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fallingaster's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
dominicangirl's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
captain_katherine's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
moadore's review against another edition
3.0
As someone who actually has "Batgirl enthusiast" written in her Twitter bio, I'm a bit embarassed to admit that this is my first foray into the chronicles of Cassandra Cain. However, by the time I had finished Silent Knight I had cemented that lingering inkling that I'm more a Barbara Gordon enthusiast than anything else (who features heavily here as Oracle).
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a non-fan of Cassandra but she's a world removed from Babz who is considered ~default~ Batgirl. Raised as an assassin from birth her story is a lot darker, with even her outfit being creepy rather than fun. Her "father's" bizarre training methods means she can't communicate verbally, to the point where she even lacks inner monologue - making her a difficult character for comics writers to work with.
SO - slight spoiler ahead - they fix her. Instead of maybe trying to run with it and hire super-creative writers, they just decide to fix a disabled person with the help of a psychic who happens to stumble upon her (clearly an all night brainstorming session was needed for that story arc). The fact that Oracle, who is arguably one of the comic world's best representations of a disabled character, features premodinmently makes it a harder pill to swallow (obviously, I do know that later down the line DC gets a re-boot and Babs is miraculously cured too!).
All in all, this had potential but it just didn't get the proper development it needed.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a non-fan of Cassandra but she's a world removed from Babz who is considered ~default~ Batgirl. Raised as an assassin from birth her story is a lot darker, with even her outfit being creepy rather than fun. Her "father's" bizarre training methods means she can't communicate verbally, to the point where she even lacks inner monologue - making her a difficult character for comics writers to work with.
SO - slight spoiler ahead - they fix her. Instead of maybe trying to run with it and hire super-creative writers, they just decide to fix a disabled person with the help of a psychic who happens to stumble upon her (clearly an all night brainstorming session was needed for that story arc). The fact that Oracle, who is arguably one of the comic world's best representations of a disabled character, features premodinmently makes it a harder pill to swallow (obviously, I do know that later down the line DC gets a re-boot and Babs is miraculously cured too!).
All in all, this had potential but it just didn't get the proper development it needed.
jobinsonlis's review
4.0
I love Cassandra Cain as Batgirl. I don’t have a lot of fierce DC opinions because it’s not my playground but if you put my back to the wall, I can talk a mean game about how they never should have made Barbara Batgirl again (she was perfect as Oracle) and they never, ever should have screwed over Cassandra so much before deleting her from reality in their stupid drive to reboot everything for a temporary sales bump. This is Cassandra Cain at her best—confused, compassionate, and capable—and I love everything about this comic except for the art, which is fairly lackluster to me. But it’s worth a hundred looks, especially for Cass’s awesome take on the Batgirl costume.
geewhizabbygee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
nathaniel_1206's review against another edition
4.0
This is an interesting iteration of Batgirl. I enjoyed the story well enough. Considering I'm also reading Marvels X-23's trade paperback, it makes me wonder about mute, vengeful, deadly women as heroes as a genre.
rejena's review
5.0
Great introduction to Cassandra Caine. She's one of the best new characters I've read in a while.
tshepiso's review against another edition
4.5
4.5 stars
I've encountered Cassandra Cain stans on almost every place where comics fans congregate and I didn't believe the hype. Until now. This first handful of issues of her Batgirl run does a fantastic job at defining Cassandra as a unique and incredibly compelling protagonist. And I'm absolutely hooked to see more.
I've gone on record to say I love legacy heroes and Cassandra here represents so much about what I love about these stories. Cassandra's relationships with Batman and Oracle are some of my favourites and define her character in great ways. Her desire to prove herself
Cassandra is just also such a unique hero her struggles specifically with language are so well rendered in this regard.the give and take of her desire to communicate and the drawbacks it has on her instinctual fighting style was such a great conflict in the series and defines her motivations in such a unique way. seeing someone who's always found fighting easy have to learn and work for it for the first time in a long time was so fascinating. it makes her rimus and successes all the more satisfying
I also loved Cassandra's relationship with lady shiva. it's a great contrast to her mentorship with batman and oracle because of her moral ambiguity. her choice to sacrifice her life in favour of skill is such a great character-defining moment and this book is just filled with them. her guilt for her past murder is so well rendered. her adaptability and resilience in the face of new problems are fun to watch. there's this moment around issue 6 where she makes the choice to take a bullet because she doesn't want a goon behind her to die. and it's such a great moment.
finally, I'd like to gush about the art for a moment. [insert artist] captures a fantastic bold dynamism that renders the action that's so central to the series fantastically. I will say some of the layouts of the art is a tad too busy and cluttered
I've encountered Cassandra Cain stans on almost every place where comics fans congregate and I didn't believe the hype. Until now. This first handful of issues of her Batgirl run does a fantastic job at defining Cassandra as a unique and incredibly compelling protagonist. And I'm absolutely hooked to see more.
I've gone on record to say I love legacy heroes and Cassandra here represents so much about what I love about these stories. Cassandra's relationships with Batman and Oracle are some of my favourites and define her character in great ways. Her desire to prove herself
Cassandra is just also such a unique hero her struggles specifically with language are so well rendered in this regard.the give and take of her desire to communicate and the drawbacks it has on her instinctual fighting style was such a great conflict in the series and defines her motivations in such a unique way. seeing someone who's always found fighting easy have to learn and work for it for the first time in a long time was so fascinating. it makes her rimus and successes all the more satisfying
I also loved Cassandra's relationship with lady shiva. it's a great contrast to her mentorship with batman and oracle because of her moral ambiguity. her choice to sacrifice her life in favour of skill is such a great character-defining moment and this book is just filled with them. her guilt for her past murder is so well rendered. her adaptability and resilience in the face of new problems are fun to watch. there's this moment around issue 6 where she makes the choice to take a bullet because she doesn't want a goon behind her to die. and it's such a great moment.
finally, I'd like to gush about the art for a moment. [insert artist] captures a fantastic bold dynamism that renders the action that's so central to the series fantastically. I will say some of the layouts of the art is a tad too busy and cluttered