Gen 13 #2
Gen 13 #2 is the issue where Roxanne Spaulding earns her codename 'Freefall' — the stress of a real combat situation triggers her gravity-manipulation powers for the first time, and Grunge coins the name on the spot, cementing a core piece of the team's identity. The issue also integrates Sarah Rainmaker into the fleeing group, completing the classic five-person lineup that would carry the franchise through the rest of the miniseries and into a long-running ongoing. Coming at the height of the early-Image boom, this second chapter proved the series was built on character-driven momentum rather than splash-page spectacle, a quality that helped turn J. Scott Campbell into one of the defining artists of the decade. The miniseries as a whole also pushed back against industry assumptions that a female lead was uncommercial — and issue #2 is where Fairchild's role as de facto leader under fire first crystallizes.
Gen 13 #2 (1994) delivers a pulse-pounding follow-up to the team’s breakout escape from the Genesis Project facility, with Jim Lee, Brandon Choi, and Jeff Mariotte crafting a story that ramps up the tension as the young heroes use their evolving powers and sharp instincts to stay one step ahead of the relentless Genesis Keepers. J. Scott Campbell’s dynamic art, polished by Alex Garner’s inks and a vibrant color palette from Joe Chiodo, Monica Bennett, and the Wildstorm Effects team, brings every high-stakes chase and quiet moment of revelation to life—while the cover by Campbell and Garner captures the group’s raw determination in a single, striking image.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Gen 13 was conceived by childhood friends Jim Lee and Brandon Choi, who noticed that no prominent all-teenager superhero team book had existed since The New Mutants roughly a decade earlier; Lee had recently read DC's Legionnaires and wanted something lighter than the grim WildStorm titles already on shelves. J. Scott Campbell, freshly hired through a talent search at Lee's studio, became the series' artist after just two weeks on staff, and would later join Lee and Choi as a co-writer beginning with issue #3. The series had originally been titled 'Gen X' — a name even used in preliminary cover sketches — but Marvel's trademark on 'Generation X' for an upcoming X-Men spin-off forced a rename before the February 1994 debut.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: March 1994 (second issue of the five-issue Vol. 1 miniseries published by WildStorm Productions under the Image Comics banner).
- Written by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi; pencils by J. Scott Campbell; inks by Alex Garner.
- Roxy Spaulding's gravity-manipulation powers activate under combat stress in this issue, and Grunge gives her the codename 'Freefall' — her first use of that name.
- Sarah Rainmaker appears as part of the fleeing group alongside Fairchild, Grunge, Bobby Lane (Burnout), and Roxy, effectively completing the classic five-member team lineup.
- Villain/antagonist presence: Threshold (Matthew Callahan) and the Project Genesis Keepers pursue the group; ex-Keeper Tom Hallinan helps the teens fight back.
- The entire five-issue miniseries, including this issue, was collected in the Gen 13 Collected Edition trade paperback (1996) and later reprinted in the Gen 13: Who They Are and How They Came to Be TPB (DC/WildStorm, 2006) and the Gen 13: Starting Over The Deluxe Edition hardcover (DC, 2022).
- The 1994 miniseries spawned a long-running ongoing (Vol. 2 launched March 1995), two spin-off titles (DV8 and Gen 13 Bootleg), and a 1998 animated direct-to-video feature film directed by Kevin Altieri.
- The series title was originally 'Gen X'; that name appeared in preliminary sketchbook art before Marvel's trademark on 'Generation X' forced the rename to 'Gen 13' prior to publication.
Cast · 12 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Gen 13 escapes from the Genesis Project facility. They must use their new-found powers and intelligence and cunning to evade the Genesis Keepers who are in hot pursuit! As the young fugitive fight together to survive, they learn about each others' pasts and discover that they all have a special bond.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).