Cassandra

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Cassandra Cain is the daughter of world-class assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva. She was raised by her father in an unusual conditioning: deprived of speech and human contact during childhood, with combative arts and violence as her first form of communication, in an effort to create a world-class fighter and successor. Initially mute and illiterate as a result, she developed an exceptional ability to interpret body language. After an encounter with Barbara Gordon and Batman, both taught her lost skills when Batman took her under his tutelage due to her abilities and bravery. She became a superhero within the Batman Family and one of the world's most capable martial artists. She has been a member of the Outsiders and Birds of Prey. Her origin presents her as abused and raised by her father, who murdered her aunt Carolyn to lure her mother Sandra Wu-San into giving birth to Cassandra. After killing a businessman at age eight, Cassandra read his emotions, realized what she had done, and ran away from her father.

In Their Own Story

During the 'No Man's Land' storyline, after Gotham was leveled by an earthquake and isolated, Cassandra Cain saved Commissioner Gordon's life, gained Bruce Wayne's approval, and eventually became the new Batgirl. Her father David Cain sent a video of Cassandra's first murder to Batman attempting to disrupt her status, but Wayne continued to accept her after she took several bullets to save the life of a hired assassin, proving her devotion to protecting human life. Bruce Wayne later sent Cassandra to Barbara Gordon, functioning as Oracle. A telepath rewired Cassandra's brain so she could think with words and use language, but these abilities came at some cost to her ability to read body language. Unable to fight effectively, Bruce Wayne took away her costume and began training her in defensive skills. Cassandra sought out Lady Shiva to reteach her, accepting Shiva's condition of a duel to the death a year later. When they fought, Cassandra died within minutes; Shiva restarted her heart, realizing Cassandra had a death wish. In the subsequent fight, Cassandra beat Shiva but did not kill her. Cassandra later helped Batman control the violence of a gang war in Gotham City. She moved to Blüdhaven with Tim Drake, where Deathstroke took a contract from the Penguin to kill her. Cassandra beat Deathstroke's daughter Rose by playing on her emotions. She also went undercover for Batman as Kasumi in the Justice League Elite. Cassandra gathered evidence that Shiva could be her mother and rejoined the League of Assassins, where she was proclaimed by Nyssa al Ghul as the 'One Who Is All', splitting the League's students between her and Shiva. She was mortally wounded by her 'adoptive brother', the Mad Dog.

Reader's Guide

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 relied heavily on Cassandra to help control the violence of the gang war in Gotham City. Following the 'One Year Later' continuity jump, Cassandra took on the role of a villain by becoming the head of the League of Assassins, as established in Robin #150 (July 2006). She appeared in Supergirl (vol. 5) #14 (April 2007), battling Kara Zor-El, and in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #44 (April 2007), it was revealed she battled Supergirl before attacking the Teen Titans with Titans East. Cassandra later appeared on the roster of Titans East once again wearing the Batgirl costume, remaining a villain under Deathstroke's command. In 2009, Cassandra passed the Batgirl identity to Stephanie Brown. After Bruce Wayne returned, it was revealed that Cassandra's disillusionment was a ruse and she had willingly handed over her Batgirl mantle because she was acting under her mentor's orders, working as a codename-less vigilante. In 2011, in Grant Morrison's Batman Inc. series, it was revealed Cassandra had taken up the name Black Bat. At C2E2 2011, it was confirmed she would appear in Batman: Gates of Gotham. After the New 52, Cassandra appeared in a variant timeline, but at San Diego Comic-Con 2015, James Tynion IV announced she would be introduced into mainstream continuity in Batman & Robin Eternal. February 4, 2020 saw the debut of Cassandra Cain's first graphic novel, Shadow of the Batgirl, written by Sarah Kuhn and illustrated by Nicole Goux.

Did You Know?

• Cassandra Cain first appeared in Batman #567 (July 1999), created by Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott.
• She was raised by her father David Cain without being taught to read or write; instead, reading body language was her only language.
• Cassandra became the first Batgirl to star in an eponymous ongoing comic book series in 2000.
• She has used the code names Batgirl, Black Bat, and Orphan.
• Cassandra made her cinematic debut in the DC Extended Universe film Birds of Prey, portrayed by Ella Jay Basco.