Featuring the following heroine!

Diamondback

Real name: Rachel Leighton
AKA: Ratzel. Snapdragon. The Cobra, who once had a crush on her, called her "DeeBee." 'course, she called him "Cobey."

First appearance: Captain America 310, although if you skip any panels you'll miss her!

Favorite quote: "Wait! Do I really want to do this to such a hunk--?" (Captain America 313. In her first confrontation with her future beau, Diamondback can't bring herself to off Cap and blows her one shot at super-villain super-stardom. What criteria she uses before declaring someone a "hunk" boggles the mind, since at the time she was sitting on Cap's shoulders looking down at the back of his neck...!)

















Team affiliation: After graduating from one of the Taskmaster's academies, Rachel started her professional career with the close-knit Serpent Society. A target of the Scourge of the Underworld, she was rescued by the Cobra; the same man would later order her execution. When Viper attacked and decimated the Serpent Society, Diamondback called Captain America for help; after all, he's the one hero even a villain can count on! With the crisis over, Diamondback decided she wanted to pursue a relationship with Cap and tried to go straight, with mixed results on both counts. She and Cap simply never had the time for romance; in addition, Bernie Rosenthal, Cap's former fiancee, returned from law school and further convoluted Steve Rogers' life. Diamondback herself was constantly caught up in the schemes of Brock "Bingo" Rumlow, AKA Crossbones. The two have had a tortured association over the years, complicated by his use of physical abuse as a training method and his nasty habit of murdering members of Leighton's family. The relationship between Diamondback and Captain America soured when Rachel brokered a deal with Superia to gain a cure for Captain America's degenerative condition, a cure Cap refused since it came from a criminal source.

Abilities: Rachel is very acrobatic and skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Her code name "diamondback" comes from the throwing "diamond-tips" she utilizes during fights. These sharp little implements are often coated with drugs or filled with nitro. For a time Leighton's strength level and reaction time were boosted when the Red Skull's minions used her to test their version of the Super Soldier Serum. Diamondback voluntarily gave up her enhanced state to try and find a cure for Cap.

Favorite storyline: Captain America 371, where her first date with Steve Rogers is kept from going awry by her vigilant girl friends in the Serpent Society. Unlike a lot of heroines, Rachel made and kept strong friendships. Her relationship with Black Mamba and the Asp, starting back when they were all criminals in the Serpent Society and continuing with their detective agency, Bad Girls, Incorporated, is unique and special in the world of comics. Rachel is usually too busy agonizing about how unfit she is for Rogers to be much use in the agency; another former super-villain, Impala, has joined forces with the Bad Girls to take up the slack.

Least favorite storyline: "The Superia Stratagem," Captain America 387-392. A weird 1950s sci-fi-movie plot with 10,572 super-powered females about to become the only fertile women on the planet, Diamondback losing her her will to fight after a beating by Snapdragon, and Cap and Paladin passing themselves off as women by parading around in Black Mamba's and Asp's skin-tight lycra costumes. Oy.