Origin

Sarah Rainmaker is the daughter of Team 7's Stephen Callahan and Rebecca Rainmaker. Following her birth, doctors under the orders of Miles Craven told Callahan that his wife and daughter had both died during childbirth. Rebecca escaped and took Sarah with her to the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona where she raised Sarah.

Born a warrior of the Apache, Rainmaker can manipulate the forces of Nature to devastating effect.

Hints of Sarah's weather-controlling abilities first appeared while she was growing up on the reservation. Upon reaching adolescence, she became fully Gen-active bringing her to the attention of Ivana Baiul and the Keepers of I.O., who wanted to bring her to Sci-Tech for testing. When they came to collect Sarah she fled into the desert and hid for three days before being discovered by Ripclaw, a friend of Sarah's family with superhuman powers.

Ripclaw had been sent to ensure Sarah's safety, but unfortunately he had been followed by the Keepers. The superhuman agency Stormwatch, also notified that a young girl in the desert had manifested powers, sent Battalion and his team to ensure her safe return. Ripclaw and Stormwatch defeated the Keepers. Their victory, however, was bittersweet, as the I.O. officials who sought Sarah were waiting for her at her home. She was taken to Project: Genesis, where she met four other Gen-actives who would become her future teammates: Caitlin Fairchild, Bobby Lane (Burnout), Eddie Chang (Grunge), and Roxy Spaulding (Freefall). With the help of then-Director John Lynch, who decided to turn against his I.O. bosses, Rainmaker and the others managed to escape.

Creation

Sarah Rainmaker was created in 1994 by writer/artist Jim Lee, writers Brandon Choi and H.K. Proger and artist Scott Clark in the pages of Stormwatch.

Jim Lee, Brandon Choi and J. Scott Campbell included Sarah in the Gen 13 mini-series to show that there were other Gen-active candidates at Project: Genesis. Although not intended to be a permanent part of Gen 13, her character proved compelling enough that she was included in the team.

Character Evolution

Rainmaker's sexual orientation was considered controversial at the time and differentiated her from the usual comic book superheroine.

Major Story Arcs

Rainmaker and her teammates are the team of young superheroes known as Gen 13. Lynch provided them with costumes and combat training, and suggested that they adopt superhero code names. Because Sarah's powers of weather control already worked so well with her surname Rainmaker, she chose to simply go by her surname rather than invent a code name.

The Gen 13 teammates all became close friends, but there were moments of friction as the rest of the team tried to adjust to Rainmaker's sexual orientation. She eventually revealed herself to be bisexual, though she was mainly depicted as preferring women to men. The greatest object of Sarah's attraction was her own teammate, Caitlin Fairchild, who for some time had no idea that Sarah harbored a crush on her. This led to awkward moments where Caitlin would innocently undress in front of a staring Sarah. When Sarah finally got up the courage to make advances, a flustered Caitlin rejected her since she did not share the same orientation. Their friendship recovered afterward. Most affected was Sarah's friend and teammate, Bobby Lane (Burnout), who developed a major crush on Sarah.

Sarah took the role of peacemaker in the group whenever tensions arose, though not always successfully. Sarah's environmentalist concerns got her into trouble during the brief period when the group attended college.

DV8

The team came into conflict with DV8, super-powered teens who were part of the same project that had granted Gen 13 their powers. Sarah again tried to make peace instead of battle. Eventually the members of the teams came to respect each other. Sarah also discovered that two members of DV8, Threshold and Bliss, were her half-brother and half-sister, since they all shared the same father (Stephen Callahan).

The New 52

Rainmaker operates in Coral City, occasionally aiding The Movement.

Rainmaker has reunited with her Gen 13 teammates.

Powers and Abilities

Sarah Rainmaker has the psionic ability to control the weather, summoning wind and rain with her thoughts. She is capable of flight by riding wind currents and is able to use her elemental powers to control water. She has the ability to fire bolts of lightning from her hands. Lynch provided Sarah with high-tech powerbands that enhance the power of her electrical charges producing lightning bolts.

Sarah is highly athletic and keeps herself in top physical condition. She has received a good deal of combat training, first as a child and later with John Lynch and Gen 13, and is a formidable hand-to-hand fighter. Sarah also has a natural aptitude for battle tactics.

Characteristics

• Height: 5' 11"
• Weight: 135 lbs (61 kg)
• Hair: Black
• Eyes: Brown
• Rainmaker has the same measurements as real-life supermodel Stephanie Seymour.

Status

• Citizenship: American
• Marital Status: Single
• Known Relatives:
  • Stephen Callahan: father
  • Rebecca Rainmaker: mother
  • Matthew Callahan (Threshold of DV8): half-brother
  • Nicole Callahan (Bliss of DV8): half-sister
  • John Two-Raven: uncle
  • Billy Rainmaker: uncle

Other Media

In the 1999 Gen 13 animated movie, Rainmaker had a supporting role, appearing several times in the Project: Genesis compound.