So what makes Vixen, the superheroine, so special? Well, for starters, she's a friend to the animals — or, rather, she's capable of becoming like our animal friends. Mari McCabe becomes Vixen when she inherits her family's Tantu Totem, allowing her to access the powers of all of the creatures in the animal kingdom. She's also one of the rare superheroines of color that we see on TV. Mari, a Black woman, is originally from Africa, and moved to the United States after her family was killed.