With the premiere of Vixen on CW Seed, star Megalyn Echikunwoke discusses the animated series set in the Arrow-verse.

Vixen, a six-episode animated series set in the same universe as Arrow and The Flash follows Mari McCabe (Echikunwoke), who has a mystical totem that grants her the abilities of animals. Thinking she is a metahuman, heroes from Arrow and The Flash head to Detroit to find out how she got her powers without the particle accelerator.

“Vixen is a superhero that I have always wanted to exist, but I didn’t know she actually existed, so getting to play this and coming on is kind of like jumping on a bullet train,” Echikunwoke says of being cast in the role of Mari/Vixen. “The fans are so excited and they’re so rabid for the stories and everyone knows so much more about it than I do, so I am just playing catch-up.”

Related: Vixen promo teases the upcoming animated series

Echikunwoke describes Vixen as “a great, black, female superhero for all the brown kids who need superheroes, too.” She adds, “I think it’s really cool that the world gets this superhero because she’s black, she’s young, she has an interesting story but she’s still very all-American, which isn’t unlike my own story, so I can relate to her, and she also inspires me.”

She adds that Vixen is “kind of a self-made superhero. Her backstory is that she was orphaned, she was born in Africa, she was orphaned and then gets to the United States. Like a lot of Americans, like a lot of children of immigrants or anybody, really, she’s trying to find her identity as a young woman. Through this, the discovery of her power and her ability finds a way to interact with the world that helps her thrive and be the best version of herself.”

Moreover, “I just think that the fact that she’s kind of one with the world and that she can communicate with animals, that’s a really cool power because it makes her very grounded.”

Related: Vixen gets a trailer, release date

As for whether Mari will transition into live action, played by Echikunwoke, she says, “I think that was kind of the impetus behind hiring me, just to have that option. Of course, we don’t know and I think it’s all based on how well this animated series does and how rabid the fans are for more Vixen. I’d love to play Vixen in live action; I’m into it.”

“I think if it does end up being live action in any way, it’s really cool that I have this warm-up into the character and I really can create my own version of Vixen.”

Watch the first episode of Vixen on CW Seed today.