Publisher: DC Comics
Created by: Judd Winick
1st appearance: Batwing #13, 2012
Real Name: Rachel Niamo
Alias: Rachel Nomo, Karen Striker
Nationality: African (Unspecified province)
Team Affiliations: None
Legal Status: Unknown
Height: 5’7 Weight: 120 lbs
Eyes: Brown Hair: Black
Relatives: Unnamed father (deceased), Rene Niamo (Sister, deceased), Unnamed mother, Unnamed brother
Skills and abilities: Skilled armed and unarmed combatant. Has additional training from joining the army and has covert and espionage training in infiltration.
Powers: She is a women in peak human condition but has no superhuman abilities.
Equipment: In her first appearance she was able to manifest a pair of energy swords which could disrupt the nervous systems of those struck by it, and cut through solid objects. The swords seemingly manifested from the gloves she was wearing. In later appearances she has employed a variety of firearms.
Biography
Origin
Like David Zavimbe she was an orphan in the “Children’s Harbor of Tinasha” under the supervision and care of Matu Ba. Her past was very traumatic though the details are a mystery. In the orphanage she was very close to David and often when she awoke from a frightening dream he was the one to comfort her [Batwing #14]. She and David were also each other’s first kiss [Batwing #18]. Rachel left the orphanage to become a school teacher but instead found herself drafted by the government into the army to do “dangerous work” [Batwing #14]. After completing her training she was placed in a small team of six under the command of General Jordaan. It was here that she ran into Father Lost and his cult. Only three member survived the torture and psychosis the team endured [Batwing #14]. Changed by her experience she made it her mission to stop father lost and his cult at all costs. She adopted the identity of Dawn and employed magical swords and other enchantments as weapons against Father Lost‘s Voodoo magic [Batwing #13 and [Batwing #14]. Her drive to end his threat only heightened when her sister Renee was killed in one of his rituals [Batwing #14].
Revenge
Batwing came to her attention as she tracked down the cult of “The Finders” who practice Father Lost’s ritual killings. The two teamed up to stop his cult from spreading but were unsuccessful in capturing their leader. They again teamed up when Batwing saved her from a trap set by the cult to get rid of her. Here Father Lost finally appeared to run a knife through her chest personally for being such a nuisance to him [Batwing #14]. Batwing was briefly taken over by the villain before flying her to a hospital where she could be given medical assistance. She spoke with David about how she had embraced her anger instead of deny it the way he did. After Father Lost was defeated and jailed she vanished from the hospital [Batwing #15].
Life as a Mercenary
Left directionless after Father Lost was jailed she became a mercenary selling her talents to the highest bidder. When the billionaire Marskbury’s son was jailed she was hired to ensure his successful escape. She ran into David who was now being hunted by the corrupt police force. Despite being on different sides she saved David’s life by killing the cops after him but still rescued the serial killer son she was sent to liberate. After completing her job Marksbury tried to kill her but she escaped [Batwing #17–Batwing #18].
Tracked down by an enraged David/Batwing she was defeated in battle and threatened with the loss of all the funds she had acquired if she did not disclose the location of Cecil Marksbury the serial killer she had rescued. Batwing told her to leave Africa after she disclosed Cecil’s location and to retire from her life as a mercenary [Batwing #19].
