Cassandra Cain: Batgirl/Orphan Appreciation 2020

[godisawesome]

Cass and Shiva seem tailor-made for a fighting game. I'm kind of surprised they haven't been used yet...

Injustice’s mechanics and storytelling potential is something that could apply to almost all the DC, but especially the “mundane” super families. Once you can establish enough suspension of disbelief to allow Wonder Woman to slug it out with Harley Quinn in a fighting game, and tell a story around it that people can stayed engaged with, you can do practically anything with the characters more traditionally suited for fighting games.

It’s just a matter of roster space and exposure, two areas where Cass and Shiva have stiff competition and a few disadvantages just because they’re still more comic-specific characters than multi-media ones.

It would be *awesome*, though.

Interestingly, I think that the Arkham games, or at least their likely successors, would maybe have a more immediately realized potential for introducing a version of Cass that stands out; the way those games managed to specialize Bats, Nightwing, Robin, and Catwoman tells me they could probably do something very similar with Cass.

She strikes me as a character you could play as almost a “glass-cannon” melee specialist in those games; very few gadgets, perhaps less health, but utterly monstrous combo and free flow abilities that start after only a few hits.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Cass and Shiva seem tailor-made for a fighting game. I'm kind of surprised they haven't been used yet...

I'd bet that a large part of that answer is 'Dan D'

[Konja7]

I'd bet that a large part of that answer is 'Dan D'

Nah. Didio didn't have much power outside comics (which are a pretty small part of superhero franchises).

At most, Didio relegating Cassandra in comics caused game developers not to have much interest in her.

[Restingvoice]

Cass and Shiva seem tailor-made for a fighting game. I'm kind of surprised they haven't been used yet...

DC fighting game is based on popularity toward the general audience and a variety of power types. So they started with the Justice League and the villains, then work their way down. If they have similar powers, they become Skins/Costumes instead, like Supergirl and Power Girl, Shazam and Black Adam.

I don't remember all of Injustice roster, but if they add Cass, she would be a Batgirl Skin/Costume, because even if Cass is a better or even a different type of fighter in comics, that's an extra effort the developer has to put in just to add a tiny detail that the average player won't notice. Much cheaper to make her a skin.

As for Shiva, she'd probably be a skin for Katana, if she doesn't have supernatural powers. I don't remember.

Having different types of martial arts matters more in Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter game since they are more martial arts-oriented than superheroes. The difference in details of physical moves can show. In DC, the superpowers take precedence.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Nah. Didio didn't have much power outside comics (which are a pretty small part of superhero franchises).

At most, Didio relegating Cassandra in comics caused game developers not to have much interest in her.

Exactly.

Cass is relatively new. All Dan D has to do is discourage developers from looking at her and push Babs

[WebLurker]

I don't remember all of Injustice roster, but if they add Cass, she would be a Batgirl Skin/Costume, because even if Cass is a better or even a different type of fighter in comics, that's an extra effort the developer has to put in just to add a tiny detail that the average player won't notice. Much cheaper to make her a skin.

Cassandra (Batgirl version) is a high-level player character in the arcade version of Injustice (albeit it being one of those collect a random character card each round that you can then reuse to play that character, so good luck getting it), so it would seem that she was made at least an appearance somewhere before in the games.

[Tsukiakari1203]

I'd love Cass and Shiva fighting game.


I finished Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. today and I saw ad advertisement for issue 1 of Cass's first solo. It was pretty cool to see

[Restingvoice]

Did Cass attend any school in Post Crisis? Gotham or Bludhaven?

[The Cool Thatguy]

Did Cass attend any school in Post Crisis? Gotham or Bludhaven?

None whatsoever. Pre-52 Batman was a real dick.

[Aahz]

Did Cass attend any school in Post Crisis? Gotham or Bludhaven?

She couldn't speak untill several issues into her solo book, and not read untill OYL, and was already 17 when her solo started, and turned iirc 18 before Hush (she was older than Jason).

Would have been pretty hard to find a school for her.

[The Cool Thatguy]

She couldn't speak untill several issues into her solo book, and not read untill OYL, and was already 17 when her solo started, and turned iirc 18 before Hush (she was older than Jason).

Would have been pretty hard to find a school for her.

...because forging legal documents is a hurdle for Batman?

[Konja7]

...because forging legal documents is a hurdle for Batman?

To be fair, Cassandra spend a lot more time with Barbara at first. However, Barbara didn't make anything about Cassandra education either.

[The Cool Thatguy]

To be fair, Cassandra spend a lot more time with Barbara at first. However, Barbara didn't make anything about Cassandra education either.

Barbara tried, though. She tried to get Cass to understand its importance. She simply lacked the influence that Bruce did.

All joking aside, Bruce assumed complete control over Cass' life. She idolized him, and did everything she could for his approval. When she declined a civilian ID, she did so without understanding its importance or even context. All in all, Bruce failed her as a guardian, pre Flashpoint.

[Aahz]

...because forging legal documents is a hurdle for Batman?

No because she was already pretty old and could not read or write, and initially not even speak and didn't even any kind of basic education (she would have had basically have to start at elementary school level in everything).

I don't think she would have been able to attend a regular school.

[The Cool Thatguy]

No because she was already pretty old and could not read or write, and initially not even speak and didn't even any kind of basic education (she would have had basically have to start at elementary school level in everything).

I don't think she would have been able to attend a regular school.

They have adult education programs, could have passed her off as younger and got her in special education, etc.

Bruce did jack all for her education, and given that he's a billionaire, that makes him one heck of a dick.