Cassandra Cain (Batgirl III/Blackbat)

Publisher: DC Comics
First Appearance: Batman v1 #567 (July 1999)
Created By: Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott

Biography:

Like so many of us, David Cain had a dream. Of course, his dream was to raise a child who would become the world’s greatest assassin, but hey, you’ve gotta aim high, right? To that end, Cain raised his daughter Cassandra in complete seclusion and never spoke a word to her. Shut off from any kind of verbal language, Cass instead became fluent in body language – so fluent that she could anticipate her opponents’ moves before they made them. I took a semester of developmental psychology in college, so I can say with some authority that this can totally happen.

At the age of eight, Cass killed someone on her father’s orders – and was horrified. She fled and lived on the streets – totally mute, by the way – until she was found by former Batgirl Barbara Gordon, who made Cass one of her operatives. Cass’s skills and intense need to save lives impressed Batman, and he and Barbara offered her the role of Batgirl.

During her time as Batgirl, Cass learned, abruptly, to speak, and, much less abruptly, to read and write. She began to learn how to interact with other people, befriending fellow teen vigilante Spoiler (Stephanie Brown) and briefly dating Superboy. At the same time, she distinguished herself by being extremely badass, even going toe to toe with Lady Shiva, the greatest martial artist in the world – and, not incidentally, Cass’s mother. In their last battle, Cass defeated Shiva and the League of Assassins, and abandoned her role as Batgirl.

Following the One Year Later jump, Cass inexplicably became a villain, attacking Robin, Supergirl, and the Teen Titans. She ended up working with Deathstroke, who kept her drugged in order to control her. Eventually she broke free and switched back to the side of the angels, but subsequent attempts to explain her behavior proved…unsatisfactory, to say the least. Cass wound up handing the Batgirl mantle over to Spoiler and disappearing, before reemerging a couple of months ago as Batman’s new Hong Kong operative, Blackbat.

So What’s So Great About Her?

There’s no shortage of stories about brooding heroes seeking to atone for their former misdeeds by protecting the innocent. Xena and Angel spring to mind, just for starters. But these characters are usually weatherbeaten old warhorses, in spirit if not in body. It’s rare – possibly unique – to see that trope manifested as a teenage girl.

Cass isn’t like the fleet of teen girl heroes in the DCU, most of whom can be described with words like “plucky” and “full of beans” and other wholesome, Hayley Mills-esque adjectives. She’s haunted by the murder she committed and her morally-ambiguous-at-best parentage. She has no idea how to act around other people, having known no one but her sociopathic father for so long. For the early part of her career, she had a death wish that led her to her first fight with Shiva.

Now, it should come as no surprise to regular readers that I loves me some bright, plucky teenage girl heroes; they are my absolute favorite character archetype. But Cass provides a necessary gravitas to the field and a wonderfully refreshing change from the norm. She embodies the spirit and guiding principle of Batman – “I will give up any semblance of a normal life and sleep hanging upside down by my ankles to ensure that no one dies, ever” – better than any of the rest of the Batfamily, maybe even better than Bruce.

And yet somehow she still reads as a relatable and painfully teenaged character. Her confusion and discomfort with puberty and sexuality and boys feels honest to me, even though I wasn’t raised by ninjas. Her friendship with Steph is adorable and engaging. And she has a subtle and hilarious sense of humor. (She’s also part Asian, adding some much-needed diversity to Gotham.)

Oh, and did I mention that she’s the greatest martial artist in the world?

Cass brings something completely different to the superhero game, and yet as far as I know, she’s the only Batgirl who hasn’t been confirmed to appear in the DCnU. Fix this, DC! She can only make your universe better.

Notable Appearances:

Batman v1 #567, 569
Detective Comics v1 #734, 738, 739, 741
Batgirl v1 #1-73
Robin v4 #70, 73, 132, 133, 150, 151
Batman: Gotham Knights #2
Teen Titans v3 #43-46
52: World War III #1-3
Batman and the Outsiders v2 #2-14
Batgirl: Redemption #1-6
Red Robin #17, 25
Batman, Inc. #6
Batman: Gates of Gotham #1-5