‘Vixen’ Animated Series Brings Magic to the World of ‘Arrow’ and ‘The Flash’

The universe of Arrow and The Flash has always been figuratively animated. Now it will be literal as well. During the shows’ summer hiatus, CW Seed (the network’s digital hub at CWSeed.com) will premiere Vixen, a short-form series starring the cult-favorite comic book character, who was introduced in the 1980s and has been a member of various incarnations of the Justice League.

“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) discovers that a mysterious totem she inherited from her now-deceased parents bestows magical abilities. “It basically gives her the powers of any animal on Earth,” Guggenheim says. “She can fly like an eagle, she can have the strength of a gorilla, she can run as fast as a cheetah.”

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Should the character eventually make a live-action appearance, she’ll already be acquainted with the gang: Stephen Amell (Oliver Queen), Grant Gustin (Barry Allen), Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity Smoak), and Carlos Valdes (Cisco Ramon) are making guest voice appearances on Vixen. Not only that, the show will even dip into certain storylines of interest to Arrow and Flash fans. “There’s a moment where Oliver finds out that Felicity and Barry had kissed, back in episode 4 of The Flash,” Guggenheim reveals, answering a question fans have been asking since last year.

“I love that we get to expand the universe,” Guggenheim says. “We started off with Arrow, which is very grounded, then The Flash introduced the concept of superpowers to this universe, and now Vixen will introduce the concept of magic. We’re continuing to build and expand the tapestry that we have to play with.”

A premiere date for Vixen has yet to be announced, but expect more news from Comic-Con later this week.