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annamickreads's review against another edition
5.0
ok a little clown of me to think that Cass' Batgirl run didn't have a first volume but it's fine!! We're fine!!!
i have always loved Cass and i have been curious how her abilities were handled (i knew of them but not necessarily like the origin story of how she lost and regained the ability to read body language). anyways i will always enjoy anything she's in!!
i have always loved Cass and i have been curious how her abilities were handled (i knew of them but not necessarily like the origin story of how she lost and regained the ability to read body language). anyways i will always enjoy anything she's in!!
katie69's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
walter_the_wombat's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
simonas's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
#THE batgirl run of all time. Cassandra Cain is by far the strongest character in the family, both quite literally and in terms of character backstory, arc, and potential (sorry Nightwing). The first BG to get her own ongoing book, Cass shines through as a gorgeously complex protagonist. This run features highly unique plots, incredible character relationships between Cass, Bruce (he is finally a girl dad), and Barbara, and one of the most thrilling solo runs DC has published in a loooong time.
One absolutely valid critique and disappointing element of the story was the handling of her speech...it ended up "being fixed" (HUGE side-eye) by magical handwaving which is pretty on par for comics, unfortunately. For some reason they also decided that she wouldn't like/use ASL, which was...interesting. Docking a point for this reason + "comic book from 2000s, sooo not amazing at representation or just Not Being Weird to POC sometimes".
Overall definitely one of my favorite comic runs though!
One absolutely valid critique and disappointing element of the story was the handling of her speech...it ended up "being fixed" (HUGE side-eye) by magical handwaving which is pretty on par for comics, unfortunately. For some reason they also decided that she wouldn't like/use ASL, which was...interesting. Docking a point for this reason + "comic book from 2000s, sooo not amazing at representation or just Not Being Weird to POC sometimes".
Overall definitely one of my favorite comic runs though!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Child abuse
viera's review against another edition
2.0
Cassandra Cain is a great character but I didn’t care for the art, the weird plot holes, or the portrayal of side characters, like an emotionally-compromised, weak and whiny Batman. It was just wacky.
And why did the Jim Gordon plot just drop off before it finished? Wasn’t Catwoman the suspect? Neither one makes an appearance. Instead it takes a left turn into PSA territory where the exposition character tells Batman about the untouchables in India andBatman recites the same info back to her like a poorly scripted infomercial.I didn’t understand at all. No harm done, but this isn’t one of my favorites.
And why did the Jim Gordon plot just drop off before it finished? Wasn’t Catwoman the suspect? Neither one makes an appearance. Instead it takes a left turn into PSA territory where the exposition character tells Batman about the untouchables in India andBatman recites the same info back to her like a poorly scripted infomercial.I didn’t understand at all. No harm done, but this isn’t one of my favorites.
captwinghead's review against another edition
5.0
This is written and drawn in a way that makes it super easy to see how this would look on screen. The action sequences and each panel made this one of the most entertaining and interesting books I've ever read.
And Cassandra! I am adopting her. It'd be easier to name which members of the Batfam I don't want to adopt than which ones I do because they're all special in their own way. In a way, her origin reminded me of Elektra's in Daredevil season 2. I felt sorry for her because what kind of monster trains someone from infancy to be a killer.
The most important aspect of her character to me is that she chose to not kill people. She chose to stop and that makes her a hero. Regardless of what Cain tried to make her into, she chose to save people instead.
Watching Bruce train her was a little painful. Not just when she's losing but when he's blaming her for not being "good enough" or starting to look into her past. I got a huge kick out of him kicking David Cain's ass, though. Well deserved beatdown, that was.
Cassandra and Babs' relationship was great to see. She seems to be the only one desiring to see Cassandra's humanity and treats her like a person, first. I wish we'd gotten more on how she felt about Alfred and David Cain.
The scenes between her and Shiva were probably my favorites. There's such an interesting dynamic there and I hope we get more of that later.
The art was okay. Not my favorite but you get a feel for the motions in each action scene.
For a book where the main character rarely speaks, we still got to know quite a lot about who Cassandra is. I really enjoyed this and I can't wait for the next book.
And Cassandra! I am adopting her. It'd be easier to name which members of the Batfam I don't want to adopt than which ones I do because they're all special in their own way. In a way, her origin reminded me of Elektra's in Daredevil season 2. I felt sorry for her because what kind of monster trains someone from infancy to be a killer.
The most important aspect of her character to me is that she chose to not kill people. She chose to stop and that makes her a hero. Regardless of what Cain tried to make her into, she chose to save people instead.
Watching Bruce train her was a little painful. Not just when she's losing but when he's blaming her for not being "good enough" or starting to look into her past. I got a huge kick out of him kicking David Cain's ass, though. Well deserved beatdown, that was.
Cassandra and Babs' relationship was great to see. She seems to be the only one desiring to see Cassandra's humanity and treats her like a person, first. I wish we'd gotten more on how she felt about Alfred and David Cain.
The scenes between her and Shiva were probably my favorites. There's such an interesting dynamic there and I hope we get more of that later.
The art was okay. Not my favorite but you get a feel for the motions in each action scene.
For a book where the main character rarely speaks, we still got to know quite a lot about who Cassandra is. I really enjoyed this and I can't wait for the next book.
canadiancat's review
4.0
4/5 stars
I love Cass a lot and I’m glad I’m finally getting to her solo run.
I love Cass a lot and I’m glad I’m finally getting to her solo run.
fishgirl182's review against another edition
3.0
Cassandra Cain is not your average teenager. Raised at a young age by the assassin David Cain, Cassie is a unique killer, one who was trained to read boy movement as language. As such, she can predict her opponents' moves as they think them, making her almost unbeatable in a fight. Unfortunately this training stunted her verbal language skills. She can barely speak and only understands what others are saying by reading their body language.
In Silent Running, Cassie has been taken away from Cain and is living with Barbara Gordon (the original Batgirl). This arc focuses and Cassie's struggle to come to terms with her past and her transition as the new Batgirl. I did not know much about Cassie Cain before going into this and I found Silent Running to be a good primer on her origin story. It gives you a good look at Cassie's character and her struggle on how to live life now that she is no longer under her father's thumb. Gordon plays a mother figure and she and Cassie have to figure out how to relate to each other.
Batman plays a big part of the story as well. He's grooming Cassie as the new Batgirl and it is interesting to see how similar the two are. I did think Batman's reaction to a video of what could be a very young Cassie assassinating a bad guy to be a little odd. I might be wrong but I thought that he knew that Cassie had been trained to kill from a young age. While he might be shocked by the video, his outright denial that it could be real seems naive.
Cassie is non-verbal for most of the book, which did not bother me. It was pretty clear what was going on in the story and with her character, even without her verbalization. There was a point in the story where a psychic "helps" Cassie with her problem, which I thought felt out place. It was really quite sudden and seemed too much like a quick fix. I would have rather seen Cassie work through the language barrier instead of getting a magic cure-all. It was interesting to see though what happened to her fighting style once she had linguistic skills.
The artwork in this wasn't really my cup of tea. This was the early 2000s and the popular style was very exaggerated and overdrawn. Everything felt a bit too cartoon-y for me and, was it me, or did everyone have huge chins in this?
While I wasn't in love with the plot in this volume, I did enjoy learning more about Cassie Cain. She is definitely a fascinating character that I want to learn more about. As a relative Batgirl newbie, this volume gave me an intriguing look into the new Batgirl. I definitely want to read more about her and see where her character goes from here.
In Silent Running, Cassie has been taken away from Cain and is living with Barbara Gordon (the original Batgirl). This arc focuses and Cassie's struggle to come to terms with her past and her transition as the new Batgirl. I did not know much about Cassie Cain before going into this and I found Silent Running to be a good primer on her origin story. It gives you a good look at Cassie's character and her struggle on how to live life now that she is no longer under her father's thumb. Gordon plays a mother figure and she and Cassie have to figure out how to relate to each other.
Batman plays a big part of the story as well. He's grooming Cassie as the new Batgirl and it is interesting to see how similar the two are. I did think Batman's reaction to a video of what could be a very young Cassie assassinating a bad guy to be a little odd. I might be wrong but I thought that he knew that Cassie had been trained to kill from a young age. While he might be shocked by the video, his outright denial that it could be real seems naive.
Cassie is non-verbal for most of the book, which did not bother me. It was pretty clear what was going on in the story and with her character, even without her verbalization. There was a point in the story where a psychic "helps" Cassie with her problem, which I thought felt out place. It was really quite sudden and seemed too much like a quick fix. I would have rather seen Cassie work through the language barrier instead of getting a magic cure-all. It was interesting to see though what happened to her fighting style once she had linguistic skills.
The artwork in this wasn't really my cup of tea. This was the early 2000s and the popular style was very exaggerated and overdrawn. Everything felt a bit too cartoon-y for me and, was it me, or did everyone have huge chins in this?
While I wasn't in love with the plot in this volume, I did enjoy learning more about Cassie Cain. She is definitely a fascinating character that I want to learn more about. As a relative Batgirl newbie, this volume gave me an intriguing look into the new Batgirl. I definitely want to read more about her and see where her character goes from here.