Superheroes With Animal Powers

Those with superpowers in the comics inspire many people and we fantasize what it be like to have those extraordinary abilities. For instance who wouldn't want to have the power of flight or super speed, extreme stamina, godly strength and even the power to teleport? The comics I mostly read are of The Avengers, Batman, Tarzan & Spider-Man; those are my personal favorites but as of late especially since I'm back into training like a wild animal I've wanted to look into on a deeper scale about superheroes that animal-like or animalistic abilities. Some I found very interesting.

I have written about the Teen Titan Beast Boy that can turn into any wild animal but only for a period of time; this character fascinates me not only because of that ability but also he's a genuine hero that has a bit of an attitude like all teens have (amp it up 1000x if that teen happens to be a superhero) yet there are other heroes out there that are incredible but some are very underrated. One of them is a not-well-known super-heroine named Mari McCabe aka Vixen; she has the ability using an object called the Tantu Totem to summon all the powers of the Animal Kingdom (meaning she literally can transform into a wild animal any time she wanted) and have their animal strengths and attributes. I don't know about you but that is one hell of a superpower to have. A young African girl raised by her father a village priest was told of the totum by her mother before she passed, got away from the clutches of her uncle who wanted that power for herself fled to the states to start a new life becoming a model in the Big Apple.

You look up the story of her origins online but the mere fact she was not only a holder of one of the coolest powers ever, she was also a member of branches of the Justice League and becoming a member of the Suicide Squad and also was brought to a reformed Justice League by Cyborg. She didn't have a high status compared to other big named members but she was without question an ally you definitely wanted on your side.

Now compare her with other heroes with animal powers she's right up there; there's Squirrel Girl who had the pleasure of taking down Iron Man at one point, the Wonder Twins, Wolfsbane, the short-lived character Animal Man, and others. The unbelievable ability to transform and utilize the attributes of a wild animal or even call upon the attributes and strengths while in human form has got to be one of the most awesome powers anyone can have. I love the intelligence of batman, the strength of superman, the accuracy of hawkeye, the speed of flash, the healing of Wolverine but nothing compares to the power of a wild animal; the metamorphosis some possess, the memory of an elephant, the speed of a cheetah, the endurance of a tiger, strength of a gorilla, the swinging ability of a gibbon I can go on and on.

There's even a series of a comic I've written about before that bears repeating and that's the Apevengers where your favorite Marvel team take on the form of primates like a loosely based Planet Of The Apes meets Superheroes. Imagine not only having the power of a comic book hero but have the extra abilities of the strongest and most athletic primates on the planet. Anyone, the mere fantasy to morph into an animal at any given time and having their attributes is something you wouldn't want to get into a fight with. We can live out just a microscopic percentage of that by adapting out human abilities and mimic wild animals in the most realistic way possible. So the next time you do a workout, picture being a superhero with the ability to morph into an animal and imagining the ability to power up your muscles and get stronger, faster, strengthen the connective tissues and operate the body from as many angles as possible.