Freefall (Roxy Spaulding)This is a featured page

Freefall by Mike Wieringo
Freefall
Freefall prelim by Ed Benes
Science Ninja Squad
Freefall by Talent Caldwell
WorldStorm
Freefall by Tim Seeley
World's End
Real Name: Roxanne Lynette Spaulding (post WorldStorm: Roxanne Amethyst Spaulding)
First Appearance: Deathmate Black
Affiliation: Gen 13

Vital Stats
Species: Human/Gen 13
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 110 lbs
Date of Birth: unknown
Birthplace: unknown
Known Family

Powers/Abilities:
Freefall's Gen-Active abilities allow her to manipulate the effects of gravity. She can levitate, as well as increase or decrease the pull of gravity on an object or person.


SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT!
Bio:
Early Life
Roxy is the daughter of Team 7 member Alex Fairchild and Gloria Spaulding. The two met when Alex was a soldier, stationed at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Gloria was the daughter of the base commander. Despite her father's dislike of Alex, Gloria and Alex grew close, but soon Alex was called away on another secret mission. Gloria, who had become pregnant, had no way of contacting him. Gloria later married another man and told everyone, including her daughter Roxanne, that the child was merely her stepchild.

Details on Roxy's life before coming to Project: Genesis are sketchy. But a picture of her past can be gleaned from comments Freefall makes over the course of the series.

During a dream sequence Roxy is called "trailer trash" by classmates from her Catholic school. This, along with Roxy's habit of sometimes wearing a crucifix necklace and comments during some conversations confirmed that she was raised a Catholic, though her behavior indicates that she is a lapsed Catholic.Freefall tends to speak with something of a valley girl accent, hinting that she may have grown up somewhere in Southern California, though she visited her mother when staying in New York City. In Las Vegas Roxy had missed her mother by mere hours at a casino she had been working at. This could be a hint that Gloria Spaulding has a tendency to move often.

Gen 13
Roxy's father, Alex, was exposed to the Gen-factor, a substance which gave him and his fellow Team 7 members superhuman powers. Team 7's superiors, International Operations, thought that their children had inherited their powers and started Project: Genesis, testing and recruiting children who were gen-active from all over the United States. Roxy is the youngest member of Gen¹³. She managed to escape Project: Genesis with them after they found out that the I.O. was planning to enslave them. During their escape, Roxy's powers manifestated: she was now capable of manipulating gravity and took the codename Freefall. Roxy became infatuated with fellow teammate, Grunge, whom she sees as "the man of her dreams". She developed a jealousy of her statuesque teammate, Caitlin Fairchild, who is often ogled by Grunge, even though she likes Caitlin a lot.

Gen¹³ relocated to San Diego after their escape and one evening, Roxy sneaked out of the house barefoot to go to a dance club called The Soil Machine. In the club, she found the alien, Queelocke, who was hunted by alien bounty hunters. Gen¹³'s mentor, John Lynch, noticed the aliens arriving on Earth and sent the rest of Gen¹³ to help Roxy. They drove back the bounty hunters and the Queelocke became Roxy's pet. Shortly afterwards, Grunge finally returned her affections and the two became romantically involved. However, Grunge was unfaithful, insensitive and inmature and their relationship often broke apart.During her time in Gen¹³, Roxy would find out that Alex Fairchild was her father and that her teammate Fairchild was her half-sister. She would also learn that the woman she thought was her foster mother was in fact her birth mother. Roxy was deeply upset that her mother had lied to her for her entire life, even if the lies had been meant to protect her. However, the two did eventually mend fences. It also led to frictions between her and Alex Fairchild, who had become the team's mentor. After Alex explained to her that he had no way of knowing about her, she came to accept him as a father, but Alex died protecting the team shortly afterwards.

Over the next few months, Roxy had a lot of arguments with her teammates, who had always had difficulties understanding Roxy's infatuation with Grunge, her smoking habits, and her general attitude. Their concerns were proven correct when Roxy found out that Grunge had been having an affair with Swift from The Authority. Despite this all, Roxy was still in love with Grunge. During this time, Roxy also became a bit of an otaku, with a great love for J-pop music and anime.

Roxy was thought to be killed in an explosion with the rest of Gen¹³, but in fact, Gen¹³ had been displaced to an alternate universe and they returned to their own Earth months later.

Worldstorm:
In this version, Roxanne Lynette Spalding lives in San Antonio, Texas. She is raised in a working class environment by a verbally and emotionally abusive single mother. After waking up in her uniform, her "mother" apologizes to her about the abusive upbringing and makes an effort to help her escape. Tabula Rasa renders her unconscious and Roxy is captured and taken in with the rest of the group.

Eventually, the group escapes the compound, Roxy runs into Reverend Timothy Hogan (AKA Special T). Special T reveals that Roxy was a clone based on his deceased daughter. He helps Roxy and the team (minus Grunge), by deactivating the chips implanted by Tabula Rasa, and providing transport back to Tabula Rasa to rescue Grunge. After Dr. Cross's Death, she is eventually reunited with her foster mother, who provides a minivan and money to escape to Tranquility. Eventually, she goes with the gang to New York City, where they become trapped in a teleporter while the Earth was destroyed by superhumans.

World's End
During the World's End events, Roxy is the first to witness the devastation brought on Earth, after a teletransport mishap left the entire team frozen for months. Emotionally shattered, she tries to cope and help the team to survive. Pressured to share her fantasies about the post-atomic world as a way to crack the tension, she reveals to have none: she just wanted to have had more time to live an happier and more peaceful adolescence, becoming a better student, a beloved cheerleader and growing up in a caring family: things she feels she'll never have again.

Even though she still smokes, and has a crush on Grunge (who she nicknames "Monkey-boy") , other aspects of her personality are markedly different. She is more confident, and has been known to end fights by talking to her opponents (such as the Authority and Gen13/Dr. Cross clones).


Alternate Versions
  • Alternative 838: In this gender-reversed universe, a male Freefall was recruited by the Midnighter to fight the Renegade Doctor and was killed.
  • The Bleed Universe: Freefall is the personal assistant and bodyguard to StormWatch Weatherman Jack Hawksmoor.
  • World War 3: In an amalgamated Marvel Comics/WildStorm Universe, Freefall is a member of the Avengers.

Trivia:
  • According to Gen¹³ co-creator J. Scott Campbell, Roxy was at first an original character created by Campbell and named Roxanne Warchild. But when hired to draw the original Gen¹³ mini-series, Campbell decided to use the Warchild design for Freefall.
  • Campbell has also said in interviews that Freefall's appearance was based on Natalie Portman in The Professional. It was later revealed in the Gen¹³ Zine that Roxy also has the same measurements as Portman.

Commentary:
  • "Freefall is the only character I designed myself. She was going to be a witch and have a lizard partner. I always liked her attitude and clothes, her sense of style. I think our teens are more 'out there' than other comic book teenagers, which is cool." - J. Scott Campbell (WildStorm Gallery trading card #24)

Appearances:

Sources:

Categories:

List of Gen 13 Characters



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