CINNAMON

Art by Trevor Yarmovich

Name: Cinnamon
Secret Identity: Katherine Manser
Known Former Lives: Chay-Ara, Miss Liberty/Bess Lynn, Moon Fawn
First DC2 Appearance: THE IMMORTAL LEGEND OF HAWKMAN # 0 (as Chay-Ara), WEIRD WESTERN QUARTERLY #10 (as Cinnamon)
Status: Hero
Base of Operations: The American West, late 1800s
Occupation: Gunfighter
Known Relatives: David Manser (father, deceased), Gabrielle Manser (mother, deceased)
Height: 5’4” Weight: 110 lbs.
Eyes: Green Hair: Red

Powers and Abilities: Most of Cinnamon’s fighting abilities are self-taught, with unconscious knowledge from her previous lives giving her an edge that belies her size and gender. She has been handling guns since childhood, and is an above-average marksman. Though she relies mainly on typical 19th Century weaponry, she also carries razor-sharp replicas of her father’s badge (similar to Japanese shuriken), which have served her well as a holdout weapon.

History: In 1857, the soul of the ancient Egyptian priestess Chay-Ara was reincarnated once more, this time in St. Roch, Louisiana as Kate Manser. Doted on by her lawman father, who nicknamed her “Cinnamon” for her flaming-red hair, Kate’s childhood was somewhat sheltered: despite her father’s profession as sheriff, plus the fact that the Civil War was raging not far from where she was growing up, she knew little of the consequences of violence. All that changed in the summer of 1865, when her father arrested a man who was part of a outlaw group of ex-Confederates. On what the townsfolk later dubbed “Black Sunday”, the outlaws rode into St. Roch and proceeded to burn down the town, starting with the church -- eight-year-old Kate was able to escape the burning building, but her mother and the rest died in the flames. Distraught over the horror around her, Kate ran to the sheriff’s office to find her father, only to witness the outlaws brutally murder him in the street, then trample his body with their horses as they rode off with their freed compatriot. Hours later, the surviving townsfolk found her sitting next to his body, her small fingers desperately trying to pull free the star-shaped badge that had been driven into his chest by the horses’ hooves.

With so many children orphaned on Black Sunday, Kate’s plight was not considered unique, and like many others, she landed up in an orphanage in nearby New Orleans. Perhaps it was simply the trauma of what had occurred, or even the unconscious stirring of memories from a previous life, but whatever the reason, Kate refused to let go of what had happened to her parents, and vowed to make the outlaws pay for destroying her formerly-idyllic life. As the years passed, the other children learned to steer clear of the redheaded girl who fought dirtier than any boy in the orphanage, and who snuck out late at night to shoot targets in the woods with a stolen revolver. She even made copies of her father’s badge and filed the edges to razor-sharp points, intent on driving each one into the hearts of the four Confederate outlaws, just like they’d done to her father.

Ten years later, on her eighteenth birthday, Kate Manser left the orphanage and began the arduous task of tracking down the outlaws. It wasn’t until 1877 that she located the first one, and she discovered that carrying out her revenge was more difficult than she’d ever imagined. Luckily, she was soon joined in her task by Jonah Hex, who helped her refine her raw skill until it was up to the job (see Jonah Hex), and the first of the outlaws on her list fell by her hand. A year later, not long after she’d dispatched a second member of the “Black Sunday” group, Kate ran into Jonah again, along with four time-lost members of the Justice League -- among them was the current Hawkgirl, who was cousin to Kate’s future incarnation of Sheira Saunders (see related entries). Though neither was aware of the truth, Kate nevertheless got the feeling that there was a connection between the two of them, and the encounter made her contemplate for the first time what sort of life lay ahead for her once her vengeance was complete. For the time being, however, Kate continues to search for the remaining outlaws, occasionally coming to the aid of others along the way.