Vixen (web series)

Vixen
Genre
Based on Characters appearing in DC Comics
Voices of
Composer(s)
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 6
Production
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s) James Tucker
Editor(s) Christopher D. Lozinski
Running time 4–7 minutes
Production company(s)
Release
Original network CW Seed
Original release August 25, 2015 (2015-08-25) – present (present)
Chronology
Related shows Arrowverse
Website

Vixen is an American animated web series from executive producers Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg, which debuted on August 25, 2015, on The CW's online streaming platform, CW Seed. It is based on the DC Comics character Mari McCabe / Vixen, a costumed superhero crime-fighter with the power to mimic the abilities of any animal that has ever lived on Earth. The series is set in the Arrowverse, the same fictional universe as Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow. The first season concluded on September 29, 2015, and in January 2016, the series was renewed for a second season.

Plot

After her parents were killed in Africa by local corruption, Mari McCabe inherits her family's Tantu Totem, gaining the powers of animal kingdom, using them to fight as Vixen to stop threats like those that claimed her family.[2]

Season 1 (2015)

All episodes in the season were directed by James Tucker and written by Wendy Mericle, Keto Shimizu, Brian Ford Sullivan and Lauren Certo.[3]

When Mari McCabe returns to Detroit after searching for information on her birth parents, she ends up in jail for stabbing a potential employer in the hand with a pen. Her foster father, Chuck, posts her bail, and the two are confronted in an alley by some thugs looking to take Mari's Tantu Totem, which she inherited from her birth parents at a young age. Mari uses the totem's powers to defeat the thugs, and the next day, visits Professor Macalester hoping to learn more about the totem and her family. Elsewhere, at S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco Ramon becomes aware of Mari and her powers, and the Flash and the Arrow go to Detroit to investigate. In Detroit, Mari shows Chuck the totem's powers, when Barry and Oliver show up at their house. Convinced they want to imprison her, she flees, with the two heroes giving chase. Finally getting Mari to stop, the Flash and Arrow try to convince Mari to let them help her. Not trusting them, Mari leaves and returns to Professor Macalester in hopes of getting more answers. Unbeknownst to Mari, Macalester is working for Kuasa, who shows up looking to retrieve the totem. Unable to remove the totem from her neck, Mari tries to escape and is shot by Kuasa's men. She wakes up in the abandoned Zambesi Village in Africa, where Kuasa reveals she is her older sister and this is her birthplace, telling her the history of the totem and the village's destruction. Kuasa reveals she was chosen to protect the totem and attempts to sever the bond it has with Mari. The attempt fails and Mari flees, though she passes out shortly after, allowing Kuasa to claim the totem. After coming to, the animal spirits of the totem confront Mari, telling her she is its true wielder. With their support, Mari returns to the village and defeats Kuasa and her followers, regaining the totem. Back in Detroit, Mari begins fighting crime as the heroine Vixen, finally knowing her purpose in life, with Arrow and Flash promising to offer assistance should she ever ask.[3]

Season 2

The six episode season will be written by Certo, Nolan Dunbar and Sarah Tarkoff, with the episodes known as "Trial By Fire".[4]

Cast

Further information: List of Arrowverse actors

Main

Born in Africa but raised in the United States, Mari is orphaned at a young age and inherits her family's mystical Tantu Totem, allowing her to access the powers of the animal kingdom.[2] Kimberly Brooks voices a young Mari.[7]

Recurring and guest

Season 1

Additional voices in the season are provided by Kevin Michael Richardson and Fred Tatasciore.[7]

Season 2

Development

In January 2015, The CW announced that a six-episode animated web-series centered on Vixen from Marc Guggenheim would be debuting on CW Seed in late 2015, and would be set in the Arrowverse with Arrow and The Flash.[11] In total, the six episodes encompass one 30-minute story.[5] The series, described as an "origin story", is set in Detroit, Michigan and "prominently" features characters from Arrow and The Flash. Keto Shimizu and Brian Ford Sullivan, writers on Arrow, also serve as writers for Vixen. On adding Vixen to the established universe, Guggenheim said, "Vixen's such a great character. First of all, she represents magic, which is an area that we haven't explored on either of the two shows just yet. One thing we're always saying is, 'Flash is very different from Arrow, Arrow is very different from Flash.' If Arrow is crime and The Flash is science, Vixen has a big magic component." Guggenheim also talked about why the series originated as animation, saying, "One of the things we can do in animation is really push the envelope in a way that we can't on either of the two shows. So there's a much larger production value. We're taking advantage of the animated form."[11]

At the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International, it was revealed that the series would debut on August 25, 2015,[6] with new episodes debuting weekly.[8] In July 2015, Guggenheim revealed the series takes place around episode S03E15 and S03E16 of Arrow, saying, "We were shooting [episode] S03E14 [of Arrow] when we wrote Vixen so we sort of tied it to the continuity not of when it ultimately came out because that would require us projecting very, very far into the future, but we just committed to our timeline of around when we were writing it. We knew, of course, at that point that Oliver would be going off to the League of Assassins and changing his costume as a result, so this takes place just right before that."[12] Blake Neely, composer of Arrow and The Flash, composed the music for Vixen along with Nathaniel Blume.[13] In January 2016, CW President Mark Pedowitz announced that The CW had renewed Vixen for a second season of six episodes, again totaling about a half-hour of content.[14][4] Pedowitz also stated he regretted not airing the entire series as a half-hour special on The CW, something he hopes to do with season two.[14]

Reception

IGN's Jesse Schedeen gave the series a 7.3/10, praising the action sequences, the animation and the tone, saying the series "finds its niche in the Flash/Arrow-verse". Schedeen criticized the short run time and the voice acting of some actors, particularly those crossing over from the live-action shows, saying "There's a certain stiffness and even slowness to Stephen Amell's Ollie, Grant Gustin's Barry and Carlos Valdes' Cisco that isn't present in live-action. This is especially apparent whenever the characters launch into witty banter with each other."[15] Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club gave the series a "B+" rating.[16]

Live-action appearances

Megalyn Echikunwoke as Vixen in Arrow.

If the series is successful, a live-action series centered on the character could be possible.[11] Echikunwoke appeared as the character on Arrow during the fourth season episode "Taken", in which Mari aided Oliver Queen and his team in rescuing his kidnapped son.[17] After Vixen's appearance on Arrow, Pedowitz reiterated again that it would be possible for the character to spin out to her own live-action series, or potentially join the characters on Legends of Tomorrow.[14]

References

  1. ↑ CW Seed (July 11, 2015). Vixen | Comic-Con 2015 Sizzle | CW Seed. YouTube. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lam, Steve (June 28, 2015). "SDCC 2015: Comic-Con Schedule For Saturday, July 11, 2015". Bam! Smack! Pow!. Fansided. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Season 1, Episodes 1-6
  4. 1 2 Guggenheim, Marc (January 10, 2016). "Bam. @ketomizu". Twitter. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Sands, Rich (July 2015). "Enter Vixen". TV Guide Comic-Con Special 2015: 17. "This is essentially a coming-of-age story," Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim says of the six-episode series, which will tell one complete 30-minute tale. A young woman named Mari McCabe (voiced by Megalyn Echikunwoke)...
  6. 1 2 Ching, Albert (July 11, 2015). "SDCC: FIRST TRAILER FOR ANIMATED "VIXEN" ARRIVES, SET IN "FLASH"/"ARROW" WORLD". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vixen Episode 1. CW Seed. August 25, 2015. Event occurs at 3:59. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Schedeen, Jesse (August 24, 2015). "VIXEN: WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE ANIMATED WEBSERIES SET IN THE ARROW / FLASH UNIVERSE". IGN. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  9. 1 2 Brooks, Tamara (March 6, 2015). "GUGGENHEIM, BUTTERS ON "AGENT CARTER'S" FUTURE, "ARROW'S" ROGUES & MORE". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on March 7, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  10. ↑ Abrams, Natalie (April 4, 2016). "Arrow's Katie Cassidy to appear on The Flash, Vixen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 Ching, Albert (January 12, 2015). "GUGGENHEIM TALKS "PUSHING THE ENVELOPE" IN "ARROW"/"FLASH" ANIMATED SPINOFF "VIXEN"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  12. ↑ Burlingame, Russ (July 23, 2015). "Marc Guggenheim Talks Arrow, Vixen, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Overwatch Sequel". Comicbook.com. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  13. ↑ Neely, Blake (August 22, 2015). "@tracksounds oh yes we did! @nblumeathan and I scored it. It's coming soon! More fun in #DCcomics world.". Twitter. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  14. 1 2 3 Goldman, Eric (January 10, 2016). "VIXEN ANIMATED SERIES RENEWED FOR SEASON 2; CW PONDERS MORE IN LIVE-ACTION". IGN. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  15. ↑ Schedeen, Jesse (September 11, 2015). "Vixen: Season 1 Review". IGN. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  16. ↑ Sava, Oliver (October 13, 2015). "Animated Vixen breaks new ground for CW’s Arrowverse". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  17. ↑ Holbrook, Damian (December 18, 2015). "Exclusive: An Animated Vixen Comes to Life On Arrow". TV Insider. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
Season 1

External links

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