Cheetah Amazon tribe - This one is the one that prompted me to do the Vixen family. So in Wonder Woman we learn that the tribe of women in Bwunda who were believed to worship Urzkartaga were actually a tribe dedicated to protecting the world from him. this reminded me of the Leopard Men of West Africa, a secret society that's traditionally a male only, and I think it would be cool to expand that tribe's mythology (naming them) and introduce a champion for them to team up with Vixen and sorta "marry" that tribe into the Vixen brand's mythology. if handled correctly, this could be Vixen's connection to the Wonder Woman mythos.

adjacent characters:
Beast Boy & "Old Man" Animal Man - I think Vixen doesn't need to absorb Animal Man or Beast Boy into her brand but I would want all the Guardians of the Red to be in regular contact with one another. much like Vixen is training Freedom Beast, I like to see a retired Animal Man mentoring Beast Boy in the ways of the Red and see Mari and Buddy kinda seeking advice from each other.

The Spider God (aka Compe Anansi aka Odudo Okwanka) - I would want the Spider God to be a Red Entity (a being born from and an embodiment of The Red) to be a guiding force in Vixen's corner but he's slso a trickster so he may appear to be evil in some stories to teach her important lessons

Justice League Dark/Sentinels of Magic - I think Vixen should be a staple of at least one of the magical teams at DC. simple as that

villains:
Urzkartaga - an evil force of nature
Red Lion (I would roll Lady Marabunta in his inner circle) - African Dr. Doom, that's it.
Cheetah - I would like for Cheetah (in the context of a Vixen story) to represent the appropriation and bastardization of African culture and iconography.
Jezebel Jet - I like her as a dark mirror to Vixen, and a commentary on corrupt african capitalist who will sell their own people up the river to profit for themselves.
Prometheus - Prometheus is a man who actively seeks to do evil and crime, I think he's perfect to be the foil to Vixen as the face of Western/Eurpean imperialism on the continent of Africa and all the crime it entails.

not my best list, maybe I'm too close to this one and wanted to do too much but that's what I got.

[chief12d]

He traditionally is but he could've "broke bad" in the future.

For a potential Vixen family, I'd go with the totems from the Legends show instead of a bunch of animal masters. I tend not to care for a team of Hulks/Flashes/Spiders etc. Its the Shonen anime fan in me. Everyone with their own distinct powers appeals to me more than everyone with the same set.

Yea I find characters with duplicate powers very boring. Some, like Miles, can break the mold and not annoy me but I think having characters with the same basic skillset is a detriment to a franchise if there's not enough distinction between them.

[OopsIdiditagain]

Idk how each family member having a different totem works if totems something that's supposed to be shared across one clan/surname/lineage. If it's supposed to be shonen-esque maybe take the Naruto route and have different clans withing Vixen's kingdom/tribe who each have a different totem/powerset.

[LordAllMIghty]

How do you prefer for Vixen to manifest her animal mimicking powers?

As a visible animal image, showing whatever animal she is mimicking at the time? (Still not 100% sure if the images can be seen by others but her battle with Damage and Kingbucther, shows the image can be damaged).
20201018_114450.jpg

Or do you prefer partial transformation where she shapeshifts parts of her body into certain animal appendages with specific attributes?
Blind Cavefish
20201018_115248.jpg

Or full on transformation (Like Beastboy), where she takes on the physical form and attributes of the animal she is mimicking?
20201018_120841.jpg

Truthfully, I'm good with her using all three as it makes it hard to predict how she will attack.

[lemonpeace]

How do you prefer for Vixen to manifest her animal mimicking powers?

As a visible animal image, showing whatever animal she is mimicking at the time? (Still not 100% sure if the images can be seen by others but her battle with Damage and Kingbucther, shows the image can be damaged).
20201018_114450.jpg

Or do you prefer partial transformation where she shapeshifts parts of her body into certain animal appendages with Pacific attributes?
Blind Cavefish
20201018_115248.jpg

Or full on transformation (Like Beastboy), where she takes on the physical form and attributes of the animal she is mimicking?
20201018_120841.jpg

Truthfully, I'm good with her using all three as it makes it hard to predict how she will attack.

I would prefer she alternate between, and/or use in tandem, partial transformations and mystic image constructs. I feel if she starts full shapeshifting she'd be diminishing Beast Boy's brand a little; not that they couldn't coexist narratively if she did. I feel the constructs have become a pretty iconic component to her character's powers and the partial transformations could add a lot of weird otherworldly imagery to her artistic arsenal.

speaking of Vixen's powers, I've become stuck on this one idea where Vixen can not just draw power from but learns how to commun with the Red similar to how Aquaman accesses the Life Force (in pre-Flashpoint the Red and the Clear were connected) to use her own version of The Call on terrestrial animals; like "The Roar of the Red" or something. in Nigerian mythology we have these things called the Idiok (a intelligent baboon-kind race) who taught man nsibidi, maybe they can spin that with DC mythology and give Vixen a story where we have them to teach her how to commun with the Red.

EDIT: OOH, now that I think about it, they could have Gorilla City be an off-shoot of tribe if Idiok who mated with Gorillas; giving Vixen an in for Flash crossovers. man I'm having too much fun with this, let me chill.

[LordAllMIghty]

alright, because DC has so little to work with with Vixen and African heroes it was a little harder creating this list. so my angle for the Vixen family's niche is two fold; their reason for being and their brand aesthetic. So in the New 52 Batwing title they introduced a team called The Kingdom, who were the first superhero team to come out of Africa; think of them as Africa's Justice Society of America.



The Kingdom eventually fell (read the run, it's pretty cool) and is currently still defunct. I would have Vixen work for the AU (African Union) and spearhead the a revitalized iteration of The Kingdom as a panafrican superhero institution that's mission is to dismantle the lingering legacy of colonialism, african exploration, and attempts at neo-colonialism. now I'll admit, it's a lofty concept to tackle. it's a hard sell but, speaking from my own experience as an african person who grew up in a relatively political household in regards to african cultural issues, I feel this would be the most compelling and genuine motivation to explore for an African superhero or an "African Justice League", since we rarely see it (sans Black Panther from time to time obviously). So that would be their reason to assemble under Vixen, she's the Superman that they all rally around, The Queen. as for their aesthetic niche (maybe thematic connection would be better wording? meh I like aesthetic), I would have the Vixen family focus on heroes who use the occult and mythology, specifically animals themed and natural life-giving elements to compliment Vixen's connection and mastery of The Red.

Vixen - head of the family, Queen of the Red and Queen of The Kingdom


Kuasa - I did like the idea of Vixen having a sister, the addition of her and Mari's grandmother were probably the most interesting thing Legends of Tomorrow did with Vixen. I wouldn't want her to be jealous of Mari or a villain or an antihero, just a team of two sisters fighting crime. I don't know what her ability will be, maybe she takes one of the names of the OG Kingdom mantles like Diety or Dawnfire. they could keep her closer to her Legends character and have her be an avatar for Oshimiri (aka Mamiwota) because it has the potential to touch on how African stories are told; if you know the history of mamiwota you know what I'm talking about. Think of her as their Aquaman or Mera.

Benjamin Turner (Bronze Tiger) - I know people who grew up on JLU love Vixen with John Stewart but I'm a firm believer that Bronze Tiger is her true love. I would like to use Ben as our dispora avatar who we can watch gradually acclimate to African culture. plus, if we really wanna get wild with it, I like the idea of him having a solo story of some kind where he's rediscovering and refining African martial arts to push his limits as a martial artist and becoming like an African Iron Fist via some kind of african esotericism. While I'm tempted to change his name to make him feel more afrocentric, I find it funny and kinda fitting that there are no tigers in Africa and the dude from the diaspora is named "Bronze Tiger", and that would push the character too far from himself for my liking.

David Zavimbe - I would have him be the Batman of the group, he's Vixen's first recruit, and the right-hand in the field. He currently doesn't have a hero identity, he only retired Batwing because he wanted to be his own symbol of justice not Bruce's, so we know he's out there doing his thing and he's a blank slate to work with. so my proposal? ANANSI FROM STATIC SHOCK BABY! (I will always pitch Anansi no matter what until DC makes my dreams come true!) anyway, anansi pipedream aside, I love David Zavimbe and I see him as the human element, no superhuman martial arts skills, no superpowers, no magical abilities, just grit, whatever gadgets or magic items he can get, and the human spirit. also, I want him to have Lord Battle be his benefactor because DC inadvertently made Biafra an afrofuturistic reality and in my mind Lord Battle is an igbo man and I love that

Freedom Beast - I know I'm alone on this but I always read the post-Flashpoint Freedom Beast as a young hero, like the anime young head of the company prodigy trope. I like the idea of Vixen being his mentor training the next generation Red avatars. he was Bwana Beast's sidekick/protege, so I see nothing wrong with having him be Vixen's. if done correctly, it both strengthens Vixen position as a hero by giving her a young hero to stick on the mini league teams (like Young Justice or Teen Titans or Titans) and it gives Freedom Beast an excuse and a place to pop up more.

Bloodwynd - Necromancer = King of the Dead anyone? I love Bloodwynd and the idea of a black superhero who draws his power from his ancesteral heritage and his history; especially because of the long lasting legacy of colonial iconoclasm is Africa. think it would be a fun twist to have Bloodwynd be a Liberian superhero, who's family dedescended from one of the early african american colonials and the natives, and the blood gem came about from his indigenous side's rage from colonialism.

Doctor Mist - Doctor Mist is one of the most interesting African heroes because he has such an interesting set up but we know nothing about him. I would love for the Lost Kingdom of Kor to be fleshed out, I think someone once pitched that he could be the one who created various magical items throughout the DC universe including Vixen's totem, I would go with that (and have him create the spider totem too). He can be the Doctor Strange of their team and Vixen's mentor in fulfilling her destiny as the wearer of the Zambezi totem.

Cheetah Amazon tribe - This one is the one that prompted me to do the Vixen family. So in Wonder Woman we learn that the tribe of women in Bwunda who were believed to worship Urzkartaga where actually a tribe dedicated to protecting the world from here. this reminds me of the Leopard Men of West Africa, a secret society that's traditionally a male only, and I think it would be cool to expand that tribe's mythology (naming them) and introduce a champion for them to team up with Vixen and sorta "marry" that tribe into the Vixen brand's mythology. if handled correctly, this could be Vixen's connection to the Wonder Woman mythos.

adjacent characters:
Beast Boy & "Old Man" Animal Man - I think Vixen doesn't need to absorb Animal Man or Beast Boy into her brand but I would want all the Guardians of the Red to be in regular contact with one another. much like Vixen is training Freedom Beast, I like to see a retired Animal Man mentoring Beast Boy in the ways of the Red and see Mari and Buddy kinda seeking advice from each other.

The Spider God (aka Compe Anansi aka Odudo Okwanka) - I would want the Spider God to be a Red Entity (a being born from and an embodiment of The Red) to be a guiding force in Vixen's corner but he's slso a trickster so he may appear to be evil in some stories to teach her important lessons

Justice League Dark/Sentinels of Magic - I think Vixen should be a staple of at least one of the magical teams at DC. simple as that

villains:
Urzkartaga - an evil force of nature
Red Lion (I would roll Lady Marabunta in his inner circle) - African Dr. Doom, that's it.
Cheetah - I would like for Cheetah (in the context of a Vixen story) to represent the appropriation and bastardization of African
Jezebel Jet - I like her as a dark mirror to Vixen, and a commentary on corrupt african capitalist who will sell their own people up the river to profit for themselves.
Prometheus - Prometheus is a man who actively seeks to do evil and crime, I think he's perfect to be the foil to Vixen as the face of Western/Eurpean imperialism on the continent of Africa and all the crime it entails.

not my best list, maybe I'm too close to this one and wanted to do too much but that's what I got.

Not bad, though I would go for a more international group setting. Have the team be more dealing with world issues. I'm not big on teams just handling issues in just one area. I only liked that in Excalibur...because there were 5 different X-Teams.

[OopsIdiditagain]

How do you prefer for Vixen to manifest her animal mimicking powers?

As a visible animal image, showing whatever animal she is mimicking at the time? (Still not 100% sure if the images can be seen by others but her battle with Damage and Kingbucther, shows the image can be damaged).
20201018_114450.jpg

Or do you prefer partial transformation where she shapeshifts parts of her body into certain animal appendages with Pacific attributes?
Blind Cavefish
20201018_115248.jpg

Or full on transformation (Like Beastboy), where she takes on the physical form and attributes of the animal she is mimicking?
20201018_120841.jpg

Truthfully, I'm good with her using all three as it makes it hard to predict how she will attack.

Visible animal projection looks more unique

[LordAllMIghty]

speaking of Vixen's powers, I've become stuck on this one idea where Vixen can not just draw power from but learns how to commun with the Red similar to how Aquaman accesses the Life Force (in pre-Flashpoint the Red and the Clear were connected) to use her own version of The Call on terrestrial animals; like "The Roar of the Red" or something. in Nigerian mythology we have these things called the Idiok (a intelligent baboon-kind race) who taught man nsibidi, maybe they can spin that with DC mythology and give Vixen a story where we have them to teach her how to commun with the Red.

I'm not sure if the "Red" is sentient. I'm mean giving that it's the life-force of the Universe, I wouldn't be shocked if it is. Probably need to check issues of Animal Man for more info.

EDIT: OOH, now that I think about it, they could have Gorilla City be an off-shoot of tribe if Idiok who mated with Gorillas; giving Vixen an in for Flash crossovers. man I'm having too much fun with this, let me chill.

I'm fine with her going to Gorilla City, maybe explain why they considered her special in an old issue of justice League.

[lemonpeace]

Not bad, though I would go for a more international group setting. Have the team be more dealing with world issues. I'm not big on teams just handling issues in just one area. I only liked that in Excalibur...because there were 5 different X-Teams.

I considered that, but I feel once we go with an international team they kinda become redundant once a big event threatens the world and the only team that matters is the Justice League. international heroes isn't a super distinctive niche because they often don't feel very international, and often like a regular American team book with ethnically specific characters. so in my mind, the League is THE international team and all the big time established heroes are members of the JL institution like the JLU and current Snyder set-up. under that umbrella set up I think the international heroes having their own culturally specific niche teams under the Justice League framework is a cool route to go; New Super-man pulled it off amazing. Also Africa as a continent is typically done pretty dirty and kinda as a monolith, so I feel having their premiere African hero focus on exploring and showcasing the rich and diverse narrative playground that is africa is a great way to show that it's a dynamic setting that people shouldn't be afraid to explore in story.

She's the anti-Black Panther in that sense, Wakanda wants to be closed off and T'Challa fights to bring Wakanda to the world, Vixen could be about bringing the world to Africa. She can uniquely make people aware of the scope of the shadow colonialism and european/american imperialism cast over africa to this day in a way that Black Panther (as a culture that's removed from that history) can not.