‘Legends Of Tomorrow’: Tala Ashe Talks Zari’s Powers, Mysterious Connection With Amaya

Another totem bearer is boarding the Waverider in Season 3, episode 3 of CW’s “Legends of Tomorrow.”

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Tala Ashe confirmed that her character, Zari, also has her own set of powers. And just like Amaya (Maisie Richardson-Sellers), Zari harnesses these powers from a totem.

“It has lots of powers in it,” Ashe said of Zari’s totem. “The totem is something that she associates with the great power it has and also with her family. It is a kind of — I don’t know if heirloom is quite the right word, but it’s something that is in her family, so taking it on also entails carrying that torch for her family, which is tricky and I think she feels sort of not worthy in certain ways and maybe not even capable of carrying that amulet forward for her family.”

Although the totem has been in her family’s possession for a long time, Zari is still learning how to use it. “She has this power that she’s a little bit ambivalent about,” the actress said. “And I think the journey of this for Zari is also going to be about her owning the power, and owning being a superhero, and also figuring out how to harness that power.”

While Ashe didn’t specify Zari’s powers during her interview with Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Marc Guggenheim revealed to DC Legends TV that the Muslim-American hactivist from 2042 can control air. “Her powers are a little bit like Avatar the Last Airbender,” Guggenheim said. “As a practical matter, it means that she can fly. She can create wind blasts. She can manipulate the air around her. It’s a very nature-based power, which is a good contrast to our ‘water witch’ Kuasa (Tracy Ifeachor) and her water powers. I think you’ll find that there are some interesting things going on with Zari and her power set.”

Since eagle-eyed fans noticed that Zari is wearing a totem in the custom cover for this year’s Arrowverse crossover, some of them have speculated that Zari may be related to Amaya, the guardian of Anansi Totem.

But when asked if Zari and Amaya are family, Ashe said: “No, no, no. We don’t actually know how we’re connected, but it seems like just the fact that there are two totems, we are the totem bearers, so there’s some link between us. Amaya catches onto it before I do, and has to convince saying like, ‘There’s a connection between us, there’s a destiny that is bringing us together, even though we don’t quite know what it is.’ Our totems are getting stronger because of it, by our proximity.”

What do you think is the connection between Zari and Amaya? Share your theories in the comments section below!

“Legends of Tomorrow” Season 3, episode 3, aptly titled as “Zari,” airs tonight at 9 p.m. EDT on The CW.