Mari


 * For other ses of Vixen, see Vixen (disambiguation).

Mari Jiwe McCabe is an amateur fashion designer, and the possessor of the Anansi Totem, which she uses to fight crime as the vigilante Vixen, as nicknamed by Cisco Ramon. She is the foster daughter of Chuck and Patty.

Early life
After a local warlord attacked Zambesi Village, her mother took her to safety, along with the Anansi totem. She was eventually put in to a foster home and given the name "Mari McCabe", and eventually was adopted by Chuck and Patty. At 10 years old, her foster mother, Patty, gave her a necklace from her parents. As Mari grew up she became interested in fashion design but was always haunted by her lack of knowledge of her own past and set eventually started searching the world for any clues as to who her real parents were. At some point she also met and befriended Laurel Lance.

Return to Detroit
Mari left Detroit in search for her parents, but, finding nothing, returned to the city. Looking for work in fashion design, Mari went for a job interview, but the man claimed that her work lacked identity. Instead, he offered her a job in return for giving him "a job". In turn, she stabbed him in the hand with a pen. Due to this, she was thrown in jail. Hearing of this, her foster father Chuck posted her bail, before she collected her things and they went for a bite to eat. After that, they caught up while walking along a street. However, they were quickly jumped by some thugs, the ringleader of whom wanted her necklace.

Out of nowhere, Mari touched her necklace, harnessing great strength. She was able to knock all of them out, before heading back to Chuck's house for coffee. Later that day, she went to inquire with a university professor, Dr Macalester, who told her what she already knew about her necklace. Before she could leave, he further explained the belief system behind the Anansi Totem, that one could harness the life force of animals and use their power. Following this, she left.

Mari told Chuck that she believed that her necklace was magical. When Chuck told Mari the concept was crazy, Mari tapped into her totem and lifted the table with one hand. Later, Mari walked up on Chuck's house, though Chuck still refused to believe. As Mari was about to jump from Chuck's roof, she stopped at the last minute. Back in Chuck's house, Mari told Chuck of her belief that her necklace could be the key to learning who she was. Mari then had a visit from The Arrow and The Flash. Unsure what to do, Mari tapped into her necklace and ran off, with the two in pursuit.

Mari managed to evade The Arrow and The Flash. However, after The Arrow shot a net trick arrow at her, she fell off of a building, plummeting towards the ground, however, she managed to tap into her totem to gain the ability to fly. Mari flew off, telling the two she refused to go back to jail. Mari was told that they just needed to talk and Mari flew toward the two. The two vigilantes spoke of her as a meta-human, though she claimed she wasn't in Central City at the time of the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator explosion. Oliver had Felicity check if she was lying and the latter told the former that Mari used a credit card at a Big Belly Burger in Detroit that night. Mari told the two that if they came to her step-father's house again, she would show them what it would be like to be disemboweled by a lion.

Mari went back to Dr. Macalester and asked to learn more about the totem. When Macalester asked her why she thought he could help, Mari tapped into the totem to camouflage, proving the totem is indeed magical. Macalester apologized as Kuasa arrived with two men, threatening Mari to handover the totem. Mari tried to hand the totem over, however, she was unable to due to the necklace being bound to her. Having no choice, Kuasa told her men to kill her and Mari tried to escape, but she was shot and fell unconscious.

Mari was brought to her home village where she learned Kuasa is her older sister. She learned about what happened while she was a baby. When Kuasa said it was still her obligation to protect the village, Mari told her there was nothing to protect. Mari was told by Kuasa the totem came to life because it sensed her, thought ended up being bound to the former. Mari tried to get away but was quickly stopped by Kuasa's guards. Mari was bit by Anansi in the form of a spider, though the totem activated and gave Mari the power of a rhino. Mari managed to knock Kuasa's guards away and ran off, before passing out. Kuasa then caught up to Mari and took the necklace.

Mari awoke with a herd of animals surrounding her. She was told by the spirit of a lion that her mother left to keep the totem away from Kuasa. The animals then told Mari they would stand with her if she stood with them. Mari approached Kuasa and told her their mother made sure to keep the totem as far away from her as possible. Mari sent the animals to go after Kuasa's followers while she challenged Kuasa. Mari grazed Kuasa's arm with a stick then later used Anansi on Kuasa on her wound. Mari knocked Kuasa out before reclaiming the necklace.

Back in Detroit, Mari began vigilantism. She informed her step-father of the news, telling him she would take up being a hero at night. When she embraced with her step-father, her totem lit up. As she went outside, she reminded The Arrow and The Flash of her warning. They told her she just needed proper training if she is to take up being a vigilante, though Mari told them she'd prefer to figure things on her own. She later asked for a code-name, where Barry told Mari that Cisco had been calling her Vixen.

Summoned to Star City
With William kidnapped by Damien Darhk and John Constantine in Hell, Oliver decided to call Mari for help. Using her powers Mari managed to help track down William's location. Arriving at a the location Mari and Oliver fought Damien only for Damien to overpower the both of them and escape, with Mari also losing track of William's scent. Later at the Arrowcave Mari pointed out that she gets her powers from her totem and that every mystical foe she's faced has used something similar and summarizes that Damien must have one of his own. Lance confirms this and the group manage to locate the totem at Daimen's residence. Mari breaks in and attacks Damien at first Damien wins the battle against her again but then, Mari, using her powers, destroys Damien's source of magic which allows Team Arrow to save William and defeat Dahrk. Later before leaving for Detroit Mari advises Oliver to keep his life away from William's for William's sake.

Powers

 * Anansi Totem: All of Mari's powers come from her necklace, which allow her to harness the life force of animals, in essence harnessing their abilities. Since accessing its power, the necklaces has bonded with her, preventing it from being removed from her neck.
 * Superhuman speed: Through the spirit of the cheetah, she becomes incredibly fast, so fast that even the Flash (moving at Mach 1) had a hard time catching her.
 * Superhuman strength: Through the spirit of the elephant, gorilla, lion, or rhinoceros. she becomes incredibly strong. She was able to tip over whole water towers and crumble one of The Arrow's arrows in her hand. The strength she demonstrated proved great enough to challenge Damien Darhk's telekinetic power, as he struggled considerably to just barely repel her.
 * Superhuman agility: Through the spirit of the tiger,  she becomes incredibly agile, able to leap great distances, and preform incredible acrobatic feats.
 * Camouflage: Through the spirit of the chameleon, she becomes essentially invisible, being able to blend herself in with her surroundings.
 * Wall climbing: Mari can gain the wall crawling abilities of a spider, defying gravity.
 * Flight: Mari can access the spirit of the eagle, gaining the ability to fly. Originally she was fearful to use this new ability due to a fear of heights, but she later overcame the fear after falling from a building and flying.
 * Superhuman smelling: Through the spirit of the wolf, Mari can lock onto a target's scent, by first getting a sample of it. From this, she can determine if the target is within a wide area and likewise track the target down.
 * Superhuman hearing: Through the spirit of the owl, Mari has very acute ears, able to hear quiet conversations from great distances.

Abilities

 * Hand-to-hand combatant: While unknown to what degree, Mari has shown noticeably well-coordinated kicks and punches while facing off against her older sister. Also, the fact that she was arrested for assault with a mere pen implies further proficiency in close-range combat.
 * Artistic skill: As an aspiring fashion designer, Mari is a proficient sketch artist.
 * Occult knowledge: Since acquiring her totem necklace, to better understand its power, Mari delved into the supernatural archives. Therefore, she has come to grasp the general nature of mysticism and how it works, being able to deduce the secrets of Damien Darhk's powers.