TITLE: Batgirl Issue #2
YEAR: May 2000
COMPANY: DC Comics
Plot: Scott Peterson and Kelly Puckett
Script by Kelly Puckett
Pencils: Damion Scott
Inker: Robert Campanella
Letterer: John Costanza
Colors: Jason Wright
Separations: Jamison
Editors: Darren Vincenzo and Dennis O’Neil
Batman was created by Bob Kane
In 1999, writer Kelly Puckett and artist Damion Scott created Cassandra Cain.
First appearing in “Batman” issue #567, Cassandra is the daughter of David Cain and Lady Shiva and as she was raised to be a top notch assassin, she was deprived of speech and human contact during her childhood.
So, she is mute, has very limited social skills, is illiterate but she is deadly and one heck of an expert martial artist.
And during the “No Man’s Land” crossover in which Gotham was leveled by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, she saved Commissioner Gordon’s life and she was given a Batgirl costume which Batman and Oracle approved.
And so Cassandra Cain would have her own comic book series in “Batgirl”.
While a popular character, Cassandra Cain would go through a dark lull in the next few years and she would emerge as the character “Blackbat” and later as “Orphan”.
In issue #2, the comic begins with a man named John hearing a woman who is being attacked in the alleyway. While he tells someone to call the police, he goes to rescue the woman. But the thugs get the upperhand and as they are about to shoot him, Batgirl comes and defeats them. She gives the man a kiss and she leaves.
While hanging out with Oracle, she sees the man she saved on the news and finds out that John Robinson was abducted in his apartment and now Cassandra is very upset. They find out the man responsible is a son of the a mob boss and Batgirl quickly goes to the area that Oracle has found to save him.
And while Batgirl is able to get to him and beat the mob boss, unfortunately, they beaten John up badly and now he’s dying. As Batgirl tries to save him, the location is overran by thugs and while she takes them out, he writes a letter to his wife, knowing that he’s going to die and his final wish is for Batgirl to give the letter to his wife.
While this issue is more heartfelt because it is about a good Samaritan who unfortunately gets kidnapped by the thugs in his apartment and is severely beaten, John Robinson’s final wish by writing a letter was enough to get Cassandra Cain to learn how to write. This is a major breakthrough as Oracle has been wanting to help Cassandra and a first step for Cassandra of trying to learn how to become social but also educate herself.
A touching story but most importantly, a story about the growth of Cassandra Cain.