Everyone in the Bat-family seems to have their own role. It sure looks to me like Cassandra Cain is their version of The X-Files.
BATGIRL GOES ‘FAR OUT’
It’s no secret that I prefer Barbara Gordon wearing the Batgirl costume. She always has been and always will be the character to me.
I mean, Cassandra Cain first started out as the “silent” member of the Bat-family. She rarely spoke, and if she did, it was only as few words as possible.
Now, she’s back as Batgirl in her own title. And she’s staking out the “supernatural” or just plain weird aspects of the team.
Of course, she has pretty decent reasons to. The former “Black Bat” and “Orphan” still wears nothing but black, still says very little, and still has ties to the mystical aspects of the DCU.
She’s been fighting the darker aspects of the DCU recently, and the latest issue has her locked into a “prison in her own mind.” She’s declaring “I am not Batgirl. I am Cassandra Cain. I am eight years old. I am a weapon.” Now, I agree with that first sentence even though the masthead on the book says differently. We discover more about her origin story, how she was indeed forged into a weapon.
I guess that’s a good thing in the Batman family. After all, you have to face Bane and other strong guys, so being able to fight is a very good thing.
To stop the next murder, uncovering the killer’s identity in the process is proving to be tougher than she expected. Well, her mind is not that powerful that she can figure things out as quickly as Bruce or Dick might. So, I will be curious to see how this sorts out, maybe actually using her mind as a weapon instead of her body.
HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE BATGIRL?
I know that DC currently has Barbara Gordon in prison (to give her something different to do), but at this stage in her development, Cassandra should be talking in complete sentences more often! How many years has it been that she’s been fighting supervillains?
Her parents were David Cain, a world-class assassin, and Lady Shiva, the vengeful martial artist, and yes, she was abused as a child, kept mute and trained only in martial arts to be a killer, really. I know the Bat-family is often pretty dark, but at some point, she has to lighten up… at least a little!
I mean, she was part of the Outsiders for a while as well as the Birds of Prey, and she teamed up with another Batgirl for a while in the appropriately named Batgirls comic. But the character created by Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott has changed very little over the years. She’s still broody and moody and the darkest of the Bat-family by far.
I have no idea how this comic is selling, but I can’t imagine it does as well as when Barbara Gordon was the main character. I mean, yes, she’s different, but in this case, is different really better?
MAYBE SHE SHOULD BE THE NEW DOCTOR FATE?
The way that DC is replacing many male characters with females, perhaps she should use her connections to the supernatural aspects of the DCU to actually step up into a role there. I can see her wearing the golden helmet of Doctor Fate, at least for a while. At least it would enhance her wardrobe, I think.
Ultimately, though, I can see DC making her the person in charge of the League of Assassins. That seems the most appropriate for her abilities and demeanor.
Now, Cassandra has made a few appearances in other media, like showing up in the much lighter show Batwheels. Of course, they had to lighten her up to feel appropriate for the series. She was in Young Justice, which I thought was truer to her character. She also has been in several Batman-based video games, but none of those really stood out among fans.
It just feels to me that Cassandra is a placeholder, there to keep the Batgirl comic going until they decide to bring back Barbara Gordon. It just doesn’t feel like it’s a good use of the name or the character to me, though.
I understand that she’s also an attempt to draw in new female readers, but she’s like Batman dark–to the max. I’m sure some fans, particularly of the goth variety, like her, but I don’t hear her name positively mentioned by other fans, even the female ones.
I always want to start a contest to see how long Cassandra and this version of Batgirl will stick around. Is there a level beneath which she won’t stick around? If so, I think she’s very close to it, if not exceeding it.
If they want Cassandra to be The X-Files of the Batman family, I think they should go all in, to coin a phrase. Get some magical abilities and go after the menaces that other members of the group will not tangle with. But mystical characters often are hard to relate with or understand. If they go this route, they need to clearly define how her powers work, and how they don’t. Too often, the magical heroes “pull a rabbit out of their hats” just in time to save the day. I always hate that!
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