Ah yes. With a title like that, I could only be here to talk about one thing. And let me apologize to those of you who don't give a damn about Cassandra Cain: I'm sorry you're such a cold-hearted bastard.
Seriously, though. There's been a great deal of Cassandra Cain related news out and about recently. So much, in fact, that Wizard Magazine has named her their "Character to Watch." In a normal universe not populated by evil genius Cassie Cains this would make me ecstatic.
But I'm not feeling that so much. Wizard makes it very clear that Cassandra will "continue on her villainous rampage." Words cannot describe my feelings on that.
It goes on to quote Dan DiDio, wherein he says:
"I'm glad to see there was a reaction created. It shows me that people care about the character and want to see something happen with her.
Well, Mr. DiDio, you're certainly half right. The reaction does indeed show that people care about her character. And I guess you're more than half right in that the reaction also shows that people want to see something happen with her. What you and all the other people at DC seem to be getting wrong is what we want to see happen to her.
I'd say that the "reaction" has been mostly negative. The only people who have actually liked the direction DC has taken Cass almost always preface their remarks with "I've never been a fan of the character" or "I never read Batgirl." All this seems to indicate to me that most of Cassandra's actual fans don't like what's being done with her.
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much light at the end of the tunnel. Cass is slated to be a villain in an upcoming (albeit delayed) issue of Supergirl. And in the Wizard snippet above Geoff Johns (a writer who has made a career out of fixing screwed over characters) talks about how he's going to continue screwing Cassie over in Teen Titans.
Though that could just be an interpretation colored by my own personal feelings. Mr. Johns says:
"There's a pretty big leap to her becoming what she's become. You're going to see the exact nature of why and how in 'Titans East.'"
Indeed, it is a big leap from the Cassandra Cain I loved for almost seventy-five issues to the illogical, poorly thought out caricature we met in Robin OYL. But rather than try to fix this travesty Mr. Johns has decided (or has been editorially mandated) to run with it.
And so he will provide us with an explanation. And it will -- I'm sad to say -- probably make some sense. Because Mr. Johns is an expert at making things fit into continuity.
But no matter what he does I will still be incredibly unhappy. I will be less unhappy if she is turned back to the side of the angels. But I will still be unhappy. Because the decisions that have been made (regardless of who has made them) have placed a stain on my favorite character that will probably never come completely clean.
And though I'm not someone who believes I "own" the character because I'm a fan I do believe that it makes some sense for writers to consider what the fans of a particular characer like. After all, we're the ones buying the books and showing up at conventions and writing insipid blog entries.
Now before I sign off I would like deliver a huge thank you to Gail Simone. As Cassandra has been ravaged across the DCU (being called "deranged" among other things) the one place where she has actually been mentioned in a positive light is Birds of Prey. More than once Barbara and others have said nice things about Cassandra. And even the little things mean a lot. So again, thank you.
Now I bid you good night and ask you to keep hope alive.
