Jeez, how long has it been since I've seen this guy's art? Feels like a decade...

Oh, and FYI, pages 3 and 4 are reversed; should probably fix that.

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No up to date on my Batman mythos; Who's the blonde in the last panel?

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That's Stephanie Brown, Spoiler, subsequently the fifth Batgirl.

Last edited on 19 June 2020, 03:07.

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Some expanded context/explanation(s) for those less familiar with the Bat-family of DC Comics... :)

1.) Cassandra Cain (Batgirl III, Orphan)
- a.) Character Origins & Relations ~ The (breeding project) daughter of two master assassins, David Cain (the Orphaner) and Sandra Woosan (Lady Shiva), Cassandra was "raised" (if it could be called that) to be a new breed of assassin and living weapon. However, once Cassandra was old enough (barely 12 years old at the time) to learn & understand her life's "purpose" and "function", she rejected that fate and fled. Eventually, Cassandra came into contact (or rather, conflict) with the Bat-family, who took her in after learning her story (which in of itself was difficult, for the factors below). For a large part of her time with the Bat-family, Cassandra held the role as Batgirl III under the mentorship and training (of Life-skills, rather than further combat skills) by Barbara Gordon (Batgirl II, Oracle).

After several years of learning how to live Life beyond just combat and vigilantism, Cassandra experienced a desire to travel the world, as well as to learn/discover her blood-familial origins (Cassandra did not know the above information at the time); this journey took her away from the Bat-family and being Batgirl III (Cassandra passing the role to her best friend, Stephanie Brown). Along this global journey, Cassandra mended fences with her father (David Cain, the Orphaner), who felt genuine guilt & remorse for what he had done to Cassandra, treating her like a weapon project rather than a daughter. Sadly, David Cain later died bringing down a large-scale "living weapons project" based upon his works and notes from "raising" Cassandra, attempting to (artificially) breed and train a cadre of child assassins. In the aftermath, Cassandra resigned from her role as Batgirl III, and adopted the vigilante persona of "Orphan", in homage-memory of her father.

- b.) Physical advantages vs. Mental deficiencies (or, "Why Cassandra cannot speak &/or write?") ~ Because of her hyper-focused upbringing/training in combat and assassination skills, Cassandra's physical skills in both fields are extremely high, rivaling BOTH her master-assassin blood-parents. Even Batman has considerable difficulty fighting Cassandra one-on-one on even terms, and Cassandra is barely a teenager. UN-fortunately for Cassandra, this hyper-focus (purposefully) excluded any spoken and written skills, the project-goal being to commit as much of her brain-function(s) solely to combat and assassination skills. As the tragic (& un-intended) result, Cassandra's suffers from the mental deficiencies of Aphasia (inability to coherently speak &/or understand others' speech), Dyslexia (inability to read), and Dysgraphia (inability to write).

A major combat disadvantage to Cassandra's aphasia & dyslexia is if Cassandra faces multiple opponents who are aware of her mental deficiencies, they can easily defeat her by simply communicating a plan between themselves to take her down with, as Cassandra cannot properly comprehend any complex verbally spoken &/or written (such as a note taped to a wall) plans/tactics, even when openly expressed in front of Cassandra while fighting her. Additionally, a solo opponent aware of Cassandra's mental deficiencies can defeat Cassandra by using her dyslexia against her, such as luring Cassandra into a hazardous area, because she cannot read/comprehend any posted warning signs. Both such tactics, and Cassandra defeats, have occurred in the DC Bat-comics.

- c.) Character Growth ~ In the years since joining the Bat-family and the Super-Heroic community, Cassandra's friends and (Bat-)family have worked to help Cassandra overcome/compensate her mental deficiencies. To date (2019), Cassandra is capable of (mostly) coherent verbal (English) speech, though she still has trouble understanding others' speech at times (such as use of slang, abbreviated, &/or meme terms). Cassandra still has extreme difficulty with written script (she is functionally illiterate). One of Cassandra's deepest and fondest desires for her Life is to one day be able to spend her days being able to sit quietly/peacefully and leisurely read, for the simple pleasure of being able to read.
.

2.) Stephanie Brown (Spoiler, Robin IV, Batgirl IV) ~ (The blonde girl in the purple outfit in page 09.)
- a.) Character Origins & Relations ~ The daughter of the criminal-mastermind Cluemaster, Stephanie Brown despises her father and his voluntarily chosen criminal career. Brown created her (primary) vigilante persona as the Spoiler, to 'spoil' her father's criminal ventures/plots. Brown has been a long-time member of the Bat-family, and has been Tim Drake's (Robin III) most heartfelt lover (though sadly their relationship has not been consistent due to comics dramas, RetCons, reboots, and changed writers/series across the decades). Brown was one of Cassandra Cain's (Batgirl III) first genuine friends, and Cain considers Brown her best friend.

- b.) Vigilante Personas ~ Brown's primary vigilante persona is the Spoiler. However, Brown has taken up other Bat-family roles across the years, when they were left vacant and were still needed. Brown filled the role of Robin IV when Tim Drake (Robin III) distanced himself from the Bat-family for a time, as Brown felt that Batman still 'needed' a Robin during that period. Brown also (later) took up the role of Batgirl IV when Cassandra Cain (Batgirl III) left the role in order to travel the world. However, in both cases, Brown would freely relinquish both Bat-roles when either reclaimed (Cain returning to Batgirl) or a new member of the Bat-family would take it up (Damian Wayne as Robin V), returning to her Spoiler persona.

Hope this helps clarify/inform. :)

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Minor Update (2021) ~ With the 'soft' Reboot comics-event of Infinite Frontier (2020-2021)...
- a.) Cassandra Cain is back to being Batgirl III, though Cain also still uses her Orphan persona as well; Cain uses the latter when operating away/solo from the Bat-family. Cain retains most of her character progress/evolution from her comics-years with the Bat-family & Super-Heroic community; meaning Cain can communicate verbally (mostly), can interpret sign-symbols (such as hazards and directions), but is still functionally illiterate.
- b.) Barbara Gordon is back to being Oracle, but NOT paraplegic and wheelchair-bound.
- c.) Stephanie Brown is still the Spoiler; since Cain is back to being Batgirl III (mostly), and Damian Wayne continues to be Robin V. Brown is in a (Rebooted) committed romantic relationship with Tim Drake and a member of the Young Justice (comics-)team.

Last edited on 07 April 2024, 22:22.

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