Batgirl (2000) #1-4

Batgirl #1-4

Originally released in 2000

Written by Scott Peterson and Kelley Puckett

Art by Damion Scott

Wanting to learn more about what her character is like, I looked into the first Batgirl series that starred Cassandra Cain.  It surprised me to learn that this is actually the first solo Batgirl series period - Barbara Gordon didn't have a solo series beforehand.  My main familiarity with Cassandra Cain came from the Birds of Prey movie, though that adaptation was in name only - Cassandra is fit, borderline mute, and an incredibly skilled martial artist, while the DCEU version is none of those things.

"Borderline mute" is not an exaggeration - the warped training of the man who raised her, David Cain, means that she can read body language and is the perfect fighter (to the point where many agree that she surpasses Batman in terms of skill), but she has no idea how to read or write by the time she's seventeen.  Her ability to read body language helps with understanding what's being said to some degree, but she knows how to say about ten words total. (she only says four things throughout these four issues - "yes", "no", "me", and "what?")

The art is well done, with Cassandra's mask being surprisingly expressive despite (or because of) it having blackened eyes and a stitched-up mouth.  Batman makes it a point that Cassandra should avoid costumed criminals and meta-humans, meaning that she goes up against common criminals throughout these first four issues, but it lends a grittier feel to the proceedings, and that tone works with the plot and Cassandra's past. (although given that Cassandra's at least as good of a fighter as Batman, every fight, even against armed opponents, is incredibly one-sided, but the fighting isn't the point - the aftermath of the fights and their impact on Batgirl is more important)

Cassandra's lack of understanding language can backfire on her - obviously, barely being able to speak can cause problems, but at one point, a man decides to step in and do the heroic thing by saving someone, only for him to need saving by Cassandra.  A news report shows a picture of that man, and she points at it excitedly to show Barbara (who, after being shot by the Joker, is now the information supplier Oracle and one of Cassandra's mentors along with Bruce Wayne), not realizing that the news report is describing how the man was later found and kidnapped by the gang that had been doing the threatening.

Despite Bruce trying to keep her crime-fighting life relatively normal, Cassandra's life isn't entirely free of comic book weirdness - she saves a man who turns out to be psychic, and when trying to communicate with her, he activates her internal monologue. (previously, she had no thoughts on-panel, since being able to put her thoughts into words was a foreign concept to her)  However, this seems to come at a cost, so I'm not sure if it will stick going forward.

I enjoyed the dynamic between Cassandra, Bruce, and Barbara, and it makes me want to see a comic-accurate version of Cassandra Cain show up in the rebooted DC cinematic universe. (though even if the Batman movie The Brave And The Bold is introducing the Bat-Family, I don't know how likely it is that Cassandra will show up)  I had a good time with reading these issues, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.