Super City Comics Wiki:Rebirth

Project: Rebirth was the code name for a privately-led eugenics program that reached the pinnacle of its achievement nearly 100 years ago. As a final solution to end the Eternal War, a series of chemical bombs were set off all around the globe. These devices had the effect of killing off those the plan's masterminds considered inferior, such as many of the magical creatures of history that no longer exist today. The humans who survived were improved, made more resistant to disease and given longer lifespans. A small minority of the survivors, however, were mutated in strange ways. Some became horrible imitations of life; monsters to be hunted and exterminated. Others were blessed with abilities that made them more than human. Suddenly there were people who could fly, run faster than sound, and lift cars and boats with their bare hands. Project: Rebirth changed the world, but not quite in the way it's architects planned.