10 DC Heroes With Surprisingly Tragic Origins

8. Vixen

Vixen is one of those DC characters that could make the company millions given the right attention - a fact her fans will no doubt reiterate - but it's that specific lack of attention that probably makes her tragic beginnings so elusive.

On the surface, Mari McCabe has the dream life. She's a model by day and a superhero by night, and she's even climbed DC's ranks to join the Justice League on occasion. However, her glamorous lifestyle wasn't just handed to her, and even then, that didn't mean Mari escaped tragedy for long.

McCabe was raised in the fictional African nation of Zambesi, which is where her powerful totem - the artefact that allows Mari to emulate the abilities of Earth's animals - originates. Her mother was tragically killed by poachers, and her subsequent adoptive father, a reverend by the name of Jiwe, was murdered by her uncle.

Not exactly the rosiest of childhoods, it must be said. But that wasn't even the end. By the time Mari had taken up her mantle as Vixen, her early crimefighting career saw her modelling job get caught in the crossfire of a drug smuggling ring, and led to Mari even joining the Suicide Squad to seek guidance for her powers.