| Black Bat | |
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Artwork for the cover of Batgirl: A Knight Alone trade paperback. Art by Damion Scott. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | as Cassandra: Batman #567 (July 1999) as Batgirl: Legends of the Dark Knight #120 (August 1999) as Black Bat: Batman, Inc. #6 (May 2011) |
| Created by | Kelley Puckett Damion Scott |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Cassandra Cain |
| Team affiliations | Batman Family Young Justice Justice League Elite (as Kasumi) League of Assassins Titans East Outsiders Batman Incorporated |
| Notable aliases | Kasumi, One Who Is All, the Nothing, Cassandra Wayne, Black Bat |
| Abilities | Able to intuitively read body language and anticipate her opponent's actions Master Martial artist |
Cassandra Cain is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe, one of several who has served as Batgirl, an important character in the Batman comic book franchise. Cassandra's backstory presents her as the daughter of assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva, she was deprived of speech and human contact during her childhood as conditioning to become the world's greatest assassin. Consequently, Cassandra grew up to become an expert martial artist while simultaneously remaining mute, developing very limited social skills, and being illiterate. Cassandra first appeared in Batman #567 (July 1999) and was created by Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott (though it was Alex Maleev who designed her costume). Cassandra was the first Batgirl to star in her own ongoing Batgirl comic book series. An Asian American, she is also the first non-white member of the Batman family and remained one of the most prominent non-white superheroes until she was replaced as Batgirl by Stephanie Brown in a 2009 storyline. She returned in late 2010, where she was now shown working as an anonymous agent of Batman in Hong Kong before adopting the new moniker of Black Bat.
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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.
Critical reception of the "One Year Later" storyline was mixed.[1][2] In general, the portrayal of Tim Drake was praised, whereas Cassandra's depiction was not. Upon being asked if Cassandra's characterization was editorially mandated, writer Adam Beechen stated, "When I came to the book, I was told that the first arc would deal with presenting Cassandra as a major new enemy for Robin. From there, I worked out the details of just how that would come about with our initial editor, Eddie Berganza, and then his successor, Peter Tomasi."[3] In a follow-up interview, he clarified further, stating, "They didn't present me with a rationale as to why Cassandra was going to change, or a motivating factor. That was left for me to come up with and them to approve. And we did that. But as far as to why the editors and writers and whoever else made the decision decided that was a good direction, I honestly couldn't answer."[4]
In recent interviews and press conferences,[5] Dan DiDio and others have stated that Cass will "be going back to basics," as in her early adventures before she was able to talk. Later, Geoff Johns was quoted as saying, "We will be addressing in Teen Titans exactly what the deal is with her. Is she a bad guy? How? Why? She was a completely different character before 'One Year Later,' so let’s find out what happened."[6]
According to Wizard Magazine #182, the storyline was "one of the most controversial changes to come out of DC's 'One Year Later' event," and "fans rose up in arms, organizing websites and letter-writing campaigns to protest the change." Dan Didio commented, "I'm glad to see there was a reaction created, it shows that people care about the character and want to see something happen with her."[7]
Cassandra Cain was first introduced during the "No Man's Land" crossover storyline in 1999. She is one of the Oracle's agents in Gotham City. In that arc, Gotham was leveled by an 7.6 magnitude earthquake, declared a "no man's land," and isolated from the rest of the United States. After proving herself by saving Commissioner Gordon's life, she is given the Batgirl costume with the approval of both Batman and the Oracle. She becomes a ward of Barbara Gordon (Oracle). In this story arc, Cassandra cannot speak at all and can only communicate through gestures and drawings.
Bruce Wayne (Batman) eventually learns about Cassandra's past. She murdered a businessman when she was eight years old after David Cain transmitted a video he had made of the murder to the Batcave. Nevertheless, 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. This action illustrates the major difference between Cassandra and the other members of the Batman family; that while the other characters were motivated to fight crime by the murders of loved ones, Cassandra is fighting crime to atone for a murder that she herself committed.[8]
In 2000, Cassandra became the first Batgirl to be featured in an eponymous ongoing comic book series. 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's birth and childhood are revealed in the Batgirl series. David Cain had sought a perfect bodyguard for Ra's al Ghul. He found a potential mother when he saw Sandra Wu-San fighting her sister Carolyn in a martial arts tournament. Believing that Sandra was holding back for Carolyn, Cain murdered Carolyn and lured Sandra into a trap, sparing her life in exchange for giving birth to his child and leaving that child for him to raise. She agreed. After the birth of Cassandra, Sandra set out to become Lady Shiva.
Cain trained Cassandra from birth how to be an assassin. She was not taught to read or write; instead, reading body language was her only language. She was able to read people's movements and predict what they were going to do. When she was eight, Cain took her to kill a businessman. As the man died, she read what he was feeling, realized what she had done, and ran away from her father, resurfacing again during the "No Man's Land" story arc.
Cassandra soon discovers that assassin Lady Shiva can read people like she used to be able to and asks Shiva to reteach her.[9] 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.[10] He was the first boy she ever kissed, and she even visited him at his home in Smallville, though the relationship never became serious.
Batman holds Cassandra in high regard. During the "War Games" story arc in 2004, he relied heavily on her to help control the violence of the gang war in Gotham City.
Following "War Games", Batgirl moved to Blüdhaven with Tim Drake (the third Robin) at Batman's suggestion and with his financial support (Nightwing had been injured during the crisis, and the Gotham City Police Department had declared all costumed heroes illegal). There, Deathstroke took on a contract from the Penguin to kill Batgirl and decided to let his daughter, Rose (the current Ravager), do the job instead. Cassandra beat 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 would all be killed in the Blüdhaven disaster.
Cassandra also went undercover for Batman in the Justice League Elite, working under Sister Superior to track and eliminate metahuman threats to the population. She worked with the Batman's old fellow Justice League members Green Arrow and the Flash, and formed a certain bond with Coldcast, who was the first person she revealed her real identity to. Although he was subsequently accused of murder, she and the rest of the team soon realized that he had been manipulated by renegade Elite member Menagerie, who was also being manipulated by the spirit of Manchester Black as he tried to drive his sister to destroy London. As the JLA fell, the Elite, united by the spirit of the deceased Manitou Raven, freed Vera and vanquished Black, although the team disbanded after this last mission.
Cassandra gathered evidence that indicated that Shiva could have been her mother, and sought out Shiva to confirm this. After being proclaimed by Nyssa al Ghul as the "One Who Is All", the students of the League of Assassins split their allegiances, half following Shiva and the others Cassandra. In the ensuing confrontation, Cassandra was mortally wounded by her "adoptive brother", the Mad Dog, while heroically saving one of the students under her leadership. Shiva revived Cassandra in a Lazarus Pit, then answered Cassandra's questions on her parentage. When Cassandra asked Shiva if she had killed more people since their last battle and Shiva said that she had, Cassandra asked if she would ever stop. Shiva responded, "It's why I had you," and Cassandra agreed to fight her to the death once more.
In an evenly matched battle, Cassandra managed to break Shiva's neck, paralyzing her. She appeared ready to place Shiva in the Lazarus Pit, but Shiva pleaded with her not to do so. In response, Cassandra impaled Shiva on a hook hanging over the pit, apparently killing her. Although Cassandra's intent regarding this action is unclear, whether to kill her or let her fall into the pit and be revived, it has been confirmed that Shiva is alive in the "One Year Later" storyline. Cassandra then abandoned the identity of Batgirl and returned to her life as a wanderer.[11]
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 (July 2006). Robin (Tim Drake) captures David Cain and brings him to the League of Assassins as ransom to free Cassandra, only to find that Cassandra is the new leader. Cassandra produces a gun and tells him to shoot Cain and join her league. Upon his refusal, she shoots Cain herself. Tim and Cassandra engage in a fight which, fortunately for Cassandra, ends when the platform they are fighting on explodes. By the time Tim comes back to the original location, Cassandra and Cain are gone and the ninjas' necks have been snapped. Tim had secretly recorded the conversation, clearing his name, but branding Cassandra as a murderer at the same time.
Cassandra then appears in Supergirl #14 (April 2007), battling the title character, (Kara Zor-El), in her role as leader of the League of Assassins. She is hired by Dark Angel to kill Supergirl and attempts to do so by kidnapping Supergirl's friend, Captain Boomerang. Supergirl arrives at the League's Tibetan headquarters to confront Cassandra, where they fight. Cassandra uses swords that emit red sun energy which strip away Supergirl's powers. However, as Cassandra prepares to kill her, Supergirl mysteriously extrudes crystals from her body which injure Cassandra.
This story is shown to follow the "One Year Later" jump in the Robin series, as in Supergirl #14 there is a file in the Batcomputer titled "Cassandra Cain and the League of Assassins", showing this takes place after she battled Robin. In Teen Titans (vol. 3) #44 (April 2007), it revealed that Cassandra battled Supergirl first, before attacking the Teen Titans with the Titans East.
Cassandra reappears later in the Robin series. Cassandra approaches Dodge, a wannabe superhero with teleportation powers, wanting him to steal a drug that gives humans metahuman strength in exchange for money. Cassandra (with an ally) plans to use the drug to create an army. She also makes another appearance where she murders the businessman who was producing that drug. Robin had been unable to legally bring him to justice.
Cassandra is also on the roster of Titans East and is once again wearing the Batgirl costume.[12] Cassandra remained in the role of a villain, under the command of Titans East's leader, Deathstroke. It is revealed in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #43 that she is being drugged by Deathstroke. In issue #44, after a rematch with the Ravager and a brief confrontation with Robin, Robin injects Cassandra with a counter-serum (prepared in case Deathstroke regains control of his daughter). She apparently regains control over herself, with a desire for revenge by killing Deathstroke for violating her like Ravager and Terra before her. In issue #45, Cassandra is allied with the Teen Titans (to which Miss Martian comments that she is more in control of herself now) and faces Deathstroke, Match, and other former Titans East teammates, before being subdued by Risk. Soon after, Cyborg, Raven, and Duela Dent summon former Titans Nightwing, Donna Troy, Beast Boy, and the Flash (Bart Allen), who join them against Deathstroke's team. Batgirl attempts to kill Deathstroke, but is stopped and knocked unconscious by Nightwing, who demands that Deathstroke face the courts. Unfortunately, Deathstroke escapes from the Titans with the help of Inertia, and after the battle is over, Batgirl and Duela Dent both vanish without a word.
Following the events in Infinite Crisis, 52 fills in the one-year gap where "One Year Later" left off. Cassandra was left behind while Batman, Robin, and Nightwing left for their year long trip and Harvey Dent was charged with protecting Gotham instead of her. Deathstroke approaches Cassandra and preys on her desire for a loving father as well as her feelings of abandonment. Although occurring off-screen, Deathstroke managed to inject Cassandra with drugs, from a distance, that warped her mind allowing for him to manipulate her to his liking.[13]
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.[14]
Cassandra retakes the Batgirl mantle to join the Outsiders at Batman's request near the end of Batman and the Outsiders (vol. 2) #2 (January 2008). Cassandra moves into the team's apartment, but does not show much desire to socialize with her teammates. Batman also offers membership to Green Arrow, who is furious to learn that the former leader of the League of Assassins is on the team as well. While on a mission, Green Arrow and Batgirl battle one another and end up gaining an unusual sort of respect for each other. The team as a whole begins to slowly accept Batgirl into their ranks when she frees all of them from the Chinese military.[11]
After the loss of their leader in the 2008 "Batman R.I.P." storyline, the Outsiders are left in disarray. Cassandra, believing that Batman brought her onto the team for just such a contingency, takes command of the group. Together, they undertake a search for him.
In February 2008, Dan DiDio revealed during a convention panel that writer Adam Beechen would be writing a "new Batgirl" mini-series. Beechen himself said that the story would resolve the questions over Cassandra's behavior and will be a setup for new Batgirl adventures.[15]
In this series, Cassandra moves into Wayne Manor and desires to kill her father and Deathstroke for what they did to her. She uses the Batcave's computer to locate them, but is attacked by Nightwing, who claims she cannot be trusted. Robin and Batman give her the benefit of the doubt.
During the series, Cassandra learns that David Cain and Deathstroke started up a school training Cassandra's "sisters." When Cassandra hears that the school's purpose was to "cripple the meta-hero community," she believes Oracle is about to be assassinated and rushes to her base of operations. She locates her father on a rooftop and engages in a one-on-one fight, eventually sending him over a ledge. When he loses his grip, she tries to save him but fails; he falls to another part of the rooftop. Batman, who had followed her, accepts her into the family again and says he will adopt her and make her his daughter.
The first issue of a 2009 Batgirl ongoing series, set after Bruce Wayne's apparent death during Final Crisis, shows Cassandra disillusioned. She passes her Batgirl identity to her close friend, Stephanie Brown. She leaves Gotham, with her whereabouts unknown.[16]
After Bruce Wayne returns, it is revealed that Cassandra's disillusionment was a ruse, and that she had willingy handed over her Batgirl mantle to Stephanie because she was acting under her mentor's order in the event of his death or disappearance. Tim Drake is revealed to have been in regular contact with her, implying that she is now an anonymous agent to Batman.[17] Following Bruce Wayne's public announcement about his intention to create a global team of Batmen, Tim visits Cassandra in Hong Kong, where she has been acting as an anonymous vigilante. He attempts to persuade Cassandra to return to Gotham now that things have returned to normal, but she refuses, saying that Stephanie needs the Batgirl role more than she does. Just before departing, Tim gives Cassandra a copy of her old costume and tells her that if she chooses to stay and fight crime in Hong Kong, he hopes she will do it while wearing a Bat-symbol.[18]
In Grant Morrison's Batman Inc. series, it is revealed that Cassandra has taken Tim up on his offer and joined up with Bruce's new group, now wearing a heavily modified costume that uses her original outfit as a base. She now uses the name of Black Bat, and is shown contacting Bruce after bringing down a heroin-smuggling operation in Hong Kong.[19]
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.[20] In the first issue of the series, a new supervillain named the Architect destroys three Gotham bridges with the help of explosives smuggled from Hong Kong, resulting in the deaths of dozens of civilians. Feeling guilty over her failure to stop the explosives from leaving China, Cassandra returns to Gotham and partners with Red Robin, Dick Grayson, and Damian Wayne (the new Robin) to bring the Architect to justice.[21] During a stakeout at Oswald Cobblepot's night club, Cassandra is mocked and berated by Damian, who tells her that he is a better hero and that Bruce likely sent her to Hong Kong as a demotion. Despite Damian's hostility toward her, Cassandra ultimately saves his life after pulling him out of the club mere seconds before it is destroyed by a bomb.[22]After Dick discovers that the Architect plans to flood Gotham and kill thousands of civilians, Cassandra and Damian work together to dispose of the explosives that were supposed to sink the city. Once the Architect is defeated and captured, Cassandra implies that she intends to stay in Gotham rather than return to Hong Kong.[23]
Cassandra later infiltrates a tournament for hired killers and rescues Red Robin, who had been captured and was about to be raped by the sister of Ra's al Ghul. After rescuing Tim, Cassandra apparently kills him with a katana, thus winning the tournament for herself. It is later revealed that she had merely faked Red Robin's death in order to allow him to escape. The two then travel to Hong Kong in order to catch a 10-year old assassin known as the Cricket, but are easily defeated. Just as Cassandra and Tim fall into unconscousness, the Cricket vows to face them again someday, and tells them that he hopes they will put up a better fight next time.[24]
Like the rest of the Batman family, Cassandra has no superhuman powers. As a child, she received intensive training by her father, along with several other members of the League of Assassins, including Bronze Tiger, Merlyn the archer, and a series of instructors hired by her father, including Alpha. Upon taking the mantle of Batgirl, she was trained further by Batman, Oracle, Black Canary, and by Lady Shiva. She received supplementary instruction from Onyx. She was also very briefly trained in detective methods by Tim Drake during their time in Blüdhaven.
Cassandra's superiority in combat results not just from her excellent physical condition, but from her cognitive functions (the result of her idiosyncratic upbringing) that enables extraordinary feats of coordination as well as perceiving minute changes in an opponent's movements and body language. In Batgirl #14 (May 2001), the writer, Kelley Puckett, places Cassandra in a position within the story in which her skills are analyzed by a group of government experts. The creative team reveal to the reader that the character has no metagene. Yet her genetic status was felt to be incompatible with her recorded abilities. One expert states, "Her individual moves are borderline human. It's her aggregate speed that's metahuman. Look—humans can throw a 100 miles-per-hour fastball, smash concrete blocks with their heads, and run 4.2 forties. What they can't do is all of that at once. It's not so much physical as... as mentally impossible. Too much to coordinate."[25]
Her upbringing using body language as her exclusive mode of communication also had the effect of enabling her to "read" minute changes in an opponent's expressions, breathing, muscles, joint position, and center of gravity which in turn allows her to see or "predict" an opponent's moves before they happen. It is possible this ability is only partially the result of her upbringing and that there is a genetic predisposition to it since Lady Shiva, Canssandra's mother, is the only other martial artist known in the DC universe to have this ability. When a telepath "rewired" Cassandra's brain to allow her speech, this had the unintended consequence of blocking her ability to "predict" attacks. Eventually, Lady Shiva helped her to regain this ability, but how this was done is never revealed. "[26]
Cassandra also exhibits extraordinary resistance to pain. On more than one occasion she has been described as "being able to take a bullet wound and not even bat an eye."
As a side effect of her father's training, Cassandra's brain developed learning functions different from most. Having been brought up by Cain deliberately without speech, the communication centers of her brain learned body language instead of spoken or written language. Thus, she originally had as much trouble learning spoken and written language as a normal individual would have in learning body language. Although she was able to learn some very basic things ("no," "yes," "me") the same way a normal person can learn to recognize smiles and frowns, it took a telepath "rewiring" her brain to teach her to speak and understand English. Even then, she only spoke with extreme difficulty (very falteringly, short sentences with long pauses, frequently using the wrong words, etc.). In Batgirl #67 (October 2005), Oracle performed a number of tests on Cassandra, determining the severity of the problem: "The language centers of your brain are all over both hemispheres. Not centralized like with most people. When you try to read or write, your brain doesn't know how to keep it cohesive."
In the 2008 Batgirl mini-series, the first issue delves into an explanation as to Cassandra's increased verbal and literary skills. It is explained that during the year in which Batman, Nightwing, and Robin were abroad, Cassandra and Alfred took it upon themselves to help develop the skills that she lacked due to her less than conventional childhood. By day she took speech and ESL courses. The formal training aided her thought processes related to language and thus her verbalization improved rapidly.
Cassandra's costume as Batgirl is composed of black skin-tight leather. Her mask covers all of her head with the exception of the eyes, which are darkened, and symbolic stitches surround the mouth of the mask. Cassandra wears a yellow-rimmed black logo rather than the yellow bat version of the logo worn by Barbara. The costume was first created and worn by the Huntress in the early stages of "No Man's Land".
Like the other members of the Bat-Clan, Cassandra's Batgirl also wears a yellow-pouched utility belt which contains grappling hooks, batarangs, mini-explosives, tracking devices, a hand-held computer, binoculars, PlastiCuffs, and smoke pellets. However, Cassandra rarely uses any of these devices.
The costume displays slight variations in Titans East. The cape shows a yellow lining and Cassandra wears a "capsule" utility belt rather than pouches. In Teen Titans (vol. 3) #43, the once hollow bat-symbol appears to have been filled in and her cape is once again completely black; a new line of stitching goes up the forehead of her cowl. This version of the costume apparently results from one artist's interpretation, as Cassandra's appearances elsewhere (i.e., Supergirl and Batman and the Outsiders) show her wearing her standard Batgirl costume.
Her costume as Blackbat incorporates her former Batgirl costume, with some modifications. She now wears a domino mask and exposes the rest of her face and head. Her cape is now severely torn, looking ragged and almost smoke-like. Her hands are wrapped in bandages rather than her former scalloped bat-gloves.
In the alternate timeline portrayed in the "Titans Tomorrow" storyline in Teen Titans, Cassandra was mentioned as having been murdered by Duela Dent. Years later, Tim Drake (now the new Batman) killed Duela in retaliation.
In the timeline depicted in the sequel, "Titans Tomorrow... Today!", Cassandra is portrayed as Kate Kane's successor to the Batwoman mantle, and a member of Lex Luthor's Titans Army.
A toddler version of Cassandra appears in several issues of Tiny Titans. She is a friend of Barbara Gordon and Stephanie Brown.
Cassandra makes a cameo appearance in issue #13 of the second Batman: The Brave and the Bold tie-in comic as one of the Batgirls from the future.
Most of the 2000 Batgirl ongoing series, as well as the 2008 mini-series, has been collected into trade paperbacks.
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batgirl: Silent Running | Batgirl #1-6 | March 2001 | 978-1840232660 |
| Batgirl: A Knight Alone | Batgirl #7-11, #13-14 | November 2001 | 978-1563898525 |
| Batgirl: Death Wish | Batgirl #17-20, #22-23, #25 | August 2003 | 978-1840237078 |
| Batgirl: Fists of Fury | Batgirl #15-16, #21, #26-28 | May 2004 | 978-1401202057 |
| Robin/Batgirl: Fresh Blood | Batgirl #58-59; Robin #132-133 | October 2005 | 978-1401204334 |
| Batgirl: Kicking Assassins | Batgirl #60-64 | January 2006 | 978-1401204396 |
| Batgirl: Destruction's Daughter | Batgirl #65-73 | September 2006 | 978-1401208967 |
| Batgirl: Redemption | Batgirl #1-6 (2008 mini-series) | June 2009 | 978-1401222758 |
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