Even as a child, Gwen Raiden possessed the extraordinary ability to control electricity. Growing up in Hell's Kitchen, this made life easier as she could easily protect herself.  At 18, Gwen decided to move out on her own to take the burden off her financially strapped parents.  She quickly took to the life of a thief, her natural abilities making her quite successful. Through luck, wise job selection, and a conscious attempt to keep a low profile (unlike just about everyone else with some sort of supernormal ability), Gwen largely escaped the notice of both the authorities and the local metahuman vigilante community. Soon, she had accumulated more wealth than she could imagine and was regularly hired at a VERY high price by the highest echelons of organized crime..

    However, this all soon changed.  While working on a job, she crossed paths with a man she knows only as Angel.  He tried to stop her and dissuade her from continuing on the criminal path. Though originally uninspired, Gwen soon began to trust him as he treated her as a person and not just a valuable/dangerous freak, as had been her experience in life so far.  He instilled in her a newfound desire to right wrongs and help make the work a better place. Though she still maintains her cynical edge, her heart is as true as anyone else's.

    Now trying to make a difference, Gwen began using her powers in an attempt to bring down the mob bosses in New York city.  However, one such mission did not go so well.  While trying to jump-start a car to chase down men who had stolen the items necessary to build an atomic weapon, she set off a bomb set in the car. Her injuries were severe and she fell into a coma.

    However, she was far from dead. Indeed, as she lingered in the coma at her secret safe house, her powers underwent a profound amplification. When she awoke, she found that her electrical attack was not only more powerful, but could now be used at a distance. Gwen also discovered that she could now manipulate electrical fields to an extent that made her immune to the attempts of most common criminals to injure her and also allowed her to fly.

    Unfortunately, these insights were learned only at great cost. One night, she cornered a man in an alley who she believed had information on one of the crime lords she was pursuing. During the interrogation, he struck her and Gwen was completely unprepared for the strength of the shock that was sent through his system. He was killed instantly. Mortified, but now fully aware of the changes her body had undergone and the magnitude of the power within her, Gwen recognized the responsibility she now had and has begun a new era in her life.

    The criminal underworld is not particularly pleased with Gwen's new direction of life, obviously, and have been carefully leaking details of her illegal past to both the police and the press. The press has dubbed Gwen "ElectroGirl" and the Daily Bugle is leading the call for her arrest.