Tabu

Very little is known about Tabu’s past, save the fact that she worked with Hamed Ali for a time, and opposed both Vixen and the Animal Man. During there final battle, Vixen managed to smash one of Tabu’s masks she was currently wearing, revealing that her face was horribly disfigured from some prior incident. It was later revealed that Tabu and Vixen were somehow related, with Vixen having the light part of the African Life-Spirit and Tabu having the dark part. When Tabu died her part of the African Life-Spirit reconnected with Vixen’s light side, increasing Vixen’s abilities and knowledge of the Red.

Powers and Abilities

Like Animal Man and Vixen, Tabu has the innate ability to tap into the power of The Red (the Lifeweb), enabling her to channel the abilities of the animal kingdom. Due to horrendous facial disfigurement, she chooses to focus this power through various African tribal masks that she wears, each displaying a wide range of facial expressions depending on her mood. Because of her dependence on the masks as a focusing medium for her powers, this makes her particularly vulnerable where they destroyed, as she would not only lose focus, but the crippling psychological effects of having her face exposed, and the negative connotations thereof, would most likely cause her to falter in battle.

Aside from her animal abilities, Tabu possesses impressive skill in both armed and unarmed combat, preferring to use bladed weaponry, and utilizing a fighting style reminiscent to those employed by the indigenous peoples of Africa, making use of her natural agility and flexibility. Her weapon of choice is a set of gloves that house retractable claws in the fingers, allowing her to slash and maul her opponents with animalistic fury. Her masks can also be seen as a psychological weapon, as well as medium for her powers, especially those bearing fearsome and malicious expressions, which could serve to unnerve an opponent and make them stumble in the heat of combat.