How Vixen's Animated Series Will Affect Legends of Tomorrow

When The CW first launched Vixen, a series of animated shorts on their digital service CW Seed, the concept seemed like a novel way to bring more DC characters to life. It was also an opportunity to expand the Arrowverse in incremental ways, with Arrow and The Flash both appearing in the first season (voiced by Grant Gustin and Stephen Amell no less). Vixen soon proved to be something of an incubator for new heroes and villains, however, and that will prove to be especially true this year.

After the events of season 1 of Vixen, voice actor Megalyn Echikunwoke was able to don the costume in live action when she appeared in the Arrow episode 'Taken.' Along with a corny joke from Oliver referencing their team-up in animated form, the crossover showed that Vixen and future animated outings were just as important to the Arrowverse as the live-action shows. Season 2 of Vixen brought aboard even more characters, with Felicity and Cisco returning and Black Canary, Firestorm, and Atom all showing up to fight alongside Mari McCabe. Ray even alluded to his adventure alongside Mari during the Legends of Tomorrow episode 'Land of the Lost.' Of course, the deeper connection between Vixen and Legends is Mari's grandmother Amaya.

WHen Echikunwoke showed up on Arrow, it seemed like a safe bet that she'd get her own show or at least a recurring role in the Arrowverse. Instead, season 2 of Legends introduced her grandmother Amaya as the original Vixen and a member of the Justice Society of America. It was a bit of a retcon and seemed like a slight on the part of Echikunwoke, but Maisie Richardson-Sellers' take on the hero quickly won over fans. The plot of Vixen was even slowly woven into Legends, with Amaya learning her village would eventually be destroyed and her daughter would be killed. Now, season 3 of Legends will make the connections even more explicit.

During Comic-Con this summer, it was announced that one of the members of the new Legion of Doom that the Legends would be fighting this year would include Kuasa. Premiering in season 1 of Vixen, Kuasa is the estranged sister of Mari McCabe. As kids, their village was attacked by the warlord Eshu who sought the Spirit Totem. The girls' father was killed and their mother, wounded herself, had no time to find Kuasa. Instead, she ran off with the infant Mari and Kuasa was left to grow up bitter and alone. Mari would be raised in Detroit but season 1 saw her and Kuasa brought face to face. In an attempt to gain the power of the Spirit Totem, Kuasa tried to kill Mari but her plan backfired.

Season 2 eventually sees Mari and Kuasa form a shaky alliance as Eshu returns and gains the power of the Fire Totem. Atom and Canary join in the battle and Mari helps Kuasa acquire the Water Totem. It proves to be no match for Eshu, however, and Kuasa sacrifices herself and the Totem trying to stop Eshu. In the end, Vixen defeats him in the end and destroys the Fire Totem to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.

We learned recently from executive producer Marc Guggenheim that the events of season 2 of Vixen will factor into Legends. A big part of that will be Damien Darhk recruiting a version of Kuasa before she turns somewhat good. That will create all sorts of conflict for the team, as many will view her as a villain. Amaya, meanwhile, will struggle with the fact that Kuasa is her granddaughter. And topping things all off, Ray will have to reckon with the knowledge that there is good in Kuasa that he's seen. It's also likely that the remaining Totems, Air and Earth, will be sought after by Kuasa and the Legion. Luckily, we won't have to wait much longer to find out.