Batgirls

[Frontier]

I think the first time we see Cass driving anything it was the Batwing while her, Batman, Nightwing and Robin were en-route to a mission involving Bane (Gotham Knights #48). Bats was teaching her like a parent teaches a child to drive while the two boys are strapped in at the back of the plane and Cass accidentally inverts the plane. Since then Cass has been shown driving Batwings at least twice more (City of Light and Batgirl (Beechen miniseries)) and is constantly seen on Batcycles and she is shown driving a Batboat in Gates of Gotham. Her driving Bondo in the Batgirls series recently I believe is the first car she is shown driving.

Ah, that's cool .

[Digifiend]

Nice preview! Cluemaster was a failed gameshow host if memory serves me. The artwork is also really nice here. And of course that killer cover of edgy Steph! I can't wait to read what happens in here. But I do not approve of him shocking his daughter like that. Worst. Parent. Ever.

Definitely. Especially considering what else he did!
spoilers:

He shot her. She actually died and is only still alive because Cass stole some Lazarus serum last issue.

end of spoilers

[Frontier]

Definitely. Especially considering what else he did!
spoilers:

He shot her. She actually died and is only still alive because Cass stole some Lazarus serum last issue.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Lazarus really is the deus ex machina of the Bat-Franchise.

end of spoilers

[ComicNoobie]

spoilers:

The latest issue of Batgirls was so freaking good and emotional. I can't wait to get the Trade paperback of it. Poor Steph is tormented by her d-list criminal father with his very poor taste game show "dead" wrong. I felt it when he said Batman never believed in her. Steph hasn't had very good adult father figures in her life and it broke me. But even worse he accidentally shot her dead! I have to say I found her second "death" more emotional then her War Games one, which just made me bitter. This one legit made me tear up a little. Seeing her bloody, wide eyed and dying in Cassandra's arms. That look of death on her face. Darkest moment of Batgirls. And while she was revived thanks to the Lazarus or however you spell it, it was still a very powerful scene and the artwork was at it's strongest there. I wonder where Cluemaster goes from here? He was extra insane in this issue then ever before but shooting his daughter dead seemed to be a wake up call. I want to see that explored.

end of spoilers

[millernumber1]

spoilers:

The latest issue of Batgirls was so freaking good and emotional. I can't wait to get the Trade paperback of it. Poor Steph is tormented by her d-list criminal father with his very poor taste game show "dead" wrong. I felt it when he said Batman never believed in her. Steph hasn't had very good adult father figures in her life and it broke me. But even worse he accidentally shot her dead! I have to say I found her second "death" more emotional then her War Games one, which just made me bitter. This one legit made me tear up a little. Seeing her bloody, wide eyed and dying in Cassandra's arms. That look of death on her face. Darkest moment of Batgirls. And while she was revived thanks to the Lazarus or however you spell it, it was still a very powerful scene and the artwork was at it's strongest there. I wonder where Cluemaster goes from here? He was extra insane in this issue then ever before but shooting his daughter dead seemed to be a wake up call. I want to see that explored.

end of spoilers

I'd love to see it explored more, too! This was a lot darker than I thought we would go, and I love it. I wish that the first arc, fun as it was, had some of these serious emotional stakes and moments.

[NOCTPHOENIX]

What are the chances of StephCass being a thing? Part of me feels they are leaning to it.

[sunofdarkchild]

When did the batfamily stop wearing reinforced kevlar with their costumes? That's been a thing since at least the early 90s when Tim took 3 bullets for Steph and only ended up with some bruises because his costume was reinforced as a matter of course. If Steph and Cass really have Bruce's approval to opperate it's inexcusable that their costumes haven't been reinforced against bullets. Even if they don't Babs should still have made sure they had this basic protection.

[Digifiend]

Yeah, not like they can't afford it, Babs just needs to borrow her millionaire boyfriend Dick's debit card.

[millernumber1]

When did the batfamily stop wearing reinforced kevlar with their costumes? That's been a thing since at least the early 90s when Tim took 3 bullets for Steph and only ended up with some bruises because his costume was reinforced as a matter of course. If Steph and Cass really have Bruce's approval to opperate it's inexcusable that their costumes haven't been reinforced against bullets. Even if they don't Babs should still have made sure they had this basic protection.

This has been brought up a lot, but honestly, I don't quite get it. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight clearly state that a direct shot will penetrate Batman's armor, and this was clearly a direct shot. Yes, Batman has a huge metal plate behind his bat-shield, but usually only when it's a yellow oval shield. Basic protection against glancing strikes isn't the same as "full protection from a close range shot". (And as cool as it looked, I don't like Battinson just tanking machine gun fire to the body.)

[WebLurker]

What are the chances of StephCass being a thing? Part of me feels they are leaning to it.

Unless the Powers That Be outright say they are building to a romantic love story or are just trying to depict a surrogate sisterhood, we can't know for sure.

Pro:

• Having run a thought experiment where I reread some of the comics with the assumption that Steph and Cass were starting to fall in love, it is pretty scary just how well the series fits the ship. Their shared moment at the end of the serial killer arc and a lot of things in the Freaky Friday one (e.g. the narration over their late night montage highlighting that they understand each other on a pretty deep level and the couple "I love you" moments on Steph's end) come to mind as things that really seem to cross the line. (While variant covers are just for the fun of it, a few of them have also had some "more than friends" vibes. That one with a bunch of Bat characters at the movies with Cass being depicted as having dozed off and resting her head on Steph's shoulder come to mind.)

• Their "Future State" variants (a run that was intended to seed stuff for the current batch of Batman comics) seems to (by authorial intent) to have been depicted as lovers. If so, that's a pretty interesting thing to seed before this series, even if not factoring all the aforementioned moments.

• Steph's relationship with Tim Drake has been ended with no plans of putting them back together as of yet and DC seems to be trying to rebrand Tim/Bernard as the OPT for the (Red) Robin (e.g. synergy with the TV shows, Wayne Family Adventures strip showing Tim/Bernard and no indication that Tim and Steph were anything other than friends). All this could change, but Steph is currently a free agent and if her relationship with Tim is indeed being phased out for good, it wouldn't be a roadblock to pairing her up with Cass.

• While I can't verify the accuracy of this, I have seen people claim online that at least one of the DC employees in charge of the division Batgirls falls under is a Cass/Steph shipper.

• For what it's worth, the ship has been a thing for quite some time and does seem pretty popular. Cass doesn't have a definitive love interest and I'd make the case that her now-past relationship with Tim isn't as defining a trait for Steph as it used to be (I'd argue that her friendships with Cass and Barbara Gordon are), so it doesn't exactly step on the toes of a lot of things (like how you know that Superman is always going to go back to Lois Lane).

Contra:

• The aforementioned moments could be fans reading too much into things.

• Another user once posted a screencap that was supposed to have come from a social media exchange where someone working on the comic stated that they were planning to keep Steph and Cass friends. It's secondhand info that could be false
(not to mention that plans do change), but if the writers aren't going to put them together, that is the end of it.

• Currently in the comics, Steph has a crush on a boy and Cass seems to be supportive. While it could be set up or made into Steph exploring a possible relationship before realizing that person for her was the best friend who'd been by her side all along, the fact still remains that she's being written, so far, to be looking for love elsewhere.

• While a Cass/Steph love story could be theoretically coming after a current slow burn (e.g. like using the Freaky Friday story as a catalyst for them reassessing what they are to each other), I kinda think that DC would be announcing it in advance to get publicity and market the tite, something that hasn't happened.

• It's theoretically possible that the Powers That Be could've decided to not depict a romance between the characters but did decide to include a lot of intimate moments between the characters for readers who do ship them.


Way I see it, I'd really like it if Cass and Steph became a couple (they have a really good dynamic in general, the relationship as is would move pretty logically from friendship to romance), however, I suspect its unlikely that it will happen, given that there's been no official word on the subject from DC and how most of the romance moments could be read as being platonic between two people with a sister-like bond. That said, given that "Future State" apparently made Cass/Steph canon somewhere in the multiverse and the moments in Batgirls fit so perfectly with a love story arc, I would really like to know what was going on behind the scenes.

[Frontier]

Yeah, I just don't see Cass and Steph as a couple.

[Aahz]

• Currently in the comics, Steph has a crush on a boy and Cass seems to be supportive. While it could be set up or made into Steph exploring a possible relationship before realizing that person for her was the best friend who'd been by her side all along, the fact still remains that she's being written, so far, to be looking for love elsewhere.

There was also a pretty recent anthology story where Cass seemed to be attacked to a guy.

And just to point it if they made Cass and Steph a couple, they had at least twice as many female LGBT characters (Kate, Selina, Cass, Steph) than straight ones (Barbara, Helena) in the core Batfamily. With also a good number among the other prominent female characters in the Batfranchise being LGBT (Harper Row, Rene Montoya, Harley, Ivy, Eiko Hasigawa, Mother Panic), that seems a little excessive.

[WebLurker]

Yeah, I just don't see Cass and Steph as a couple.

I think it's a logical progression if the Powers That Be wanted to do it, but I don't think it "needs" to be done, if that makes any sense.

There was also a pretty recent anthology story where Cass seemed to be attacked to a guy.

She also was in her original series (albeit in a different universe).

And just to point it if they made Cass and Steph a couple, they had at least twice as many female LGBT characters (Kate, Selina, Cass, Steph) than straight ones (Barbara, Helena) in the core Batfamily. With also a good number among the other prominent female characters in the Batfranchise being LGBT (Harper Row, Rene Montoya, Harley, Ivy, Eiko Hasigawa, Mother Panic), that seems a little excessive.

Wow, didn't know there were that many. Remembered Kate, Harley, and Ivy, and few others jogged my memory after reading.

[ComicNoobie]

As much as I love Steph and Cass's relationship I don't want them as a couple personally. I think their sisterhood works perfectly fine without needing it to go romantic.

[Fire Angel]

As much as I love Steph and Cass's relationship I don't want them as a couple personally. I think their sisterhood works perfectly fine without needing it to go romantic.

But Steph needs to date someone now that Tims gone