Cassandra Cain
Cassandra Cain is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott, Cassandra Cain first appeared in Batman #567. Commonly associated with the superhero Batman, Cassandra is one of the several characters who has assumed the role of Batgirl. Over the years, she has also assumed the names of Black Bat and Orphan. Originally the first character to star in an ongoing Batgirl comic book series, she is later replaced by Stephanie Brown in 2009. Later absent following the New 52 reboot, she later was brought back in Batman & Robin Eternal with a new background until her full history was restored in 2021 following the Infinite Frontier relaunch.
Her origin story presents her as the daughter of world-class assassins, David Cain and Lady Shiva, abused and raised by the former in an unusual conditioning by depriving her of speech and human contact during her childhood, supplementing combative arts and violence as her first form of communication in an effort to create a world-class fighter, assassin, and successor. While initially mute and illiterate as a result, she was an exceptional martial artist with an uncanny ability of interpreting body language efficiently. Following an encounter with Barbara Gordon and Batman, both would eventually teach her lost skills when latter taking her under his tutelage due to her abilities and bravery and becomes a superhero within the Batman Family, and one of the world's most capable martial artists, and among Batman's adoptive children. Primarily affiliated with the Batman family, the character has also been a member other superhero teams such as the Outsiders and Birds of Prey.
Since her debut, she is considered one of the most compelling characters in Batman's fictional universe. A fan-favorite character, Cassandra is often viewed as a positive in Asian representation within superhero comics. The character would make her cinematic debut in the DC Extended Universe film Birds of Prey, portrayed by Ella Jay Basco. She would also make several animated appearances such as in Young Justice and Batwheels'', the former renaming her Cassandra Wu-San.
Publication history
Cassandra Cain first appeared in Batman #567, written by Kelley Puckett and penciled by Damion Scott.In 2000, Cassandra became the first Batgirl to be featured in an eponymous ongoing comic book series.
During the "War Games" story arc in 2004, Batman relies heavily on Cassandra to help control the violence of the gang war in Gotham City.
Cassandra took on the role of a villain by becoming the head of the League of Assassins following the "One Year Later" continuity jump, as established in Robin #150.
Cassandra then appears in Supergirl #14, battling the title character,.
In Teen Titans #44, it was revealed that Cassandra battled Supergirl first, before attacking the Teen Titans with the Titans East.
Cassandra reappears later in the Robin series.
Cassandra next appears on the roster of Titans East once again wearing the Batgirl costume. Cassandra remained in the role of a villain, under the command of Titans East's leader, Deathstroke.
In October 2007, DC announced that Cassandra would be taking up the Batgirl identity as a member of the Outsiders in the upcoming Batman and the Outsiders ongoing series to be written by Chuck Dixon, which appears to, or is hoped to, begin resolving the controversy.
In February 2008, Dan DiDio revealed during a convention panel that writer Adam Beechen would be writing a "new Batgirl" miniseries. Beechen himself said that the story would resolve the questions over Cassandra's behavior and will be a setup for new Batgirl adventures.
In 2009, Cassandra passes the Batgirl identity to Stephanie Brown.
In July 2010, Cassandra appeared as one of the main characters in a short story written and drawn by Amanda Conner for Wonder Woman #600, where she helps Wonder Woman and Power Girl in a battle against Egg Fu.
After Bruce Wayne returns, it is revealed that Cassandra's disillusionment was a ruse, and that she had willingly handed over her Batgirl mantle to Stephanie because she was acting under her mentor's orders, and she is now working as a codename-less vigilante.
In 2011, in Grant Morrison's Batman Inc. series, it is revealed that Cassandra had taken up the name Black Bat.
At C2E2 2011, it was confirmed that Cassandra would be appearing as a main character in Scott Snyder and Kyle Higgins' mini-series Batman: Gates of Gotham.
After the New 52, Cassandra appeared in what appeared to be a variant timeline; however, at San Diego Comic-Con in 2015, James Tynion IV announced that Cassandra would be introduced into mainstream continuity in Batman & Robin Eternal.
February 4, 2020 was the debut of Cassandra Cain's first graphic novel, Shadow of the Batgirl, written by Sarah Kuhn and illustrated by Nicole Goux.
Fictional character biography
Early history
Cassandra's birth and childhood are revealed in the Batgirl series. While seeking a perfect bodyguard for Ra's al Ghul, David Cain finds a potential mother when he sees Sandra Wu-San fighting her sister Carolyn in a martial arts tournament. Believing that Sandra is holding back for Carolyn, Cain murders Carolyn and lures Sandra into a trap, sparing her life in exchange for giving birth to his child and leaving that child for him to raise. She agrees. After the birth of Cassandra, Sandra sets out to become Lady Shiva.Cain trains Cassandra from birth to be an assassin. She is not taught to read or write; instead, reading body language is her only language. She is able to read people's movements and predict what they are going to do. When she is eight, Cain takes her to kill a businessman. As the man dies, Cassandra reads what he is feeling, realizes what she did, and runs away from her father.
After that, her activities are a mystery, until she first appears during the "No Man's Land" story arc.
No Man's Land
During the "No Man's Land" storyline, after Gotham is leveled by an earthquake and isolated, Cassandra Cain saves Commissioner Gordon's life and gains Bruce Wayne's approval, and, eventually, becomes the new Batgirl.Her father, David Cain, sends a video of Cassandra's first murder to Bruce Wayne attempting to disrupt her status. However, Wayne continues to accept Cassandra after she takes several bullets to save the life of a hired assassin, proving her devotion to protecting human life.
''Batgirl''
Bruce Wayne sends Cassandra to Barbara Gordon, currently functioning as Oracle. Barbara says she prefers to live alone but since Cassandra is never home and doesn't talk, it is just like living alone. A telepath "rewires" Cassandra's brain so that she can think with words and use language, but these abilities come at some cost to her ability to read people's body language. As she had relied completely on this ability to fight, she is unable to effectively fight crime. Worried, Bruce Wayne takes away her costume and begins training her in defensive skills.Cassandra soon discovers that the assassin Lady Shiva can read people like she used to be able to and asks Shiva to reteach her. Lady Shiva accepts on the condition that they would have a duel to the death a year later. As Cassandra would rather be "perfect for a year" instead of "mediocre for a lifetime", she accepts the offer. When the women fight in a year's time, Cassandra dies within minutes. Shiva then restarts her heart, realizing Cassandra had a death wish, so that they can have a real fight. In the subsequent fight, Cassandra beats Shiva but does not kill her.
Though not known for her private life, Cassandra does have a one-time romance with Conner Kent after meeting him on a cruise ship. He shares her first kiss, and she even visits him at his home in Smallville, though the relationship never becomes serious.
Cassandra then helps Batman control the violence of a gang war in Gotham City.
Later, Batgirl moves to Blüdhaven with Tim Drake at Batman's suggestion and with his financial support. There, Deathstroke takes on a contract from the Penguin to kill Batgirl and decides to let his daughter Rose, do the job instead. Cassandra beats Rose by playing on her emotions to leave her open for a critical strike, giving Deathstroke no choice but to get her medical attention.
During this time, Cassandra starts developing a friendship with Brenda, the woman who owns the local coffee shop, and even a very short-lived relationship with a boy named Zero. Unfortunately, her friends are all killed in the Blüdhaven disaster.
Cassandra also goes undercover for Batman, as Kasumi, in the Justice League Elite, working under Vera Black to track and eliminate metahuman threats to the population. She works with the Batman's old fellow Justice League members Green Arrow and the Flash, and forms a bond with Coldcast, who is the first Leaguer to whom she reveals her identity. Although he is subsequently accused of murder, she and the rest of the team soon realize that he has been manipulated by renegade Elite member Menagerie, who was himself being manipulated by the spirit of Manchester Black as he tried to drive his sister to destroy London. As the JLA falls, the Elite, united by the spirit of Manitou Raven, free Vera and vanquish Black, although the team disbands after this last mission.
Cassandra gathers evidence that indicates that Shiva could be her mother, and seeks her out to confirm this, rejoining the League of Assassins. After she is proclaimed by Nyssa al Ghul as the "One Who Is All", the students of the League are split, half following Shiva, and the others Cassandra. In the following confrontation, Cassandra is mortally wounded by her "adoptive brother", the Mad Dog, while heroically saving one of the students under her leadership. Shiva revives Cassandra in a Lazarus Pit, then answers Cassandra's questions about her parentage. When Cassandra asked Shiva whether she was still killing, whether she would ever stop, Shiva says she was, and responds, "It's why I had you", so Cassandra agrees to fight her to the death once more.
After a closely matched battle, Cassandra manages to break Shiva's neck, paralyzing her. She appears ready to place Shiva in the Lazarus Pit, but Shiva pleads with her not to do so. Instead, Cassandra impales Shiva on a hook hanging over the pit, apparently killing her. Cassandra then abandons the identity of Batgirl and returns to her life as a wanderer.