| “ | You might not want to be Batman- to take over for him when he’s… done. But I do. It’s the only thing I’ve ever… wanted to be.[1] | „ |
| ~ Cassandra Cain to Tim Drake |
| “ | They are masters, aren’t they, Lars? Barbarian artists… but two of them… pure genius.[2] | „ |
| ~ One of the Brothers Blood, talking about Kasumi and Deathstroke |
| “ | I think I’ve always liked it in Gotham.[3] | „ |
| ~ Black Bat |
| “ | Sorry, Shiva. I don’t kill… but I don’t lose, either.[4] | „ |
| ~ Cassandra Cain |
Summary
Cassandra Cain is the daughter of master martial artists David Cain and Lady Shiva, and she spent her childhood under her father’s tutelage, being deprived of speech in order to raise her into the perfect warrior and assassin. After her first kill, Cassandra fled from her father and eventually found herself in Gotham City, where she acted as one of Barbara Gordon’s agents during No Man’s Land. After saving Commissioner Gordon from an assassination attempt, she was recruited into the Batman Family and given the title of Batgirl, replacing the recently-dismissed Helena Bertinelli.
Throughout her time as Batgirl, Cassandra would grow in martial arts skill, confronting her father many times and eventually defeating her mother. At one point, she was brainwashed into joining the League of Assassins by her father and Slade Wilson, but after overcoming this and proving that she was no longer a murderer during Batgirl: Redemption, she was once again accepted by the Batfamily, and she was officially adopted by Batman.
She would also serve on the Justice League Elite under the cover identity of Kasumi, and after giving the Batgirl moniker over to Stephanie Brown, she would become a member of Batman Incorporated known as Black Bat.
Powers and Stats
Tier: 9-A | 9-A | 8-C
Key: No Man’s Land | Post-No Man’s Land | Post-Resurrection
Name: Cassandra Cain-Wayne, Batgirl, Kasumi, Black Bat, The One Who Is All
Origin: DC Comics, first appeared in Batman Vol. 1 #567 (July 1999)
Classification: Vigilante, Martial Artist
Gender: Female
Age: 17 in her first appearance, 18 as of Batgirl Vol. 1 #39 (June 2003)
Powers and Abilities:
Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Enhanced Senses (Detected that a seemingly random person was the shapeshifter she and Batman were looking for[5]. Picked out the smell of a corpse over gasoline and above the nearby river[6]. Used her sense of smell to accurately determine Camorouge’s location, despite her being invisible[7]), Master Martial Artist (As a child, she mastered nearly all forms of unarmed combat[8] and she is stated to be proficient in virtually all known forms of combat[9]. Was the first person in history to defeat Lady Shiva[10], and is superior to the likes of Batman[11][12], Deathstroke[13], Tim Drake[14] and Black Canary[15] in hand-to-hand combat. Her fighting abilities are stated to be unsurpassed[16], and she became recognized as the greatest martial artist[8] in the world[16]), Weapon Mastery (As a child, she mastered nearly all forms of armed combat[8] and was trained to master every known weapon[16]), Stealth Mastery (Disappeared without being noticed on[17] several[18] different[19] occasions[20]. Snuck into Arkham Asylum and got into the Joker’s cell without being detected[21]. Broke into a federal complex, evading a guard and thirty-two security cameras in the process[22]. Evaded Renee Montoya and other detectives[23]. Escaped Catwoman’s sight and got behind her without being noticed[9]), Acrobatics (Frequently[24] performs[18] flips[25] and[23] acrobatic[26] maneuvers[27]), Analytical Prediction (Can read body language, which allows her to know what her opponent is going to do before they do it[19]. According to Batman, she already knows what her opponents had just started to think about doing[28]. Reads her opponent’s intentions[29]. Can tell if someone is lying or being truthful, tell their feelings and maybe even their thoughts[30]), Body Control (Can stop her own heart[1]), Accelerated Development (Training; Abilities, Learned stick fighting in five minutes[19] and regained her body-reading ability after training with Shiva for seemingly a single night[31]), Technique Mimicry (Copied Shadow Thief’s secret koga-ryu techniques just by watching and fighting him[24]), Pressure Points (Knows moves meant to disable people and she can stop heartbeats[32]. Is one of the only three people in the world that know the Falling Leaf nerve pinch[33]), Paralysis Inducement (Paralyzed Oracle’s upper body[29]), Sleep Inducement (Put a metahuman to sleep[34])
Explosion Manipulation (Via explosives[35]), Fire Manipulation (Via lighter[6]), Fragrance Manipulation (Via smelling salts[36]), Intangibility (Via Shadow Thief’s Dimensiometer[37], which allows the user to turn into a living shadow[38]), Resistance to Cold Temperatures (Her Batgirl suit insulates and protects her from suffering lethal hypothermia while encased in ice[39])
Attack Potency: Small Building level+ (As a child, she could draw blood from Bronze Tiger[40]. Consistently[41] harmed[42] David Cain, who could fight Batman[43] on two separate occasions[20]) | Small Building level+ (Should be stronger than before. Harmed Harley Quinn[44]) | Building level (Fought and defeated Lady Shiva[29], and was the first person in history to have ever done so[10]. Was compared to Killer Croc on amphetamines[16]. Fought Deathstroke twice and seemed to have the advantage during their first fight[45], although she is noted to be physically weaker than him. Fought on par with Ravager[46]. Drew blood from the Scarebeast[47] and Monsieur Mallah[6], who could harm Gorilla Grodd[48]. One-shot the Joker[21], stomped a hologram of Barbara Gordon multiple times in under a second[16] and stomped David Cain[49] while recovering from an injury[50]. Deathstroke claimed that Batman couldn’t beat Cassandra, even on his best day[12]. Fought Lady Shiva a second time[51], with Shiva having trained since their last fight[52], and ultimately snapped her neck[51])
Speed: Subsonic movement speed (Can move this fast[5]). At least Supersonic+ (Can tag David Cain, who can keep up with Batman[43][20]), possibly Hypersonic+ combat speed and reactions (Was implied to have done this as a child[53]) | Subsonic movement speed (Should be faster than before. Comparable to Tim Drake[54]). Hypersonic+ combat speed and reactions (Dodged a sniper bullet inches from her face[53]. Casually dodged attacks from Batman[31], and when not holding back, she struck Batman so fast that he didn’t perceive it[19]) | Hypersonic movement speed (Outran a bullet[55]. Is now faster than Tim Drake[56]). At least Hypersonic+ combat speed and reactions (Much faster than she was before)
Lifting Strength: Unknown (Displayed no lifting feats) | Superhuman (Is stated to have superhuman strength[57], but she displayed no notable lifting feats) | At least Class 1, possibly Class 5 (Briefly pinned down Batman[58] and Deathstroke[50])
Striking Strength: Small Building level+ (Comparable to her attack potency) | Small Building level+ (Comparable to her attack potency) | Building level (Comparable to her attack potency)
Durability: Small Building level+ (As a child, she could take hits from David Cain[58]) | Small Building level+ (Should be more durable than before) | Building level (Could[29] take[52] hits[51] from Lady Shiva)
Stamina: Superhuman (As a child, she played two-for-flinching with bullets[1] and could ignore bullet wounds[31]. Survived being shot with several high-caliber bullets that could tear through walls like paper[32], shrugged off being rammed by a police car and breaking more ribs while already injured[4] and could briefly continue fighting after being stabbed in the heart[59]. Watched a projection of Batman for a day or two without eating or sleeping[60] and could still fight the League of Assasins after going through multiple days without eating or sleeping[61]. Smashed a bunch of mannequins as a daily routine, and was implied to have been doing so for ten hours straight[24])
Range: Standard Melee Range, Extended Melee Range with swords, Several Meters with batarangs and explosives
Equipment: Utility belt, batarangs, a grappling hook, a camera inside of her cowl[23], a communicator, tracking devices, explosives, bolas, a lighter, smelling salts and pellets that burn when they come in contact with the eyes[59].
- Optional Equipment: As Kasumi, she has access to an assortment of bladed weapons, as well as Shadow Thief’s Dimensiometer[37]. As Black Bat, she has claws on her gloves[56].
Gifted. While she was originally incapable of speech[43] and functionally illiterate to the point of not knowing what letters were[62], she is considered highly intelligent by Barbara Gordon[19], and she has shown herself to be a skilled detective. She was able to deduce that Bruce Wayne was Batman[23], figure out a detail about Vesper Fairchild’s murder that Tim Drake, Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon hadn’t noticed[63], and she figured out another detail that Dick hadn’t seen[64]. She would later take ESL courses and get tutoring, allowing her to overcome her illiteracy[13].
Extraordinary Genius. Cassandra is one of the greatest, if[8] not the greatest[16] martial artist in the world, and her skills are hailed above many of the greatest fighters in the DC universe. As a child, she was trained to master all forms of armed and unarmed combat[8], and even before being trained by Batman, her skills were on par with the likes of Nightwing and Robin[65]. She was able to defeat Lady Shiva[29], something Batman had never been able to do[63], which caused her to become revered in the martial arts community as “The One Who Is All”[52]. Batman has claimed that nobody is as skilled of a fighter as Cassandra[66], and he directly stated that Deathstroke couldn’t beat her in hand-to-hand combat[13], something that Slade himself implied[50]. Many members of the Batfamily have been shown to be inferior to Cassandra, including Barbara Gordon[16], Stephanie Brown[67] and Tim Drake[8], and she has been directly stated to be superior to Batman[12].
Standard Tactics: Cassandra constantly holds back to avoid killing her opponents, something that has been noted on[19] several[10] different[31] occasions[68]. In combat, she will usually rely on her martial arts skill to defeat her opponent, occasionally making use of her batarangs for ranged combat. In her Kasumi identity, she uses various kinds of bladed weaponry - typically a pair of swords - to fight, and she will use the Dimensiometer when fighting opponents far stronger than her, like she did against Hawkgirl.
Weaknesses: Her ability to read body language is less effective against opponents like the Joker or Deathstroke, as the former’s body language comes out as gibberish[21] and the latter’s is too much for her to follow[69]. She used to be illiterate and limited in speech due to her childhood[43], but she has since overcome this[13].
Note: Her first key ends with Batman: Gotham Knights #2 (April 2000). Her second key ends with her death and subsequent resurrection at the hands of Lady Shiva in Batgirl Vol. 1 #25 (April 2002).
Gallery
Notable Matchups
Notable Victories:
Notable Losses:
Inconclusive Matches:
Karate Kid (DC Comics) Karate Kid’s Profile (Post-Resurrection Cassandra Cain was used, speed was equalized, and both had access to all of their optional equipment)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Batgirl Vol. 1 #59, Feburary 2005
- ↑ Justice League Elite #1, September 2004
- ↑ Batman: Gates of Gotham #5, October 2011
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Batgirl Vol. 1 #8, November 2000
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Batgirl Annual #1, August 2000
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Batgirl Vol. 1 #61, April 2005
- ↑ Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 2 #5, May 2008
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Batman Allies Secret Files and Origins 2005, August 2005
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Batman: Gotham City Secret Files, April 2000
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Batgirl Vol. 1 #26, May 2006
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #56, November 2004
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 World War III #2, June 2007
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Batgirl Vol. 2 #1, September 2008
- ↑ Robin Vol. 2 #148, May 2006
- ↑ Birds of Prey Vol. 1 #61, January 2004
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 Batgirl Secret Files and Origins, August 2002
- ↑ Azrael: Agent of the Bat #56, September 1999
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Batman Vol. 1 #569, September 1999
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 Batgirl Vol. 1 #1, April 2000
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Batman Vol. 1 #605, September 2002
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 DC First: Batgirl/Joker, July 2002
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #17, August 2001
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 Batgirl Vol. 1 #24, March 2002
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Batgirl Vol. #21, December 2001
- ↑ Catwoman Vol. 2 #90, March 2001
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #43, October 2003
- ↑ Robin Vol. 2 #73, Feburary 2000
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #4, July 2000
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 Batgirl Vol. 1 #25, April 2002
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #47, Feburary 2004
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 Batgirl Vol. 1 #9, December 2000
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 Batgirl Vol. 1 #6, September 2000
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #49, April 2004
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #45, December 2003
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #52, July 2004
- ↑ Supergirl Vol. 4 #63, December 2001
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 Justice League Elite #6, February 2005
- ↑ Hawkworld Vol. 2 #5, October 1990
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #69, December 2005
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #67, October 2005
- ↑ Batman Vol. 1 #567, July 1999
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #11, Feburary 2001
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 43.3 Detective Comics Vol. 1 #734, July 1999
- ↑ Birds of Prey Vol. 1 #27, March 2001
- ↑ Nightwing Vol. 2 #81, July 2003
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #64, July 2005
- ↑ Batman Vol. 1 #633, December 2004
- ↑ Salvation Run Vol. 1 #4, April 2008
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 2 #6, Feburary 2009
- ↑ 50.0 50.1 50.2 Batgirl Vol. 2 #4, December 2008
- ↑ 51.0 51.1 51.2 Batgirl Vol. 1 #73, April 2006
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 52.2 Batgirl Vol. 1 #68, November 2005
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 Batgirl Vol. 1 #22, January 2002
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #18, September 2001
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #34, January 2003
- ↑ 56.0 56.1 Red Robin #25, September 2011
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #14, May 2001
- ↑ 58.0 58.1 Batgirl Vol. 1 #50, May 2004
- ↑ 59.0 59.1 Batgirl Vol. 1 #72, March 2006
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #7, October 2004
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #71, Feburary 2006
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #54, September 2004
- ↑ 63.0 63.1 Batgirl Vol. 1 #27, June 2002
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #29, August 2002
- ↑ Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 1 #120, August 1999
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #58, January 2005
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #28, July 2002
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #70, January 2006
- ↑ Batgirl Vol. 1 #63, June 2005
Discussions
| Discussion threads involving Cassandra Cain (Post-Crisis) |