Caitlin Fairchild

Early life

Caitlin Fairchild is the daughter of Alex Fairchild of Team 7. The identity of her mother is unknown, and Caitlin has never mentioned her.

When he was forced to go underground to escape International Operations, Alex Fairchild left Caitlin in the care of relatives in Portland, Oregon. Raised by her aunt and uncle alongside her cousin Karen, Caitlin grew into a brilliant, but rather mousy young woman. Her academic skill led to her being accepted to Princeton University where she double-majored in computer science and electrical engineering.

Gen¹³

In her sophomore year, Caitlin was recruited into Project: Genesis which she believed to be some sort of government internship. One night, Caitlin began to feel ill (due to secretly being fed drugs designed to activate latent Gen-Active abilities) and she staggered out of her room to try to find a bathroom. She inadvertently stumbled into a computer room where her future teammates Grunge and Roxy were hanging out. Caitlin convinced them to go back to their rooms and was about to leave when she spotted her father's name on a computer screen.

Caitlin, investigating this, was interrupted by a security guard who clubbed her with his rifle when she tried to explain herself. The guard was about to turn on Grunge and Roxy, but was interrupted by Caitlin’s anger activating her latent gen-active abilities. Fairchild’s clothing was shredded in the process, and within seconds she was transformed from a mousy computer geek to a powerful, towering amazon.

Borrowing Grunge's shirt, Caitlin, Roxy and Grunge decided to escape Project: Genesis. Along the way, they were joined by Bobby Lane and Sarah Rainmaker. Despite their best efforts the team’s escape from Project: Genesis would have failed if not for the intervention of International Operations director John Lynch.

Deciding that I/O had to be opposed, Lynch turned on the organization and helped the teens flee to San Diego, California, where he set up a luxurious safe house in the La Jolla area. Lynch promised to teach the fledgling superheroes how to make a difference in the world and to help them uncover the mysteries of who their parents were.

Because of her responsible and mature attitude, Caitlin was universally elected field leader of the team. Though uncertain of her abilities, Fairchild accepted the role and her cool thinking got the team out of more than a few tight situations. Some time later, John Lynch disappeared. But Alex Fairchild, who Caitlin was reunited with during the Fire From Heaven crossover, took up the role of mentor. It was during this period that the team relocated to the Florida Keys and Roxy and Caitlin discovered that they were half-sisters.

But the family reunion was short-lived as Alex was killed protecting his daughters and the rest of the team from the villain Tindalos. With her father dead and John Lynch still missing, Caitlin took full leadership of the team.

Though sometimes frustrated by her comrades' personal eccentricities, Caitlin cares deeply for all of them. They are all the family she has now. In return, the rest of Gen¹³ look to Caitlin as both a friend and leader. Also, an accident resulted in a case of amnesia that made her believe she was Supergirl for a time, an issue that was quickly resolved.

Worldstorm

In the limited series Captain Atom: Armageddon, Captain Atom comes to the Wildstorm Universe and has several encounters with the characters of that world. After his departure, the entire Wildstorm line had a "soft reset" with significant and subtle continuity changes.

Gen¹³ and the entire Wildstorm line was rebooted. Caitlin is still living with her adoptive parents when she mysteriously wakes up with a version of her familiar green uniform. Her parents take this as a cue that their apparent mission to raise her is over. Soldiers enter her home, kill her parents and kidnap Caitlin. She meets up with other familiar Gen¹³ characters, Freefall, Burnout, Rainmaker, and Grunge, for apparently the first time.

The New 52

Following the events of Flashpoint, the Wildstorm Universe is merged with the DC Universe, with most of the Wildstorm characters now having their histories rewritten. Caitlin is now a supporting character in the new Superboy series. She appears as a teenaged researcher working for N.O.W.H.E.R.E., a shadowy organization dedicated to capturing teenagers with metahuman abilities. She apparently has a rivalry with Rose Wilson, a young mercenary hired to act as Superboy's handler after he is kidnapped and experimented upon by N.O.W.H.E.R.E.'s scientists. She still retains her super-strength and she also possesses psychic powers. After a brief scuffle with Superboy, Caitlin is revealed to be a mole who was working to subvert N.O.W.H.E.R.E. from within. She is quickly restrained and carried off to a prison cell, and Superboy is commended for his actions. Later, she is rescued by Superboy. In 2011, DC revealed that Caitlin would star in The Ravagers.

Alternate versions

Powers and abilities

Caitlin was affected by her gen-factor causing her mass to increase and her muscle density to grow exponentially. (A letter column described her height as 6'5"). This gives her incredible strength and durability as well as increased stamina and agility. She has confronted and been able to hold her own against some of the strongest heroes and villains in the Wildstorm universe.

In Gen 13 v3, Caitlin absorbed the shape-shifting powers of another metahuman. She gained the ability to melt into a purple liquid and reform in various shapes, somewhat similar in concept to the T-1000's abilities in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. After expressing these powers, Caitlin's hair and lips turned purple. It is unknown whether she retained these new powers after the events of Gen 13 v3 #16.

In the relaunch by author Gail Simone, Caitlin Fairchild's origins are slightly different. The activation of her gen-factor (and subsequent physical appearance) were all the result of bold-faced manipulation since birth by Tabula Rasa, an offshoot of I.O., to create an attractive Gen-Active teen. The limits and changes to her traditional abilities of superstrength and invulnerability are unknown (she is able to best a saber-tooth tiger, for instance, but a blow to the head from a fall causes her to bleed and concuss), and apparently tied to her physical welfare: when infected by the Warhol virus, so with an overtaxed immune system, her invulnerability was almost completely lost, so that a simple knife could penetrate her otherwise impenetrable skin. Also, Caitlin seems to have superhuman reactions, catching a bullet fired from a sniper rifle before it can hit its intended target. Cailtin retains her notable traits of intelligence and attractiveness but is continually suspicious and unhappy about her appearance, given the prurient nature of her creators.

In the post-Flashpoint reboot of DC Comics, Caitlin is one of 13 genetically enhanced metahumans. She has the power to make her muscles grow, telepathy, and is shown to be immune to Superboy's telekinetic powers.

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