Sublime (Wildstorm)

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caption="Sublime", Art by Humberto Ramos.
comic_color= background: #8080ff
character_name=Sublime
real_name=Rachel Goldman
publisher=Wildstorm Comics
debut= "Gen¹³" Volume 2 #7 (1996)
creators=Jim Lee
Brandon Choi
J. Scott Campbell
alliance_color=background: #ffc0c0
alliances=International Operations DV8 Gen¹³
aliases="Roach"
powers= Sublime can change her body's density so that she might be as hard as a diamond or light as air. Can survive underwater while ultra-dense.|

Sublime is the name of a comic book character from DC Comics/Wildstorm Comics. Real name, Rachel Goldman, is a member of the super human team DV8.

History

The daughter of a successful female photojournalist and Team 7's Deathblow, Rachel was raised by her mother and stepfather in Chicago, Illinois. Coming from an affluent Jewish family on her mother's side, Rachel was given many advantages in life which she made full use of. Even before her powers manifested Rachel was already fluent in Russian and possessed a black belt in the art of Jeet Kun Do. She is also a master of the three sectional staff. She has a "28" tattoo on one arm, three lines on the other, enjoys blue lipstick and utilizes Japanese hairpins to keep her hair back.

Project Genesis

Rachel had just finished her freshman year at Northwestern University when she was recruited by Project: Genesis. She was told this was some sort of "enrichment program"; In fact its purpose was to track and recruit the children of those who had been exposed to the Gen-Factor. After her powers manifested Rachel became a member of the DV8 team formed by Ivana Baiul. Level-headed and intelligent, she quickly showed leadership potential. However, the fact that she actually cared about the lives of her teammates put her at odds with DV8's normal field leader Threshold.

Almost Suicide

The violence of her new life, such as the amoral murders her team performs and the casual destruction and death that happens on their missions drove Sublime into a deep depression. She travels to a bridge to try and commit suicide. She encounters another despondent woman, which seemed to give Sublime pause. When the woman reveals she was insane and just had killed her boyfriend, Sublime subdues her and leaps off the bridge. Her powers kick in, causing her to become ultra-dense. In this form, she survives the impact and sinking to the bottom of the river. She has no need to breath either and thus ponders her situation before deciding to live.

Leadership

When Threshold was later driven from the team and his replacement, Frostbite, lost his powers, Ivana appointed Sublime as field leader. Initially reluctant, Rachel quickly stepped into the leader's role and proved to be quite effective.

After the break up of the Deviants Sublime stuck with her teammates Frostbite and Copycat. The three were last seen traversing the United States attempting to build some sort of normal life for themselves. During a visit with her mother and stepfather Rachel learned that Susan Goldman (whom she had believed adopted her) was in fact her biological mother and that Deathblow was her father. Susan explained that her becoming pregnant with Rachel from her encounter with Cray would have been an awful scandal for the family at the time. So she and Rachel's grandmother arranged to make it seem as if Rachel had been adopted. Susan admitted that if she had it to do over again she'd have been honest with her daughter from the start.

While at first hurt by this revelation Rachel and her mother did manage to overcome these feelings and the two parted on good terms.

Alternate Versions

*In the "Slipstream" alternate reality Sublime was a member of Gen¹³ and romantically involved with her teammate Burnout.