Vixen (comics) - Powers and Abilities

Powers and Abilities

Vixen possesses the innate ability to make direct contact with the Earth's morphogenetic field, which is sometimes known as the "Red". This contact with the "Red" allows Vixen to mimic the abilities of any animal, by simply focusing on a specific animal's abilities and then drawing it directly from the field. Vixen's connection to the "Red" is so deep that she can use the abilities of multiple animals at one time and has demonstrated the ability to hold onto the morphogenetic traits of all the animal in a forest. Vixen's natural range for mimicking animal abilities is about 150 feet.

Vixen wears a mystic artifact called the Tantu Totem, a fox-head shaped talisman given to her ancestors by the African trickster god Anansi. It was previously thought that the totem was the source of her powers but according to recent stories, it merely prevents her natural link to the morphogenetic field from overwhelming her mind. It is assumed that the totem also increases her range for mimicking the abilities of animals, as she has been known to mimic the abilities of animals on the other side of the world.

So far, Vixen has used the following skills:

• The flight of a hawk.
• The ability to breathe under water like a fish.
• The swimming ability of a dolphin.
• The speed of a cheetah.
• Tapped into the aggression, physical and mental abilities of Gorilla Grodd.
• The echolocation of a bat.
• The wallcrawling of a spider.
• The jumps of a cricket.
• The constriction of an anaconda.
• The sensitive trichromatic color vision of a salamander.
• The strength of a bull elephant (about 12 tons).
• The strength of a Rhinoceros Beetle (about 65 tons).
• The senses of a wolf.
• The agility of a spider monkey.
• The electrical absorption and debilitating shock of an electric eel.
• Accelerate the regenerative abilities of reptiles and earthworms.
• The ability to spit venom like a spitting cobra.
• The body armor of an abalone (which proved strong enough to withstand a punch from Superman).
• The nocturnal vision of a cat.
• The speed of a mantis shrimp to catch a bullet.
• The kick of a horse.
• The protective hide of a Rhinoceros.
• The danger sense of seagulls and terns.
• The rage of a lion.
• The eyesight of an eagle.
• The cold adaptation of Methanococcoides burtonii.
• The heat tolerance of a Pompeii worm.
• The stubbornness of a mule (against telepathic attacks and mind control inflicted by Brainiac).

Recently, she used the bioluminescence of a Marine hatchetfish and an Anglerfish to produce light from her hand and to create a laser-like beam from her head. She has even been shown to be able to channel the powers of extinct animals (such as the saber-toothed tiger and the Triceratops), domesticated animals (like the Doberman Pinscher), and even mystical beast (like dragons).

Vixen's claws/nails are particularly sharp and tough, enabling her to rend through a variety of substances, such as fabric, wood, cinder block and even soft metals with ease. Her claws are magically enhanced and have drawn blood from individuals who are considered highly durable like Geo-Force, Despero and Pre-Crisis Superman.

Occasionally, she has been known to physically transform into animals—for example, she has shapeshifted into a wolf, a great horned owl, and a cougar. Vixen can also assume a hybrid form, in which she maintains a humanoid form but with certain animal adaptations, like when she took on the gills, fins, and lack of eyes of a blind cavefish in JSA Classified and later shapeshifted into a humanoid wolf (retaining the cavefish's blindness). The totem also allows her to heal bruises and wounds within seconds by simply touching it.

While the full extent of Vixen's control over the morphogenetic field is unknown, she has on occasions drawn pure energy from it and displayed this energy as a force field and energy claws. While in cooperation with Animal Man and the woman known as "Tristess", she helped to create an entire universe.

One apparent drawback of Vixen's powers is that she is not always able to control the inputs from the morphogenetic field. Sometimes, she has absorbed unwanted animal behavior, such as instinctive rage. The longer she stays in contact with the morphogenetic field, the less human and more animal she seems to become. Vixen also has the ability to communicate with animals and can override the natural predator/prey instinct found in most wild animals.

It is unknown what would happen if Vixen tried to use her magical abilities on an alien animal, or if she would gain access to the morphogenetic field of another planet. During the time when Vixen was mimicking human abilities she was able to mimic the extraterrestrial abilities of Superman. This might indicate that she is able to mimic the abilities of aliens as long as she is aware of them.

After being forced to tap into the human template as a matter to purge herself from pure animalistic sensations, Vixen is briefly left by the God Anansi with a crippled connection with the morphogenetic field, unable to reach any animal except the human animal. In this state she shows the ability to mimic metahuman powers, such as Jay Garrick's speed, Geo-Force's earth-based powers, and Black Lightning's elemental control, as well as the Kryptonian superpowers of Superman, an extraterrestrial. Her abilities are not only limited to that of metahumans, as she was able to duplicate Red Arrow's archery skills and even Green Lantern's ring in a recent issue of Justice League of America, suggesting that she has gained powers similar to that of Amazo.

It is revealed that this is actually trickery on the part of Anansi. Upon confronting him within the Tantu Totem, Vixen learns the truth about her powers: For unknown reasons, Anansi has made the Tantu Totem his current home. Vixen's family are custodians and guardians of the totem, which they have passed down through the generations. While Mari doesn't need to be wearing the totem to use her powers, she is expected to keep it safe for Anansi. Anansi restores Vixen's original animal powers, then, after testing her abilities as a hero, he states that she is his "champion".