Tell me about: Cassandra Cain/ Batgirl

[Steelsheen]

i've taken an interest to this character (i know i'm coming in a little late on this so please dont shoot me). i think she's the most interesting Batgirl incarnation thus far and i'm trying to learn as much about her as i could. i know how infamously reliable Wikipedia is so i'm asking help from the fans here on giving me the straight dope on Ms Cain.

so far i know that she is David Cain's & Lady Shiva's daughter and didnt initially speak (at least from the times she appeared in the Batman stories i've read). i also read that she cant read or write because of how she was raised (relying on body language). now somewhere down the line she's dropped her Batgirl persona and has gone bad?

i'd appreciate anybody's contribution to tell me who Cassandra Cain is all about, her stint as Batgirl and if there has been and TPBs on her that i should go get (or avoid).

thanks!

 

[GoldenAgeHero]

google then wiki then input batgirl in search.


wiki is spot on in its data for batgirl orany comic character for that matter. don't know why it recieves so much hate.

 

[Kitsune]

google then wiki then input batgirl in search.


wiki is spot on in its data for batgirl orany comic character for that matter. don't know why it recieves so much hate.

Some people around here seem to hate for hates sake.

 

[CConn]

Wikipedia's pretty reliable when it comes to comics.

 

[The Leaguer]

Though mothered by Lady Shiva, formerly the world's greatest hand-to-hand fighter, Cassandra Cain was raised exclusively by David Cain, contender for the title of world's deadliest assassin. David Cain had a theory that he could raise the ultimate assassin if he deprived a child of any spoken or written form of communication from birth, forcing the child to learn to interpret body language as his or her sole mode of communication. He tried this strategy a number of times and failed each time, until he tried it on his own daughter, Cassandra Cain.

She was raised in this environment until the age of 7, when David Cain had her perform her first kill. The guilt of what she had done caused Cassandra to flee her father and she wandered the world, eventually ending up in Gotham during No Man's Land at the age of 17. She gained Oracle's and then Batman's notice, and they trained her as the new Batgirl.

She acted as Batgirl for roughly two years (half-way through her series she was mentioned to be 18) and eventually defeated Shiva in hand-to-hand combat, cementing herself as the greatest fighter in the world. Driven by the desire to know her mother's identity, Cassandra went in search of Shiva, eventually facing and defeating her again. The series ended with Cassandra left the dying Shiva hanging over a Lazarus Pit and went off to discover herself, seemingly abandoning the Batgirl role just before One Year Later kicked off.

She then appeared in Robin's One Year Later story, now theoretically roughly 20 years old, as the new head of the League of Assassins, apparently having turned evil. She had conflicts with both Robin and Supergirl until it was revealed in Teen Titans that she had been drugged and brain-washed by Deathstroke. A member of Deathstroke's Teen Titans East, Cassie attacked the Teen Titans proper, and during the conflict Robin managed to free Cassie from Deathstroke's control. However, it seems Cassie no longer has any aversion to killing, as she has repeatedly stated her intentions of killing Deathstroke.

In summary: Batgirl is f***ing badass, and DC has no idea how to use her properly.

 

[Steelsheen]

ok, so the Wikipedia entry for Cassandra Cain is accurate? i have reservations about believing anything on Wikidpedia because 1.) it can be added/ edited by just about anybody and 2.) there has been some superheroes/ comic book stories i know pretty well and the Wiki entry on them isnt exactly accurate.

which TPBs should i get if i want to know all things Cassandra Cain? is she part of any continuity story now? what about any Elseworld tales?

 

[The Leaguer]

Get No Man's Land and all of her series, including the Batgirl/Robin trade. She popped up in the Robin OYL story and had a big part in the Titans East storyline finishing up in Teen Titans.

 

[Mandi-chan]

How much of her comic was released by TPB?

I want to get all the comics tied to her (except OYL, since they royally F'cked her up!).

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Most of her series has been collected in TPBs. The order is:

Batman: No Man's Land 1-5
Silent Running
A Knight Alone
Death Wish
Fists of Fury
Batman: War Games 1-3
Robin/Batgirl: Fresh Blood
Kicking Assassins
Destruction's Daughter

There are just a few issues missing--mostly tie-ins to other events, like Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive and stuff.

 

[Steelsheen]

Batman: No Man's Land 1-5

that's like five volumes isnt it? is she all in there or just a specific volume?

 

[The Leaguer]

that's like five volumes isnt it?

Oh my god.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

that's like five volumes isnt it? is she all in there or just a specific volume?

Uh... I don't really remember. I don't think she was in that much of No Man's Land, to be honest. You'd probably only really need the last one or two volumes if you only want to read stuff with Cassandra... and not have any context for what you're reading...

 

[Mee]

and eventually defeated Shiva in hand-to-hand combat, cementing herself as the greatest fighter in the world.

Bats beat Shiva too. So, she's one of the blah blah etc etc.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

This is gonna be fun...

 

[The Leaguer]

Not for him, it won't be.

Bats beat Shiva too. So, she's one of the blah blah etc etc.

Please tell me you're not talking about the Superman/Batman fight.

 

[Mee]

I am.

Please tell me you're not about to say something like "she was under mind control."

 

[The Leaguer]

Why, because it's so obvious that it'll make you feel dumb for not thinking of it sooner?

 

[Mee]

Because it's a dumb thing to say that just because someone isn't following their own will that they aren't as strong, smart, blah blah blah as normal. You could say she was fighting the control, but why would she? Don't think she'd mind fighting Bats.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Right, so if we hopped you up on LSD and sent you out in a car, you'd drive as well as if your mind were totally clear and under your control?

 

[Mee]

I don't think that's quite the same as mind control from a super smart ape.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Have you ever been mind-controlled by a super-smart ape?

Then you don't know.

 

[Mee]

It's on my to-do list.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Until it's on your been-done list, you'll just have to accept that Batman's win over Shiva in S/B doesn't count.

 

[Mee]

Nevah.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Do it, Sir Michael Caine!