r/CassandraCain

I just finished reading a copy of the deluxe edition of Batman: Gates of Gotham. I forgot how intertwined with the characters Cass is in the story. The intro by Kyle Higgins helps explain why that is. It was the first story since Batgirl 2000 where Cass was conceived as being important to the story and not as a tool for every other character to bounce of.

I have heard that Scott Snyder's original intention was for the story to be focused primarily on Cass but that's not what happened. He did convince Higgins to keep her as important. In the intro to the deluxe edition, Higgins mentions that Cass' return to Gotham was a primary and central element of the story. He also mentions that one of his favorite scenes was the interaction between Tim and Cass at the end of issue 5.

Peter David said several times that he put a lot of himself into Young Justice, which is probably a lot of why people react strongly to it. Kyle Higgins did the same with this story, primarily with Dick. He put his feelings of impostor syndrome and inadequacy in Dick's mouth by utilizing Dick's being an outsider to Gotham and not understanding the city. Throughout the story though, Dick and the author use fellow outsider Cass as a sounding board for the emotional discussion. It leads to some of the most emotional scenes Cass has in any comic she's been in. That includes her line in issue 4 for how she's recovering from the immense trauma she went through ever since War Games, including her exile from Gotham. She says to Dick: "It's not about the city. It's about how you choose to see the world. Everything else is just an excuse." This comic has the first scenes of Cass being strong and true to herself since Batgirl 2000.

It also includes what, to my knowledge, is the only time Cass has ever saved the city and received credit for it. In issue 5, when Dick goes after the Architect, he tells Commissioner Gordon that Black Bat is handling the explosives that threaten to flood Gotham. She also saves Gotham in Batgirl (2000) #36 and Detective Comics #955 but Batman and Robin remained the saviors of Gotham according to what the police and public know. Batgirl 2009 includes several scenes of the public cheering Steph as Batgirl, including issues 4 and 24. Batman: Gates of Gotham #5 is one of the few comics I know of where Cass is publicly known to be helping Gotham. Batgirl (2000) #63 and Birds of Prey (2023) #25 are the only comics I know of where people are cheering Cass on. Issue 2 also showed Cass visibly helping people out of the Iceberg Lounge, the first time since Batgirl (2000) #60 and 63 that we saw her refusal to hide from worried civilians.

I always wanted to see what would happen if Batman and Scooby-Doo teamed up again and this time Cassandra Cain was with them ? Given Cass difficulty with communication skills with others maybe she could learn something from meeting Scooby and his friends ?

As fans of both characters what do you think of a crossover like that ?

One thing I liked about fanfiction.net compared to AO3 is that the fandoms interacted and wrote fics with characters from multiple universes more commonly than on AO3. Here's a rare fic with well-written Cass outside of Gotham, including her lack of worry with her secret identity and her emotional openness. Nowadays, it feels like Bruce and Jason and Steph are the only characters getting explored in a diverse variety of situations. Bruce and the Batboys are the only ones allowed to show their full protectiveness in extreme and emotional situations. It's great to see an older fic where she's placed in a situation that wouldn't happen in the comics and is different from what's written in modern fics.

This story shows why I wish DC and fic writers had Cass meet and interact with a wider of characters in the DC universe and other fandoms while handling a wider variety of threats and being in new places. It'd also be good to see Steph and Duke interacting outside of the DC universe and not through simplistic emo fics as most Peter Parker in Gotham fics are. The interactions and threats show aspects of characterization that don't appear in fics that use the same characters and basic situations over and over again.

This fic includes elements of Cass' personality that aren't shown in modern fics. In modern fics, Steph and the Robins are written as being the bats who civilians are most comfortable around and as being approachable. This fic remembers that, while Cass' cowl is creepy and her behavior is unusual, people are comfortable around Cass once they get used to her, though it is true that she's not the most approachable bat. When the hobbits first encounter Cass, Sam is willing to tug Batgirl's cape as the young boy did in Batgirl (2000) #16, showing the approachable Cass that isn't seen in modern fics.