Sublime was a member and later the leader of DV8.
History
Origin
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 an expert 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 uses 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 it's 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 performed and the casual destruction and death that happened 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 revealed she was insane and just killed her boyfriend, Sublime subdued her and leapt off the bridge. Her powers kicked in, causing her to become ultra-dense. In this form, she survived the impact and sunk 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 step-father 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.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Density Manipulation: Sublime can turn parts or all of her body completely intangible or as as hard as diamond. Can survive underwater while ultra-dense. However, if she uses both at the same time, there's a median part that has normal behavior. Knowing where to hit could bring her down as any other human.
- Intangibility: If Rachel decreases her density she can become intangible.
- Self-Sustenance: If Rachel increases her density she can become solid enough to not need normal autonomic functions such as breathing or eating.
- Superhuman Durability: If Rachel increases her density she can become as hard as a diamond and possibly even more dense; in this way she cannot be harmed.
Abilities
- Leadership: Rachel Goldman has proven to be an effective field leader for DV8 and is capable of making calculated and strategic decisions in the midst of combat.
- Bilingualism: Rachel Goldman is fluent in both English and Russian.
- Martial Arts
- Jeet Kune Do: Rachel Goldman is an expert in Jeet Kune Do
- Stick Fighting: Rachel Goldman is an expert in the use of the three-sectional staff.
Notes
- Sublime has stated that she always wears blue lipstick, and that she uses Japanese hairpins so that her hair won't get in the way when she is engaged in a operation.[citation needed]
- Sublime is Jewish.[citation needed]
Trivia
- Sublime got her nickname "Roach" from her teammate Freestyle.
Related
- 52 Appearances of Rachel Goldman (Wildstorm Universe)
- 3 Images featuring Rachel Goldman (Wildstorm Universe)
- 2 Quotations by or about Rachel Goldman (Wildstorm Universe)
- Character Gallery: Rachel Goldman (Wildstorm Universe)
External Links
Footnotes