Caitlin Fairchild

Caitlin Fairchild is a character from the Wildstorm comic book series Gen¹³, created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and illustrated by J. Scott Campbell.

Early life
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 staggered out of her room to try and 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, but 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’re all the family she has now. In return, the rest of Gen¹³ look to Caitlin as both a friend and leader.

Worldstorm
Following the events of the second Gen¹³ series, the status of the team is rather unclear. But hints seen in other books set in the Wildstorm universe suggest that Gen¹³ are still together if not active in the superhero arena and that Caitlin is still their leader. The team is primed for a return with the relaunch of Gen¹³ on October 11th 2006.

Powers and abilities
Caitlin was affected by her gen-factor causing her mass to increase and her muscle density to grow exponentially. 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. Her gen-factor also eventually expressed superhuman reflexes&mdash;above the human maximum, but not extremely so. The gen-factor also had the effect of turning a plain looking girl into what many consider an anatomically disproportionate yet beautiful woman, a fact which continues to evade her somehow.

In Gen 13 v3, Caitlin absorbed the shapeshifting powers of another genie (that reality's name for those with gen-factor powers). 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. 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.

Trivia

 * In the Gen¹³ animated movie, Fairchild's voice was provided by Alicia Witt
 * Caitlin is a fan of the bands Massive Attack, Elastica, and The Beastie Boys.
 * In the Gen¹³ Zine published by Wildstorm, it is revealed that Fairchild has the same measurements as supermodel Elle Macpherson.