C'Mellu Dantogi

Real Name: C'Mellu Dantogi
Occupation: Political leader
Known Relatives: Marilyn Macabe (daughter,) unnamed wife (deceased)
Base of Operations: D'Mulla
First Appearance: Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2 (Fall, 1978)
Created by: Gerry Conway & Bob Oksner

History:
C'Mellu Dantogi was a leader in the fight for his people's independence in the African nation of D'Mulla. One of his rallies was interrupted during a speech by mortar fire and dozens of jeeps filled with cackling soldiers. The troops gleefully set to massacring Dantogi's supporters under the command of his sworn enemy, General C'Tanga Manitoba.

Fearing for his daughter's life, Dantogi swept the child up and ran for cover with his confidant, the Reverend Peak. Hiding in a shallow ravine, Dantogi stifled a sob as he realized the killing would not stop until he himself was dead. Dantogi asked his daughter Mari to forget the horrors of this day, to recall only the joyous times when their family was whole, and to be brave. He also gave his daughter a special talisman, requesting that she wear it always, as it might one day give her the power to free her people.

As Reverend Peak escaped with Mari, Dantogi stood defiant in the face of General Manitoba, but was cut down by his machete. Seventeen years later, Dantogi's daughter assumed the super-heroic identity of the Vixen, and finally saw her father's killer to justice.

Quote:
"Freedom-- this is what we struggle for! But we must not tarnish our goal with bloodshed--! Our victory must be a moral as well as political success! We must show Africa--and the world-- that the freedom we seek is a freedom from hate and fear! Only in this way-- can we ever truly be free!"