Vixen Appreciation 2021

[mathew101281]

The problem with pairing her with characters like Lion Mane or King Shark or any other animal themed villain is that they can only mimic the powers of one animal while Vixen can mirror essentially all the animals and then some. I feel pitting her against other elementals ( water, ice, fire, plants etc) is a more interesting fight.

[Sutekh]

The problem with pairing her with characters like Lion Mane or King Shark or any other animal themed villain is that they can only mimic the powers of one animal while Vixen can mirror essentially all the animals and then done. I feel pitting her against other elementals ( water, ice, fire, plants etc) is a more interesting fight.

Yeah, someone uber-focused around a single animal (like Cheetah or the Hyenas) seems like a boring match. She'd really have to think outside the box and stretch herself against an element-controller (like New Wave, Windfall, Coldsnap, etc. those old element-themed Outsiders foes, or a reborn Terra), or someone who has a body of metal or something 'unnatural' like chemicals or junk or radiation (although a foe too tied to pollution might feel a little on the nose and trite, like the kind of lazy cliche thinking that led to Aquaman having a foe named 'the Fisherman').

[lemonpeace]

The problem with pairing her with characters like Lion Mane or King Shark or any other animal themed villain is that they can only mimic the powers of one animal while Vixen can mirror essentially all the animals and then some. I feel pitting her against other elementals ( water, ice, fire, plants etc) is a more interesting fight.

iunno i feel the issue is more they don't have the requisite power behind it. like if a Tiger god or some Krytonian level humanoid baboon alien (a la Battlebeast from invincible...but a baboon) fought her, i think it could be a compelling challenge seeing her have to use her animal "math" to try and keep up; most the the singular animal characters DC have just typically aren't that level of powerful. Elementals could be interesting but they do tend to be used pretty boringly sometimes.

truthfully, I would much rather her face an opponent with a less basic powerset. someone with more specific or specialized abilities to deal with. something other than "I'm an alligator man" or "I'm a wind/rock/water/etc. person". like give her someone who is also a Red guardian but they're use of the Red is different from Vixen and Animal Man; or even have her deal with other parliaments. or maybe give her a monster hunter arc where we have her face off against powerful magic beast or other cryptids and monsters that maybe she can't access via the Red because they're so otherworldly. so she has to rely on a combination of the animals she can access to get the job done.

[LordAllMIghty]

What about Gorilla Grodd?

He is strong, powerful, intelligent and carnivorous.

[lemonpeace]

What about Gorilla Grodd?

He is strong, powerful, intelligent and carnivorous.

that could be unique challenge, Vixen vs a powerful Telepath, but I feel like the optics of it could look a little off. truth be told, it always bothered me that the most fleshed out African nation in DC is a city full of monkeys, so maybe that's just causing me to feel a bit hesitant about touch that with Vixen; just not a match up i wanna see right now. I think if we had more stories properly building Vixen's brand and mythos then I wouldn't mind a one off showdown with Grodd, but she needs a proper nemesis.

I think (if we're poaching character) a better option would be Urzkartaga and expand on the Cheetah tribe as a part of Vixen's mythos since I highly doubt they'reever gonna touch it in Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman can keep Cheetah, her origins change and get revised all the time iirc anyway, and Vixen can have the Cheetah tribe, either as allies against Urzkartaga or maybe flip it and have him corrupt the tribe against her.

[MoneySpider]

that could be unique challenge, Vixen vs a powerful Telepath, but I feel like the optics of it could look a little off. truth be told, it always bothered me that the most fleshed out African nation in DC is a city full of monkeys, so maybe that's just causing me to feel a bit hesitant about touch that with Vixen; just not a match up i wanna see right now. I think if we had more stories properly building Vixen's brand and mythos then I wouldn't mind a one off showdown with Grodd, but she needs a proper nemesis.

City full of gorillas, actually. *runs out of thread*

[Sutekh]

or maybe give her a monster hunter arc where we have her face off against powerful magic beast or other cryptids and monsters that maybe she can't access via the Red because they're so otherworldly. so she has to rely on a combination of the animals she can access to get the job done.

Basing a foe off of an African cryptid like the mokole-mbembe or (my favorite) mngwa, or an Sasabonsam vampire, could be interesting. The foe wouldn't necessarily have to be the cryptid, but an occult hunter wanting to secure some power from them (such as hunting the mngwa to steal it's legendary powers of stealth, perhaps by a ritual, perhaps by skinning it and wearing it's pelt as an 'invisibility cloak' or something).

Although finding out that some meta-human or supernatural individual *is* the cryptid, and can transform back and forth to a human form, would also be funky. Or even someone who can turn into various crytids!

"Yes, Vixen, you can draw upon the powers of all the beasts that exist. My power draws upon the beasts that *do not* exist! Any terrible thing that mankind has dreamed of around the fire, I can become!"

[John Venus]

Which in a way is a good thing as you can throw a random villain in there or make one up. The only real problem is finding a mid-tier foe for her to fight. Physically, her foe needs to be strong enough to be a semi-threat to Aquaman (maybe Superman if you push her limits) and be intelligent (cunning/vicious) enough to keep Vixen on edge

While I'm not against Red Lion, I feel like she needs someone a little bit more powerful to go against. I feel like Bane is powerful and smart enough to challenge her. Someone like Solomon Grundy (as a agent of Rot) could push her physical limits. Under the right circumstances Killer Croc could be a dangerous foe to face. Seeing that her powers are magical I could also see her having issues with Felix Faust or Jinx because of the totem. Overall, I think the Cheetah would be her ultimate foe.

I can se that.
Attachment 114962

I think in her Suicide Squad appearances, the artist was modeling her after Grace Jones.

On the other hand, I think it would make sense if several superheroes shared supervillains, like the Joker makes trouble for Superman, Batman and sometimes Wonder Woman, upon occasion. Daredevil and Spider-Man have gone up against Kingpin, etc. I can see several big-name villains wanting to destroy several different superheroes.

I could see Poison Ivy giving Vixen as much trouble as she gives Batman. Maybe a bit more, since Vixen and Poison Ivy could actually lay hands on each other and get into physical fights.

I don't mind some villains being shared. Vandal Savage, Clock King, King Shark and Gentlemen Ghost has fought so many other heroes that they are no longer specifically tied to one. But I think Vixen needs a few villains she can call her own. An occasional cross over fighting Poison Ivy and Cheetah are nice but at some point those characters will return to their 'home' franchises.

When I think of Grace Jones, I think of this scene from Conan the Destroyer:

The first role I think of when I hear her name is still Zorin:

The problem with pairing her with characters like Lion Mane or King Shark or any other animal themed villain is that they can only mimic the powers of one animal while Vixen can mirror essentially all the animals and then some. I feel pitting her against other elementals ( water, ice, fire, plants etc) is a more interesting fight.

The prerequisite for any rogues gallery is being able to challenge the hero in different ways.

Superman is the best example: Lex Luthor is a normal human whom Superman can't legally touch and he fights Superman with his money, influence and technology. Mongul and Doomsday are physical threats. While Brainiac represents what humanity fears Superman could be ; an alien invader and whether it's because he stole Kandor from Krypton or helped blow up Krypton, the conflict with Superman and Brainiac have felt personal. Meanwhile, Zod and his henchmen represents people who would misuse their abilities which highlights Clark's nobility in choosing to use his gifts for good. Toyman, Prankster and Mxyzpltk are trickster archetypes and forces Superman to be clever with his abilities and to outsmart them rather than physically beat them.

It doesn't always have to a physical threat. The interpersonal drama between heroes and villains are important as well. Spider-Man's rogues gallery is memorable because most of them lack the sense of responsibility to use their powers wisely.

I'll highlight the reasons why I chose Lion Mane as being a potential good arch enemy for Vixen:

-He gets his powers from a meteorite: instant parallel with Vixen who gets her powers from the Totem. But his powers are an alien source while Vixen's is magical/heredity.

-There are two Lion-Mane's. The original archaeologist version can fight Hawkman while the version introduced in Batwing can fight Vixen. So no conflict there.

-DC isn't doing anything with Batwing and honestly, it might be more interesting to see Vixen fight Lion Mane than Batwing.

-The Lion Mane introduced in Batwing is an African arms dealer and smuggler. So there is an instant conflict with Vixen if he is trying to run his operations in Vixen's hometown and she is a legit business woman. Plus he's got his own squad of female fighters so there is another source of development if you fold in Tabu into the squad.

What about Gorilla Grodd?

He is strong, powerful, intelligent and carnivorous.

I remember Grodd and Vixen fighting in that one issue of Flash. He was controlling all the animals in the city after boosting his telepathy. IIRC, he had some control over Vixen when she shifted into her animal form.

that could be unique challenge, Vixen vs a powerful Telepath, but I feel like the optics of it could look a little off. truth be told, it always bothered me that the most fleshed out African nation in DC is a city full of monkeys, so maybe that's just causing me to feel a bit hesitant about touch that with Vixen; just not a match up i wanna see right now. I think if we had more stories properly building Vixen's brand and mythos then I wouldn't mind a one off showdown with Grodd, but she needs a proper nemesis.

I think (if we're poaching character) a better option would be Urzkartaga and expand on the Cheetah tribe as a part of Vixen's mythos since I highly doubt they'reever gonna touch it in Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman can keep Cheetah, her origins change and get revised all the time iirc anyway, and Vixen can have the Cheetah tribe, either as allies against Urzkartaga or maybe flip it and have him corrupt the tribe against her.

I wish DC would give Dr Mist more air time. JLD Vol 1 had him as a traitor which I hated and I'm glad the Truth & Justice Vixen feature ignored it. The Land of Kor would be so much better than the Gorilla City. Although the latter's notoriety is largely because it's part of the Flash franchise and not anything that has to do with the city itself.

I like the idea of making Cheetah a Vixen villain as well. Especially if writers can remember that Cheetah is supposed to be on the same level power wise to WW and even up beat up Superman in that one cartoon.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. There are 4 versions of Cheetah so no problem in giving one to Vixen. The most prominent Cheetah is Barbara Minerva and the original version had a colonizer/evil Lara Croft vibe so those themes of archaeology vs cultural theft/appropriation might be better addressed if Cheetah fought Vixen.

If you want to have a version of Cheetah fully serve as a Vixen enemy, Sebastian Ballesteros would be a good choice. An Argentinian business tycoon who convinced Urzkartaga to give him the power of the Cheetah.


Another character I would like to see Vixen interact with (but not as an enemy) is Swamp Thing. I think it's a waste that Vixen is not on JLD. There is a lot that can be done with the Green/Red duality.

[mathew101281]

I think in her Suicide Squad appearances, the artist was modeling her after Grace Jones.




I don't mind some villains being shared. Vandal Savage, Clock King, King Shark and Gentlemen Ghost has fought so many other heroes that they are no longer specifically tied to one. But I think Vixen needs a few villains she can call her own. An occasional cross over fighting Poison Ivy and Cheetah are nice but at some point those characters will return to their 'home' franchises.



The first role I think of when I hear her name is still Zorin:






The prerequisite for any rogues gallery is being able to challenge the hero in different ways.

Superman is the best example: Lex Luthor is a normal human whom Superman can't legally touch and he fights Superman with his money, influence and technology. Mongul and Doomsday are physical threats. While Brainiac represents what humanity fears Superman could be ; an alien invader and whether it's because he stole Kandor from Krypton or helped blow up Krypton, the conflict with Superman and Brainiac have felt personal. Meanwhile, Zod and his henchmen represents people who would misuse their abilities which highlights Clark's nobility in choosing to use his gifts for good. Toyman, Prankster and Mxyzpltk are trickster archetypes and forces Superman to be clever with his abilities and to outsmart them rather than physically beat them.

It doesn't always have to a physical threat. The interpersonal drama between heroes and villains are important as well. Spider-Man's rogues gallery is memorable because most of them lack the sense of responsibility to use their powers wisely.

I'll highlight the reasons why I chose Lion Mane as being a potential good arch enemy for Vixen:

-He gets his powers from a meteorite: instant parallel with Vixen who gets her powers from the Totem. But his powers are an alien source while Vixen's is magical/heredity.

-There are two Lion-Mane's. The original archaeologist version can fight Hawkman while the version introduced in Batwing can fight Vixen. So no conflict there.

-DC isn't doing anything with Batwing and honestly, it might be more interesting to see Vixen fight Lion Mane than Batwing.

-The Lion Mane introduced in Batwing is an African arms dealer and smuggler. So there is an instant conflict with Vixen if he is trying to run his operations in Vixen's hometown and she is a legit business woman. Plus he's got his own squad of female fighters so there is another source of development if you fold in Tabu into the squad.




I remember Grodd and Vixen fighting in that one issue of Flash. He was controlling all the animals in the city after boosting his telepathy. IIRC, he had some control over Vixen when she shifted into her animal form.



I wish DC would give Dr Mist more air time. JLD Vol 1 had him as a traitor which I hated and I'm glad the Truth & Justice Vixen feature ignored it. The Land of Kor would be so much better than the Gorilla City. Although the latter's notoriety is largely because it's part of the Flash franchise and not anything that has to do with the city itself.

I like the idea of making Cheetah a Vixen villain as well. Especially if writers can remember that Cheetah is supposed to be on the same level power wise to WW and even up beat up Superman in that one cartoon.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. There are 4 versions of Cheetah so no problem in giving one to Vixen. The most prominent Cheetah is Barbara Minerva and the original version had a colonizer/evil Lara Croft vibe so those themes of archaeology vs cultural theft/appropriation might be better addressed if Cheetah fought Vixen.

If you want to have a version of Cheetah fully serve as a Vixen enemy, Sebastian Ballesteros would be a good choice. An Argentinian business tycoon who convinced Urzkartaga to give him the power of the Cheetah.


Another character I would like to see Vixen interact with (but not as an enemy) is Swamp Thing. I think it's a waste that Vixen is not on JLD. There is a lot that can be done with the Green/Red duality.

That’s the thing. I don’t think characters like Cheetah and king shark are good challenges for Vixen. To me she plays in the same level of character as killer Frost.

[John Venus]

That’s the thing. I don’t think characters like Cheetah and king shark are good challenges for Vixen. To me she plays in the same level of character as killer Frost.

Can you elaborate?

[LordAllMIghty]

That’s the thing. I don’t think characters like Cheetah and king shark are good challenges for Vixen. To me she plays in the same level of character as killer Frost.

Killer Frost? Not sure what power level that would be.

To me, when written to her potential, Vixen is around Aquaman/Thing's level.

[MoneySpider]

Killer Frost? Not sure what power level that would be.

To me, when written to her potential, Vixen is around Aquaman/Thing's level.

How strong is the Thing? I've always felt that Vixen would absolutely wreck him, and probably Aquaman, too. Maybe that's just me being biased in Vixen's favor.

[Sutekh]

I like the idea, upthread of the sorceress Jinx as a potential foe. Her magical powers stemming from contact with the earth is a unique one, and she's not really tied to any other heroes, having debuted as a Teen Titans foe, but never really been as focused on them as say, Trigon or Blackfire, since she's not specifically tied to one of the Titans.

Perhaps she's tapped into one or more of the totems, to gain her elemental abilities, and wants to use the Tantu totem to add animal control to her repertoire, but can't do that without taking Mari out of the picture... (She doesn't actually need to *keep* the totem, just use it to cast the ritual to grant herself more power. Even if she 'wins,' she just gets a new magical card to add to her hand, while Mari doesn't necessarily lose anything. The goal for Mari is to keep the villain from getting even more power than she already has, to be able to enslave the animals of the wild to use in her other sketchy endeavors!)

[mathew101281]

Can you elaborate?

Characters that control fundamental forces of nature(elements plant etc) seem rather basic on a surface level, but when you actually think about what they are capable of their abilities are actually quite vast. A good example of this are benders in Avatar the last air bender. Characters with terra-kinesics( earth benders) can move rocks around but they can also manipulate metal. Most elemental characters are like that. Vixen and Animal man are essentially animal elementals and are similar in that regard.

[LordAllMIghty]

How strong is the Thing? I've always felt that Vixen would absolutely wreck him, and probably Aquaman, too. Maybe that's just me being biased in Vixen's favor.

At one time I would consider both under 100 tons but both have grown in strength and can easily lift in the thousands of tons now. Both are powerful enough to hold their own against the Heavy Hitters of Marvel and DC (Superman, Thor, Wonder Woman and Hulk), but are noticeable weaker in overall comparison.

Yes, I know I said it multiple times but as of right now, Vixen's strength potential is around 7,000 tons, meaning she floors most non-god or characters without Super in their name. So yeah, giving her strength, healing ability, speed, energy projection and other abilities...she wrecks the Thing.