A new hero will be coming to town on Arrow season 4, episode 15, “Taken,” as Damien Darhk makes a personal attack on Oliver.
We saw at the end of the previous episode that Damien Darhk had abducted William, Oliver’s son, and brought him to his own home. In “Taken, then, Oliver will be striking back to rescue his son. However, this will also bring the big secret to light, which he’s been hiding since he found out about William earlier this season. Barry warned Oliver that keeping the secret from Felicity would have dire repercussions, and it looks like we may be seeing the beginnings of that now.
For help rescuing William from Darhk, Oliver will be calling in Mari McCabe, aka Vixen, for help. Mari, of course, made her debut in a six-part animated series on CW Seed last summer. You can read my review of the first season here. It has also been renewed for a second season.
Megalyn E.K., who voiced Vixen in the animated series and is portraying her in live action, tells Collider that she feels “lucky” to be playing the character. “In a lot of ways, it’s a dream come true because I’ve always wanted to do this type of thing,” she explains.
“Growing up, I always wanted to be a Lara Croft character or one of those martial artists in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. So, now playing Vixen in live-action is like a dream come true times two because I get to play this really cool character with a really rich history and a really dedicated fan base and I also get to be the first black superhero in the DC comics universe to appear in live-action. That’s really cool.” She adds that it’s “an honor. I just hope that I do her justice for the sake of the fans.”
She also teases a dynamic that has evolved between Vixen and the Green Arrow and Flash; they were a bit antagonistic in the animated series as Mari was coming into her new powers, but according to E.K., “At this point, a little bit of time has passed. In the animated series, she’s a little bit gruff with Green Arrow and The Flash. She’s a little sassy with them because they’re not necessarily friends.
“But at this point, some time has passed and she’s matured into her role as Vixen and her powers, and she has more of a solidarity with them. So, when they ask for help, it’s like her brothers need help. They’re her brothers-in-arms.”
As for how Vixen’s powers will translate to live action, E.K. says, “It will be very similar [to the animated series], actually. The show does an incredible job with the visual effects and the fight scenes are so cool. She definitely kicks some major ass. I haven’t seen the visual effects yet, but I’m assuming, if they’re anything like the rest of the show and like the other DC comics shows on The CW, they’ll be really special.”