Mari McCabe

Mari McCabe is the illegitimate daughter of King T'Chalka and Amaya of the Jiwe Tribe and thus, a Princess of Wakanda. When T’Chalka was a young Prince, he had a relationship with the Spirit Totem Bearer of the Border Tribe, a woman named Amaya. Their affair bore a daughter, who was named Mari. Prior to her second birthday, a man named Benatu launched an attack on the Totem Bearers in an attempt to collect the Totems for himself. Amaya fled to America with Mari before giving her up for adoption, leaving with nothing but the Totem. Years later, Mari would use it to become the heroine known as Vixen.

Early Life
Hundreds of years ago, the six tribes of Wakanda were under attack. They prayed to the gods for help and their prayers were answered. Five tribes were given a totem to protect it, each with a different elemental power to aid in the defense of the tribes. The sixth tribe, led by the shaman warrior Tantu, was given a heart-shaped herb that gave him the strength to unite the tribes of Wakanda under his leadership.

Mari’s mother had inherited the Spirit Totem, which was given to the Jiwe (or Border) Tribe that was the frontline of defense in Wakanda. Amaya gained the power to summon the ashe (or spirit) of any animal that's ever lived and take on the abilities of the summoned animal. The Spirit Totem made Amaya the fiercest female warrior in all of Wakanda, who was said to be second only to the Black Panther himself. The current Panther was the young Prince T'Chalka, who was in search of a bride. He challenged Amaya to combat for her hand in marriage. Amaya defeated him and rejected his proposal, wishing to remain an independent warrior.

Still, a relationship was formed between the two and from that relationship Mari was born. When Mari was nearing her second birth, her village, Zambesi was attacked by a mad man known as Benatu who wished to collect the power of the Totems for himself. Having already taken the Fire Totem, he set the village ablaze. Amaya fled with the young Mari, choosing to save her daughter.

Amaya took Mari to America and made the difficult choice of leaving her at a Church. After seeing a young reverend named Chuck McCabe scoop up her daughter, Amaya left Mari with nothing but a blank with her name on it and the Spirit Totem.

Knowing Benatu would come for Mari, she confronted him and claimed that both the Totem and Mari had perished in the fire. Exhausted and without her Totem, Amaya fell to Benatu’s fiery rage. T’Chalka would later believe the lie that Amaya had spilled, mourning his daughter.

Despite the love she received from Chuck and Patty McCabe, she struggled with her lack of identity as a child, eventually deciding to bury the Totem in their backyard and forget about it. As a teen, Mari moved on and made friends quite easily due to her natural beauty and confidence, eventually gaining the interest of a well-known photographer. Posing for pictures, Mari got her foot in the door and eventually busted it open as she became a famous model. But the fame only gained her the attention of Benatu.

Discovering her Identity
Mari’s fame brought Benatu right to her doorstep after she posed for a photo with the Spirit Totem, having dug it up after her father moved out of their old house following her adoptive mother’s passing from cancer. Thankfully, the news of the Totem being found prompted T'Challa to come investigate. T'Challa arrived to find Benatu holding Mari and her father hostage. The Black Panther’s arroval provided Mari with enough time charge at Benatu, summoning the power of the Totem for the first time and throw Benatu out the window with the strength of a lion.

With Benatu escaping, T'Challa took Mari and Chuck to Wakanda for “protection” (further investigation). Upon arriving, the trio was greeted by T'Challa’s mother, Ramonda. Immediately, Ramonda recognized Mari as the spitting image of Amaya, who was her best friend. She realized that Mari was the baby long thought dead and thus, an heir to the throne.

However, Mari had zero interest in challenging T'Challa’s claim to the Wakandan throne and was only interested in returning to her normal life. Overwhelmed, she fled from Wakanda and was found outside it’s borders to Benatu. In the enduring fight, the power of the Totem overwhelmed Mari and she tore home to shreds with the power of a gorilla.

Racked with guilt, she agreed to stay in Wakanda until she learned to control the power of the Totem. There, she bonded with the Royal Family but still longed her old life. After several months, she returned to Detroit.

One night while walking back to her apartment, she witnessed an attempted assault and decided to intervene. Fighting off the attacker, she beat him to the ground before freezing, thinking back to her uncle’s death. The attack then gained the upper hand and pulled out a gun to finish her off, only for her to be rescued by a man named Ben Turner.