Half a century ago, Selena Dinamita Leyva was on the fast track to becoming one of the top heroes the country of Mexico had ever seen. She was beautiful, she was smart, she was athletic, and she was never afraid to put her life on the line to save those in danger and those in need. She was a beloved figure with a promising future ahead, and her marital union to Nicolás El Guepardo Gutiérrez seemed to be a match in supe heaven.

It wasn’t long, however, before the green-eyed monster peered its head from the corner and brought strife to the young couple. Nicolás was growing increasingly jealous of his wife’s successes. He felt overlooked and overshadowed, with his career failing to blossom and make the same impact as Selena’s. When his attempts at convincing his wife of becoming a housewife to stifle her hero advancement yielded no results, Nicolás concocted a cruel plan fit for a villain to ensure the woman’s downfall. He began to gaslight Selena, easing his way into emotional manipulation, emotional abuse and verbal abuse-- all while leaving breadcrumbs that painted her as the abuser. After a particularly volatile argument, Nicolás took his and snapped. He charged towards Selena menacingly: fists balled up, poised for a fight. He raised his fist at her, swung at her face… And Nicolás’ headless, lifeless body slumped to the ground, leaving Selena and the room they were in covered in brain matter and human tissue.

Due to the suspicious circumstances of Nicolás’ death thanks to the clues left behind during the execution of his plan, a warrant was issued for Selena’s arrest. Terrified that she wouldn’t be believed and of what the corrupt, sexist enforcement agencies of Mexico might try to pull, Dinamita skipped town and crossed the border to the United States. Rather than staying under the radar, a string of gory crimes began to spring up in otherwise sleepy towns, in which men who were known wife-beaters and batterers were found with their heads gruesomely blown up-- echoing the death of El Guepardo. There was no question as to who was behind the murders, and every death added an additional police department to the manhunt. But the slick, resourceful Selena, fuelled by her thirst for vengeance and swift justice for battered women, was able to evade arrest and continue on her bloody trail for months. However, after her vigilantism brought upon the death of a man connected to a very powerful family, the World Watch finally sprung to action. In a matter of days, a visibly pregnant Dinamita was caught attempting to evade arrest in an abandoned barn in the small town of Jerome, Arizona. After brief court proceedings in which her detached self pleaded guilty to all charges without a fight, Selena was sentenced to life at Carceris Island.

Selena gave birth to a daughter, Julieta Leyva, behind bars. Rather than being placed in foster care, the girl was sent to live with relatives in a suburb of Dallas, Texas for her own protection. Dinamita’s daughter grew up to be a normal Mexican-American girl, teenager and woman who showed no supernatural abilities or inclinations of any kind. She met her would-be husband Colton Easteling Jr. in high school, who she supported through his high school, college and professional football career and who became the father of her two talented children: Colton III and Moriah.

From the moment the green-eyed girl made her arrival earthside, Julieta could tell there was something special about her daughter-- something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. As a baby and a child, Moriah was your average All-American girl. She was energetic, vivacious, with an extroverted personality and a competitive spirit. She had friends, excelled in academics and shone in the sports of her choosing. While her brother followed the family legacy of football, Mo’s athletic career began in gymnastics, which was eventually substituted by any martial arts she could enroll in. Childhood soon bled into puberty, and it was then when the first signs of Mo’s supernatural abilities began to manifest themselves.

Moriah first became aware of her increasing endurance and stamina at age nine, and took full advantage of the ability to practice her martial arts until exhaustion. Her combat perception soon rivaled those of her human trainers, who were amused at the ease with which their young understudy picked up their teachings. By age twelve, Mo had earned black belts in two martial arts categories, while continuously putting in work to master those that were left. And it was during a particularly volatile argument with her mother soon after her thirteenth birthday that, in a fit of blinding anger, Mo accidentally caused the glass out of all the windows in her home to blow up and shatter into pieces. The event served to confirm the suspicions Julieta had been plagued by since her daughter’s birth: Dinamita’s powers had been passed onto Moriah.

Once the shock of the moment had worn off, Julieta held a family meeting in which she revealed to her children that she was the daughter of Nicolás Gutiérrez and Selena Leyva, and explained that Moriah had inherited her grandmother’s supernatural abilities. Mo, of course, was flabbergasted-- as one would be after being informed they’re related to a vigilante with a fondness for blowing mens’ heads off _{(think the Me? A princess? Shut. Up! scene from The Princess Diaries)}. She had learned about Dinamita at school, but never imagined that there was any connection between her and the woman in question. However, with this discovery, Mo finally understood what had been happening to her. That same day, she made the promise to herself that she would do anything in her power to avoid succumbing to darkness that had consumed her grandmother.

With Moriah’s powers now revealed, Julieta and Colton Jr. made the necessary arrangements to ensure their daughter received only the best education to cultivate all of her abilities. She spent her high school years as a student at Lady Athena Prep, a California-based college preparatory high school with a self-control approach to supernatural abilities teaching and specialized in close combat training. It was there where Mo fine-tuned her skills, obtained the knowledge to use and control her molecular combustion powers, educated herself in the topics of her interest, and learned more about her family history. After years of dedication, sacrifice and discipline, Mo’s efforts finally paid off when she earned early admission to Crystal Peak Academy.

It’s all been rather smooth sailing since then.