Character Spotlight...
CASSANDRA CAIN
AKA BATGIRL AKA BLACK BAT AKA ORPHANBasic InfoName: Cassandra ‘Cass’ Cain/Cassandra ‘Cass’ Wayne
Alias: Batgirl, Black Bat, Orphan, Kasumi
Age: Suggested Late teens to early twenties
Possible FaceclaimsHaruka Abe
Jessica Henwick
Kiko Mizuhara
Jeeja Vismistananda
Maki Horikita
Ellen Wong
Overview of History(This character has two distinct version of her history, so both are presented here. Either one could work in the game though, or you could pick and choose for a third option)
New Earth Continuity (pre-2011):
The child of two of the world’s best assassins, Cass was trained from a young age to read people and their body language as well as a normal person read the written word. This made her hyper competent at fighting and martial arts, at the cost of social skills and the ability to speak.
She ran from her father after killing a man on her (an early) birthday. Seeing the light leave his eyes made her understand exactly what killing someone meant, so she ran from her father and spent years on the streets. Barbara Gordon took Cass in, slowly teaching her how to speak and communicate, so Cass was the natural choice to take over as Batgirl when Barbara was paralyzed. She was even adopted by Bruce and joined the Wayne family officially.
After Batman Inc was formed, she went to China, Hong Kong specifically, and became known as Black Bat.
Prime Earth Continuity (2011-Present):
David Cain was an assassin under the employ of a mysterious woman called Mother, who trained killers from young ages to later sell them or their services to wealthy clientele. Mother believed that great trauma at a young age would maker her children more dangerous and devoted to her cause, and used mind-altering drugs to inflict such trauma. David, however, believed this to be inauthentic, and raised his infant daughter Cassie according to his own methods; Leaving her in complete silence as he taught her to kill, to see human lives as something to end.
Eventually she ran away and lived homeless on the streets of Gotham until Batman discovered her. He trained her to be a hero, not a killer, and when he disappeared after a final battle against the Joker, Cassie helped the Batfamily end Mother’s murderous reign. She then took on the mantle of her father, who had been killed by Mother in the end; Calling herself Orphan, she swore to defend Gotham with her new family.
What makes them coolBecause of her upbringing, Cassie is considered one of the best fighters in the Batfamily; With Batman gone, she is the undisputed best. Her skill with reading people means that, very often, she can recognize what someone will do before they do it.
Raised without a spoken language and an education, Cassie has problems communicating, which can be a very interesting wrinkle in roleplay.
Possible connections with other charactersDick Grayson/Nightwing - An older brother, a mentor figure, and now the head of her family after Bruce’s death. Thanks to an unpredictable fighting style, and having trained for nearly as long as she has, He’s also one of the few who can give her a fight that doesn’t have an obvious winner.
Barbara Gordon/Batgirl - Her sister and the one who helped her find her place in the world, Cass feels very grateful for how Babs helped her when most others thought she was a lost cause.
Tim Drake/Red Robin - She views Tim as something of a younger brother, even though he’s older than she is. They make an excellent team though, his more mental skills balancing her physical nature.
Ben Turner/Bronze Tiger - Connected through Cassie’s mother, Lady Shiva, a former ally of Bronze Tiger via the League of Assassins.
Harper Row/Bluebird - In Batman and Robin Eternal, they became good friends, until Harper discovered that as a child assassin, Cassie killed Harper’s mom… She learned to forgive Cassie at the end of the series.
How to fit them into the storyHere are some suggestions for how this character could be brought into the story of Fallen Knight. Obvious, these are all just suggestions. Let us know if you have a different idea, we’d love to hear it :)
- Comes back from Hong Kong (New Earth backstory) after hearing about Batman’s death.
- Cassie never left Gotham, and was there when Batman and the Joker fell.
- Cassie could be recently discovered by the Batfamily, who discover that she was being trained by Batman before his death (Prime Earth backstory).
If you want to know more!’Mark of Cain’ (Batman #567, Detective Comics #734)
Batman: Gotham Knights (#2, 5, 33, 34, 35, 36, 42, 45, 46, 48, 49, 56 and 57)
Nightwing #81 (Awesome fight between Cass and Deathstroke)
Batgirl v. 1
There are more minor stories where she pops up, so let us know if you'd like more recommendations!
Prime Earth:
Batman & Robin Eternal (2015-2016)
Detective Comics (June 2016- Present)