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townoffobo · 6 months

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all yall bitching about transfem kon when shes literally been here

#kon el #conner kent #superboy #transgender #transfem #this is a joke but transfem kon is not #superboy vol 4

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waterisntreal · 9 months

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Ok but like the parallels between these two scenes. I’m crying. Why do all the people that Superboy inspires die?

#I mean this combined with the one kid that got murdered because he dressed up as superboy #😭😭😭😭#superboy #kon el #kon el superboy #conner kent #superboy vol. 4 annual no. 2 #superboy vol. 4 no. 100

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comics-n-stuff · 1 year

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I know Serling’s only supposed to be blushing because of the pelt question, but this panel is so gay

#Serling roquette #superboy #Superboy vol 4 66

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incorrectbatfam · 11 months

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Buzzfeed comes out with a "Which Robin are you quiz?" If no one in the batfam gets themselves, who do they get?

Dick: Bruce Wayne Jr. (Earth-3839)

Jason: Bruce Wayne (Detective Comics #226)

Tim: Kon Kent (Superboy vol. 4 #61)

Damian: Tim Drake

Duke: Carrie Kelley

Cullen: Robert Chang (Digital Justice)

Stephanie: Dick Grayson

Cassandra: Damian Wayne

Barbara: We Are Robin

Harper: Drake Winston (Batman '89)

Carrie: Jarro

Kate: Matt McGinnis

Alfred: Thomas Wayne (Elseworlds)

Selina: Helena Wayne

Bruce: Jason Todd

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pokeberry5 · 10 months

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i'm not really sure what the main thrust of this post is, but this yj98 arc has been haunting me literally since I read it months ago, so I've put together a brief(ish) overview of the salient points and the questions it's left me with

aka

that time young justice was sent to a literal intergalactic war front

aka

young justice has even more complex ptsd than you probably thought!!

yj98 #35

the premise is that there's a global war against imperiex, spearheaded by president (blech) luthor. as minors, they can't be drafted into it

(i hunted around and apparently Our Worlds at War, with Imperiex as the big bad, is the broader context, which i didn't feel like reading for this)

instead, they're going to be attached to a "sort of super medical unit" called the "paradocs"

the way they're persuaded to accept their role (instead of?? fighting on the front lines?? jeez kon) is to conceive of themselves as saving active-combat superheroes for their children they're leaving at home (creating an implicit distinction between those children and themselves, which i find sad)

yj is specifically a "search and rescue team"

with a civilian cissie king-jones as their qualified emergency medical technician (so her public persona is an olympic champion, actress, and volunteer veteran of an intergalactic war???)

is cissie the only one performing medical services then? do any of the others pick anything up from her, if these missions last long enough? (do tim and cissie bond as the only non-powered people they know going into a space war?)

yj98 #36

they've run "a couple" successful missions behind enemy lines: what does this mean for the duration of this role?

(i'm not sure if reading Our Worlds at War would help determine how long this all lasted, but if someone who has read it has answers, i'd love to know)

also, were they in space the whole time or going back in between? (i also really really want to know what batman thinks of his protégé being part of a space war. related, did cassie tell her mom??)

---

Superboy Vol 4 #91: War Letters gives some context to this

(kon putting on a brave face!!)

but also:

even as paramedics they were participating in active combat, fighting off scavengers

the lack of specifics, the mention of the fact that he's met "a lot of interesting cats in the field," and of "things" he's seen—there's a sense that he's seen a lot but not enough yet for it to no longer be shocking. or, that what they're seeing is so savage that it never ceases to be shocking.

this also implies that they've met and rescued a slew of people from across the universe. does yj have intergalactic connections? do random alien soldiers remember this small group of earth children that saved them?

this panel also shows kon (and likely the rest of them) amidst recovering jl members. what does the broader jl think of this group of kids in an acknowledged war zone, seeing them beaten down like this? (it's unclear whether kon actually went and rescued kyle rayner here or is just helping him around the medical area, but there must be some sort of lasting impression from this)

they get diverged from their rescue mission and end up on apokolips

bart experiences death when one of his "scouts" is killed—this has a lasting impression on him (addressed later) and kon blames himself, since it was his decision to chase after steel that landed them here. do the two of them ever talk about this? (they don't in yj at least)

---

yj98 #36 contd.

kon's accusation shows that this arc happened right after the drama between batman and the jla during tower of babel (the secret contingency plan drama)

and after batman's betrayal of tim's identity to spoiler (rip tim being betrayed on multiple fronts)

(tim putting on a strong front :'))

i find it interesting that tim considers his state "a world of grays" in contrast to kon's "black and white" attitude. balancing a multitude of considerations is a "world of grays?" anyway, tim staring death in the face and admitting he's scared :')

and then tim gets to watch lil lobo die (he does technically come back but!) and says explicitly that another part of innocence he didn't know he had died with lobo. this can't be his first time witnessing a death given gotham's everything, so is it because this is the first time he's watched a comrade die (and so brutally too)?

yj98 #37

and then! we get extended(?) mental torture on apokolips, enough to drive to tim to attempted homicide (both in the dream world and out of it)

(he was made to watch kon and cassie get murdered brutally in front of him jsyk)

and once he's out:

(does this ever haunt tim? that he almost broke batman's one rule? also parallels with dick beating the joker to death later on tim's behalf)

yj98 #38

the fallout:

we see that after experiencing his scout's death on apokolips, bart's been left with a fear of death strong enough to get him to leave yj (i don't actually know how this gets resolved?? it must happen in his solo bc he just sort of reappears a few mini arcs later...)

("i quit for a bunch of reasons ... but not a single one of them had to do with being afraid i'd get killed," cissie you're sooooo well-adjusted. she doesn't think bart's valid rip)

this is the moment where tim quits yj because he can't deal with their lack of trust (oof) and because“i don’t need the grief of young justice,” referring to everything else going on in tim's life (batman betraying his identity to spoiler)

(he'll lose them later on anyway—does it haunt him that he came back?)

(it's sweet that kon has someone he feels he can talk to and ask advice from)

i'm not sure if tim ever gets that apology

tldr: i kind of want one or more of yj to end up as a paramedic

#also i lied it's not brief #dc #yj #yj98 #tim drake #conner kent #cissie king jones #cassie sandsmark #anita fite #greta hayes #lil lobo #red talks #also this is def biased in its focus on tim but hes my favorite what can you do

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cazzam · 1 year

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THE NEW AND IMPROVED CASSANDRA CAIN READING GUIDE

Cassandra Cain is the daughter of assassins David Cain and Sandra Wu-San (better known as Lady Shiva), and was raised by Cain. She is an expert hand-to-hand combatant, and able to read body language to the point of interpreting complex thoughts, but learning to communicate better through speech and text. She has operated as a vigilante under the names of Batgirl, Kasumi, Black Bat, and Orphan, and is currently sharing the title of Batgirl with Stephanie Brown and Barbara Gordon.

Basic Reading

Batgirl (2000)

Batman: Gates of Gotham (2011)

Detective Comics (2016) #934-987

Batman and the Outsiders (2019)

Batgirls (2021)

Spirit World (2023)

Birds of Prey (2023)

Cassandra's major appearances are listed in chronological order (mostly) under the cut. My favorites are bolded.

No Man's Land

All issues collected in Batman: No Man's Land (2011) vol. 2-4. I recommend reading the entire event.

Batman (1940) #567 [first appearance]

Detective Comics (1937) #734

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #120 [Cassandra takes up Batgirl mantle]

Azrael: Agent of the Bat #56-57

Batman (1940) #569

The Batman Chronicles #18

Azrael: Agent of the Bat #60-61

Robin (1993) #73

As Batgirl

Issues that are part of events may be confusing out of context.

Batman: Gotham Knights #2, 5

Batman: Gotham City Secret Files and Origins [first story]

Batgirl (2000) #1-2

Young Justice (1998) #21

Batgirl (2000) #3-11, 12 [Officer Down start]

Birds of Prey (1999) #27

Catwoman (1993) #90 [Officer Down end]

Batgirl (2000) Annual #1, #13-19

Harley Quinn (2000) #10

Robin (1993) #88 [first meeting with Stephanie Brown]

Batgirl (2000) #20, 21 [Joker: Last Laugh start]

Joker: Last Laugh #3

Supergirl (1996) #63 [transphobia cw, Joker: Last Laugh end]

DC First: Batgirl/Joker

Batgirl (2000) #22-23, 24 [Bruce Wayne: Murderer? / Fugitive start]

Robin (1993) #98

Batgirl (2000) #25-29

Batman (1940) #605 [Bruce Wayne: Murderer? / Fugitive end]

Batgirl: Secret Files and Origins

Batgirl (2000) #30-32

Batman: Gotham Knights #33, 35

Batgirl (2000) #33-38

Batman: Family #7

Detective Comics (1937) #782 [backup], 790

Nightwing (1996) #81

Superboy (1994) #85 [first meeting with Kon-El/Conner Kent]

Batgirl (2000) #39-44

Batman: Gotham Knights #42, 45-46, 48-49

Robin (1993) #119

Batgirl (2000) #45-47

Superman/Batman #5

Batgirl (2000) #48-50

Birds of Prey (1999) #61, 63

Batgirl (2000) #51-53

Solo #10 [third story]

Detective Comics (1937) #796 [backup]

Robin (1993) #127-128

Batgirl (2000) #54

War Games

All issues collected in Batman: War Games (2015). I don't recommend reading the entire event.

Detective Comics (1937) #797

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #182

Nightwing (1996) #96

Batgirl (2000) #55

Batman (1940) #631

Batgirl (2000) #56

Nightwing (1996) #98

Batgirl (2000) #57

Batgirl in Bludhaven

Robin (1993) #132 [Fresh Blood start]

Batgirl (2000) #58

Robin (1993) #133

Batgirl (2000) #59 [Fresh Blood end]

Batman Allies: Secret Files and Origins 2005 [third story]

Batgirl (2000) #60-73

With the League of Assassins and Deathstroke

I don't recommend reading anything in this section except Batgirl (2008) #6.

Robin (1993) #148-151, 161-162

Supergirl (2005) #14

World War III #2

Teen Titans (2003) #43-46

Batman and the Outsiders (2007)

Batgirl (2008) [recap of this era. Bruce adopts Cassandra]

As Black Bat

Battle for the Cowl: The Network

Batgirl (2009) #1 [Cassandra gives Batgirl mantle to Stephanie]

Red Robin #17

Batman Incorporated (2011) #6

Red Robin #25

Batman: Gates of Gotham

As Orphan

The New 52 reboot changed Cassandra’s origins, personality, and relationships with other characters. Rebirth was a soft reboot that kept New 52 canon but brought back elements from the previous continuity.

Batman and Robin Eternal #1-9, 11-14, 17-26 [New 52]

Detective Comics (2016) #934-940 [Rebirth]

Batman (2016) #7 [Night of the Monster Men start]

Nightwing (2016) #5

Detective Comics (2016) #941

Batman (2016) #8

Nightwing (2016) #6

Detective Comics (2016) #942 [Night of the Monster Men end], 943-962

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2016) #15

Detective Comics (2016) #963-964

Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #15-17

Detective Comics (2016) #965-981, 983-987

Batman and the Outsiders (2019)

DC: The Doomed and the Damned [seventh story]

Batman: The Joker War Zone [second story]

Batman (2016) #104

Return of Batgirl

The Infinite Frontier reboot considers all past continuities canon.

Infinite Frontier #0

Batman Secret Files: The Signal

Batman: Urban Legends #3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 14

The Joker (2021) #3-4, 7, 11-12, 15

Detective Comics (2016) #1038 [backup], 1049, 1052, 1057

Batman (2016) #112 [main], 115-116 [backups]

Nightwing (2016) #85-86

Batman (2016) #117 [backup]

Batgirls #1-6

Task Force Z #8

DC Pride: Tim Drake Special

Robin (2021) #15

Detective Comics (2016) #1061

Batgirls #7

Catwoman (2018) #45

Batgirls #8-12

Batman One Bad Day: Two-Face

Tim Drake: Robin #4

Batgirls Annual 2022, #13-19

Lazarus Planet: Dark Fate [fourth story]

Spirit World (2023)

Birds of Prey (2023) #1- [ongoing]

Other Appearances

Ghost/Batgirl [Dark Horse Comics crossover]

Batman: Outlaws #2

Batman: City of Light [not recommended]

Justice League Elite [as Kasumi]

Wonder Woman (2006) #600 [second story]

Batgirl (2016) #50 [third story]

DC Festival of Heroes [first story]

Truth & Justice #6 [#16-18 digital first]

Alternate Universes

Tiny Titans #33, 39, 43, 45

Batgirl: Futures End

Convergence: Batgirl

Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey (2020)

DCeased: Unkillables / Dead Planet #5 / War of the Undead Gods

Shadow of the Batgirl [YA graphic novel]

Dark Knights: Death Metal Robin King [backup]

Future State: The Next Batman #2, 4 [second stories]

Batman: Wayne Family Adventures [webtoon]

DC vs. Vampires

Dark Knights of Steel #9

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Last updated: May 16, 2023

#dcedit #comicedit #cassandra cain #batgirl #batgirls #wayne family adventures #batgirl 2000 #black bat #orphan #reading guide #reading list #reading order #batman

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ectonurites · 11 months

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Are Tim and Cass Cain actually close in canon? Or is that more of a fanon thing that gained canon status?

Alright, so the tldr answer is that yes pre-reboot they were close—but it wasn't something that happened immediately/right off the bat, it took time, and they didn't always perfectly see eye-to-eye. But like, it's not just some totally fanon thing, they were absolutely close.

I'm using past-tense in the above though because it's like... all the actual content with them becoming/being close is pre-reboot. Anything post-reboot with them either had them back at square one (during N52 stuff) or like, just sort of handwavey 'oh they're close again' without much actual elaboration/explanation. Theoretically nowadays everything's canon again so all the old stuff applies, but as far as I'm aware nothing has really dug all that deep back into the two of them/their dynamic.

Now, to give a brief crash course on Tim & Cass's relationship in canon...

Early on they weren’t all that close because Tim was absolutely intimidated by her & her background and like, in general seemed to just find her kinda off-putting:

(Robin (1993) #73)

However Tim eventually gets over himself & after working side-by-side with her a little bit realizes he shouldn't let being intimidated by her stop them from being friends and working together:

(Batgirl (2000) #18)

After this point they work together on several occasions, definitely communicating much better than in their initial appearances together and clearly getting along well. They're a fun lil duo:

(Superman/Batman Vol. 1 #5, Superboy Vol. 4 #85)

Then… after a while, War Games happens. Gotham goes to shit, Steph dies (well, we nowadays know she didn't really, but they sure were both grieving) and so they both independently move to Blüdhaven, which leads us to the Robin/Batgirl: Fresh Blood crossover. Which has some fun little moments with them:

(Batgirl (2000) #58)

As well as some on the more tense side, as they both navigate mourning Steph and the clashes in their ideologies/approaches to hero work—the fact that Cass wants to be & be like Batman, and the fact that Tim absolutely does not:

(Batgirl (2000) #59)

After the crossover they mostly do their own thing staying out of each other's ways in Blüdhaven—though they do get another little story together in this timeframe in Batman Allies: Secret Files & Origins that sort of rehashes the above conflict during some training together & a team-up.

And we DO also get the cute (and oft-mentioned by the fandom) moment where Tim mentions she frequently breaks into his house to shower & steal rice krispies (just for clarity sake, while fandom almost exclusively calls her 'Cass' largely to avoid confusion with Cassandra 'Cassie' Sandsmark, within the comics themselves both Cassandras get called 'Cass' and 'Cassie' at various points—considering Cass is the one who lives in the same city as Tim at this point in canon, that's definitely who he's talking about here)

(Robin (1993) #138)

So like, at this point they are absolutely comfortable with one another and pretty close, but just, they don't see eye-to-eye on everything so it's not some flawless friendship (and I say friendship specifically because at this point we're still a few years out from them actually becoming siblings). But it's absolutely an interesting dynamic!

Then… after Infinite Crisis we get to the One Year Later/OYL era which is... bad for Cass. Terrible horrible character assassination we all refer to as the 'Evil Cass arc' which began in Tim's book. I don't wanna pull panels from it because it's just... it's bad!!!!!!!!!!!! There's a reason it got retconned into Cass having been brainwashed—because it was bad.

I guess the only thing worth bringing up here in relation to Tim & Cass's relationship though (because as mentioned, Cass gets retconned into it having been brainwashing so anything from her in this era is irrelevant/moot) is the fact that Tim was obviously very upset about the whole situation because Cass is someone he cares about and he even says he considers family.

To fast forward through that mess, when we get to the end of it and the 'oh it was brainwashing haha!' retcon, Tim was the one to have on hand a counter-serum that could free her from Deathstroke's control:

(Teen Titans Vol. 3 #44)

Once Cass is no longer forced to be evil and ooc, she gets a little mini at the end of which Bruce formally offers to adopt her (and Tim, who had earlier been adopted by Bruce, is present for this—so from this point on they go from a more general 'we're like family' to actually 'we are adopted siblings').

Buuuut then Final Crisis & Battle for the Cowl both occur and Cass gets extremely pushed aside by DC, giving up the Batgirl mantle to Steph and heading off to Hong Kong.

At which point we find out that Tim & Cass have actually kept in contact (just... off-panel) during this time when she's been out of Gotham and he's been off doing all sorts of stuff:

(Red Robin #17)

When they see each other in person again, Tim urges her to be a Bat again. Maybe not Batgirl if that's not what she wants, but to wear the symbol and be part of the family. (Which she does take him up on, keeping the suit he brought her and becoming Black Bat).

She pops up again at the end of Red Robin to save Tim & also help him pull off a fake assassination attempt on himself—ya know standard stuff.

And then right before the reboot we get to see them working alongside Damian and Dick in Gates of Gotham, and see one final time that yeah—these two have kept in touch after everything, and are definitely far more on one another's wavelength nowadays than they were back in the 'fresh out of War Games' era:

(Batman: Gates of Gotham #2, #5)

So like, does fanon over exaggerate them and their relationship? Aaaaabsolutely—that’s what fanon does. But they did definitely become close after everything they went through and had a fun dynamic together!

Sadly though, as I mentioned at the start of the post, the n52 wiped everything back to a clean slate. And while nowadays post-Infinite Frontier everyone’s histories have been restored their dynamic has never really been the same again.

#sam explains

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joeysmuttonchops · 3 months

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#comics #dc comics

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bitimdrake · 2 years

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Young Justice reading order 👀

Yeah! This one's pretty simple. If you just read straight down the bolded comics, you're good.

Optionally, you can start with the first meetings between the future members. I've only read some of these, but it's:

Robin Plus Impulse #1

WF3: World's Finest Three (Superboy/Robin) #1-2

Superboy and the Ravers #7 - Kon and Bart

Impulse #28, #41 - Bart and Cissie

And then we get into the actual Young Justice content:

Young Justice: The Secret #1 (1998)

JLA: World Without Grown-Ups #1-2 (1998)

Young Justice vol 1 (1999) #1-2

optional DC One Million tie-in: Young Justice #1,000,000

Young Justice #3-4

Secret Origins 80-Page Giant #1 (1998)

Young Justice: Secret Files and Origins #1 (1999)

Young Justice #5-7

Young Justice 80-Page Giant (1999)

Young Justice #8-10

Young Justice Special #1 - tie-in to No Man's Land

Young Justice #11

Heck's Angels crossover: Young Justice #12 / Supergirl vol 4 #36 / Young Justice #13 / Supergirl #37

Young Justice #14 - tie-in to Day of Judgement

Young Justice #15-19

Young Justice had its own event, Sins of Youth, with a bunch of oneshots for various characters. Honestly just pick the ones for characters you're invested in:

Young Justice: Sins of Youth #1

Superboy vol 4 #74

Young Justice: Sins of Youth Secret Files and Origins

Sins of Youth: JLA, Jr. #1

Sins of Youth: Aquaboy and Lagoon Man #1

Sins of Youth: Batboy and Robin #1

Sins of Youth: Kid Flash and Impulse #1

Sins of Youth: Starwoman and the JSA, Jr. #1

Sins of Youth: Superman, Jr. and Superboy, Sr. #1

Sins of Youth: Wonder Girls #1

Sins of Youth: Secret and Deadboy #1

Young Justice: Sins of Youth #2

And then we finish up the series (with a couple extra notes to keep you up to date on the solos):

Young Justice #20-34

Our Worlds at War tie-ins: Young Justice: Our Worlds at War #1 / optional Superboy #89-90 / Young Justice #35-36 / Impulse #77 / optional Superboy #91 / Young Justice #37

Young Justice #38 - tie-in to Joker: Last Laugh

Young Justice #39-44

World Without Young Justice: Impulse #85 / Robin #101 / Superboy #99 / Young Justice #45

optional Impulse #86

Young Justice #46-55

The team ended with Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day #1-3. At that point, half the members faded into the background and the other half moves over to Teen Titans vol 3, found over in my Titans reading order.

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dailycass-cain · 1 year

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Cassandra Cain Reading Guide Part 1: General

So you want a reading list for Cassandra Cain? I'm gonna split this into various sections. So, if the urge increases of "I WANT TO READ MORE!" Then there are other tiers to help feed that great need.

And it all begins with this one.

Part II reading guide (Modern) you can find here.

Part III reading guide (Random) you can find here.

Part IV reading guide (Alternate versions) you can find here.

Part V reading guide (PAIN) you can find here.

The starting point is No Man's Land particularly these issues.

Batman #567 + Detective Comics #734 - Mark of Cain aka Cass's first appearance and her intro arc (Puckett/Scott/Peterson).

Legends of the Dark Knight #120 - First as Batgirl.

Batman #569 - first solo story

Azrael #56-57, #60-61

Gotham Knights #2

Batman Chronicles #18

Robin #73

There are more appearances of Cass in No Man's Land than these and the one above, but these are highlighted by her interactions with Jean-Paul Valley, Bruce, Tim, and Leslie Thompkins.

Batgirl Vol. 1 #1-11, #13-25

The first half of the Kelly Puckett/Damion Scott run. If you're wondering why #12 isn't mentioned, it's a crossover issue for Officer Down (basically Jim Gordon is shot, and the aftermath is him stepping down as Commish). It's totally up to you completist wise if you want to go into that story.

For key portions, #7 is Shiva/Cass meeting for the first time, #11 is a spotlight on David Cain, #18 & #20 are her first actual team-ups with Tim & Stephanie, Not her first meetings (she first met Tim in #120, and Stephanie in Robin #88).

During #24 we have another crossover, this event being Bruce Wayne: Murderer? This leads into the next crossover which hits in #27 & #29 Bruce Wayne: Fugitive. Bruce is the main suspect of a murder leading the Bat Family to investigate it. It is optional BUT--

The primary antagonist of the crossover has a critical role in Cassandra's life. So if you want-- Batman #605 (reveal of the antagonist of Bruce Wayne: Murderer?/Fugitive) Batman #606-607 (aftermath to the reveal) Cassandra only appears in #605 and has a two-panel cameo in #607.

Batgirl Vol. 1 #26-37

The second half of the Puckett/Scott run. Again, #27 & 29 are x-overs. #30-32 is an arc drawn by Scott but written by Chuck Dixon. #33-37 is the closeout of the run.

For issues going on while this run, there were four specials published that featured Cass.

DC First- Batgirl/Joker #1 (Cassandra fights the Joker.)

Batgirl Annual #1 (one linear story of Cass/Bruce on an adventure)

Batgirl: Secret Files & Origins #1.

Batgirl/Ghost: The Resurrection Machine #1-4.

It's up to you if you want to read the last one. It's Cass's only crossover comic, But yeah.. I’m not particularly fond of the story.

#38 features Stephanie exiting the supporting cast and features the first Batgirl issue by Andersen Gabrych.

Superboy #85 is where you need to read next. It has Cass teaming up with Conner Kent/Superboy. This issue helps leading into----

Batgirl Vol. 1 #39-57

Dylan Horrocks’ run.. #39-42 deals with Superboy and a villain called Black Wind (#39-40). Black Wind shows up again in #43-44 with Cass also tangling with an OLD Batman villain Dr. Death.

#45 is when Rich Leonardi arrives as artist for the comic. This is also the same issue Cass dons Babs' Batgirl costume. #46-49 continues the build-up of tension Cass has with Bruce (starting in #39) which leads to #50 Cass vs. Bruce! Horrocks/Leonardi's crown jewel of their run.

#51-52 Cass takes on Poison Ivy. #53 Stephanie returns to the comic as Robin. #54 sadly is when Barbara exits the title as a supporting character. #55-57 is War Games x-over resulting in Stephanie being killed off, and Barbara leaving Gotham, gutting Cassandra's supporting cast.

During this near the middle of this run, another maxi-series is published by DC that features Cass:

Justice League Elite #1-12

- Kasumi (Cass in disguise and spying for Batman). If you're looking for Cass tangling with threats beyond her usual street fare than by all means.

Nightwing #81

- features Cassandra's first encounter with Deathstroke the Terminator. A gorgeous choreographed fight by Devin Grayson and art by Rich Leonardi.

Detective Comics #790 - a War Games prelude with Cass helping Bruce on a mission while both reflecting on Stephanie Brown who is at a crossroads.

Robin #132

Batgirl #58

Robin #133

Batgirl #59

- the Fresh Blood story which features Cass teaming up with Tim both reeling from the fallout of War Games crossover event and their new status quos.

- #58 is the start of Andersen Gabrych's run on the comic.

- An epilogue to this story occurs in Batman Allies: Secrets & Origins #1 in a tale (written by Gabrych).

Batgirl Vol. 1 #58-73

#60-62 is Cassandra's new status quo. Ale Garza/Pop Mhan provide art for most of Gabrych's run (save one issue). These three issues have Cass tangle with the Brotherhood of Evil and a "ghostly" Stephanie continues to shows up too!

#63-64 is Cass having a rematch with Deathstroke who brings Ravager along for the ride. This is basically Gabrych tying up a subplot introduced in Teen Titans comics happening at the same time period (i.e. Rose posing as Cass), but you don't really need to read that to understand the why. So I’m not going to give the issue # to that.

#65-73 is the Destructions' Daughter arc. Everyone who has history with Cass shows up in this arc. Bruce, David Cain, Babs, Black Canary, a few villains of her past (Shrike and Alpha), and of course Lady Shiva in #68.

It's here Gabrych has to juggle a lot of tie-ins. Infinite Crisis was looming on the horizon and Cassandra was dealing with parts since the beginning of her run. #66, and #69-70 are considered the "lowest" points of the run and the Vol. 1 series.

#71-73 is when the action ramps up again with Gabrych having to speed his way to the ongoing's conclusion in #73.

I know I left out appearances (Supergirl, Batman/Superman, Harley Quinn, Young Justice, Birds of Prey, Robin, and Gotham Knights). Also a mini (Batman: City of Lights). But they're just sprinkles. Added goodies to the toppings that is this entire run. Okay, save the last one and maybe Batman/Superman... You will see them on other lists I have for Cass (mostly part 3 and 5).

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration #1

- contains TWO stories centered on Cassandra. Along with this neat variant cover by Artgerm. "Sounds" literally feels like a story during or just after the Puckett/Scott run (#37) written by Mariko Tamaki and drawn by Marcus To.

"What's in the Box?" is the other story that features Cassandra written/drawn by Dustin Nguyen. Though shorter than the prior one it is still a gorgeously drawn story. Not mentioned, but alluded based on the art/timeline Cass is in her Black Bat attire. So you can place this story after Gates of Gotham in the old canon.

Batman: Urban Legends #7 (Hunter or Hunted...)

- The story/art by Guillaume Singelin provides a truly UNIQUE tale starring Cass. The action is top-notch, we're given probably the best fight sequence from start to finish involving the character in a LONG TIME. The story is a literal feast for the eyes.

Batman: Wayne Family Adventures Episodes 32-33 "All Seeing"

- The second major arc that focuses on Cass showcases the many qualities of the character on why there are so many passionate fans of hers. A good starter or introduction for new readers on the character.

All season 1 episodes of WFA are free and available here:

Episodes 90-91 "What I Want"

- The third major story arc focuses on Cass's comic origin while also giving us a team-up gone awry between her and Damian Wayne. Gives new readers a further understanding of Cass building upon Episodes 32-33.

Shadow of the Batgirl

- a Young Adults graphic novel written by Sarah Kuhn and drawn by Nicole Goux. Kuhn gives Cassandra a modern origin taking elements from Puckett and James Tynion IV/Scott Snyder’s Batman & Robin Eternal origin to give us something newly unique on it’s own.

A highly recommended story!

Batgirls #14

- The best issue of the Batgirls ongoing series. Artist Jonathan Case pulls off a masterclass of art, inking, and coloring in this special “silent” issue. There’s no need to read any prior issues. You can go in without reading the prior two arcs (Batgirls #9-12, 2022 Annual, and #13), but it adds to the payoff of this issue.

Yes, writers Michael Conrad and Becky Cloonan cheat in the format, but the way they sneak the dialogue in is absolutely perfect. After years of being denied the special format, Cass gets it and showcases WHY the character just works so well.

#reading guide #cassandra cain #dc comics

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dccomicsbracket · 10 days

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Motivations:

Bart Allen (Impulse), Kon-El (Superboy), Greta Hayes (Secret), & Cassandra Cain (Batgirl)

Three kids who missed out on a childhood. Three lab escapees. Evil family member havers. They all have different relationships to killing also. Cass at one end and Greta at the other. Plenty of reasons to be close and reasons to be in conflict as well. Exploring the nature of predetermined paths based on your circumstances. Thawne, Luthor, Cain and being sacrificed.

Justice League International

Get the team back together! Let them have goofy, heartfelt fun. BeaTora and Boostle can be canon and Max can have his original personality back.

Barbara Gordon (Oracle)

Bring her back as Oracle full time!!!

#dc comics #poll #next of dc poll #impulse #superboy #dc secret #batgirl #bart allen #kon-el #greta hayes #cassandra cain #justice league international #beatriz da costa #tora olafsdotter #booster gold #blue beetle #barbara gordon #oracle

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townoffobo · 6 months

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well. you heard it here first folks

#kon el #superboy #superboy vol 4 #hes pregnable!

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waterisntreal · 10 months

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#yes this is about match #I just got done reading issue 36 of sb 94 and I loved that Kon was like fuck that he’s family when AGENDA insisted Match was evil #superboy #kon el #kon-el #match dc #superboy vol. 4 #sb vol. 4 #sb 94 #dc universe #dc comics

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superboy-a-day · 1 year

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Superboy Vol 4 #0

Image ID: A comic panel of Superboy and two boys from the Newsboys Legion on a starry mountain backdrop. Superboy is tugging a leather jacket into place over his arms, a frustrated look on his face. The two newsboys are staring at him in concern. The first boy has a dialog bubble above his head, and it reads: “Well, not like you need it, but good luck, Superbo--” A following set of bubbles interupts him from Superboy, and they read: “HEY! Don’t ever call me Superboy!” END ID

#kon el #superboy #conner kent #sb v4 0 #tom grummett #doug hazlewood #dennis janke #tom mccraw

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zahri-melitor · 8 months

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I then proceeded to look up Rick Flag on Wikipedia for further character history and uhhhhhh

After his death, Flag appeared in an issue of Captain Atom, where his soul was saved from an eternity in Purgatory and reunited with Karin in Paradise. His Purgatory self also appears in the Day of Judgement, limited series. Along with other Purgatory bound souls, he battles heavenly agents on the behalf of a still living superhero team. As stated in issue five of the series, his rebellious actions earned him another after-life chance.

All pretty normal so far, this is pretty standard shenanigans for a dead character during the 90s.

One Year Later in Checkmate (vol. 2) #6, Rick Flag is revealed to be alive and is rescued from a secret Quraci prison by the Bronze Tiger. He had been imprisoned there for four years until Amanda Waller discovered him and alerted the Tiger to his whereabouts. Rick was later revealed to be leading a clandestine Suicide Squad unit at the behest of Amanda Waller, and against the expressed mandate of the Checkmate organization.

…well timeline wise at least 4 years is consistent with other readings on the passage of time in DC. This is gonna be some Superboy Prime nonsense isn’t it? Also typical Waller move.

Bob Greenberger, who co-created the Suicide Squad alongside John Ostrander, has publicly objected to the resurrection of Rick Flag. According to Greg Rucka, Rick Flag's subsequent re-appearance had nothing to do with Infinite Crisis, and John Ostrander has stated that he knew how Rick Flag could survive the explosion at Jotunheim when he first wrote it.

NOT SUPERBOY PRIME????

Rucka. Rucka I love you but how did you and Ostrander figure out how to get Rick Flag out of standing immediately next to an atomic bomb as it went off?

As seen in Suicide Squad: Raise the Flag #2, Rustam used his Scimitar to teleport both Rick Flag and himself to Skartaris.

OH COME ONNNNNN

Though admittedly I can’t not laugh at the idea of escaping an old USSR bomb by travelling to Skartaris. Mariah Romanova would approve.

In Raise the Flag #5, General Wade Eiling admits that Rick Flag Jr. is not actually the son of Rick Flag Sr., but is a soldier named Anthony Miller who was brainwashed by Eiling into believing he was Flag's son.

*pinches nose* was this necessary?

Miller's conditioning means that Eiling still has control of him, and uses him as part of his takeover of the Suicide Squad. Forced to activate an explosive implant in Amanda Waller's brain, Miller breaks free from his mind control enough to activate Eiling's implant instead, leaving him helpless enough to be captured. Confronted with the possibility to give up his presumed identity and return home, Miller decides that the Suicide Squad needs a Rick Flag, and refuses the offer.

… comics, man. This is the most OH MY GOD COMICS thing I’ve read this week.

Why does this plot exist. Who thought teleporting out from a nuclear explosion into Skartaris was a good idea. How did Rick Flag end up BACK in that Quraci prison? Did he and Rustam share a classic Skartaris sword fight that ended up in Rustam’s favour?

According to Raza he [Rustam] was a US covert operative in Qurac who was apparently betrayed by the United States, a situation which led to the deaths of his entire family.

FFS!

All of these wild shenanigans are going on in comics written in 2007, might I add. You don’t even have the excuse over the start of the Iraq war - that was 2003, four years prior!!!

#z canon read throughs #what on earth #Rucka. Ostrander. What were you DOING HERE

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orange-s-mario · 6 months

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Supermen:

this is going to be a long one

1. Kal-L/Clark Kent/Superman

this guy is the actual golden age superman. This universe was basically were they put him since Earth-Two and Golden Age Superman stories; had some inconsistencies. 2. Kal-El/Sonn/Clark Kent. First he was Superboy, then he was Superman

I love this guy. He's great. He feels alienated all the time and is also almost always going through it. He is NOT well at all. He also has a large dating life - mostly with women with L. L. initials; most notably Lois, Lana, and Lori. He also remembers Krypton due to supermemory. He is friends with the Legion of Superheroes (Original)

NON-CLARK DETOUR #1 3. Ar-Val, the tyrant Superman

Kal handpicked a Kandorian successor after some tests, due to Clark losing his powers. It didn't quite go well and ended in tragedy for Ar-Val 4. Not a Superman but a "Skyman," Klar-Don, a predecessor to Superman

He's basically just Superman on Krypton; Although it seems like he just has Flight due to his Flight Belt (the other Superman past lives only had one power; Erok the magnificent had a potion that made him have super-strength, and Skuldor had V-goggles which let him use X-ray vision). He works for the Daily World, he has a friend named Jol-Lar, there's a Lois, and a Perry. I like to think he's the ancestor of Vol-Don (a member of the Kryptonian lookalike Squad

-End detour

5. Kal-L/Superman

This is Earth-Two Kal-L. He's basically golden age Superman with a few differences to make him standout from Earth-One Superman. He also married Lois, and met Lana again after he married Lois. There's also only 4 other survivors of Krypton. He's also great. also I want to give a shoutout to his "Mr. and Mrs. Superman" S logo.

I just think it's neat

6. Clark Joseph Kent/Kal-El

...he was literally born on this planet. At least at first. THIS GUY has THREE ORIGINS. First Man of Steel, then Birthright, then Secret Origins. Secret Origins adds Superboy back to his mythos. He has met all versions of the Legion, but was specifically part of "Original" Legion (Retroboot)

NON-CLARK DETOUR #2

7. Steel 1 (the only Reign of Supermen character to NOT claim he was Superman)

He's cool. Also when Christopher Priest was writing him, he was basing him off Dwayne Mcduffie, I just wanted to let you know that. He's had multiple origins as well, but I think the gist is that the new 52 beginning stuff happens first and then Death of Superman.

8. Eradicator... 2(?)

HE WAS AN EGG. his lore gets pretty complicated, especially due to all the weird absorbing other people's consciousness parts; He was actually made by a different alien, but Kem-L made him a xenophobe. Or something like that. I think all Post-Crisis Eradicator appearances are the same guy? Apparently not; New Krypton Eradicator is a different one, but he DOES have the og's memories. So it's a David Conner situation. He can sense things from not the main universe being in the main universe. He changed and grew as a person because of Guy Gardner 8.5 Eradicator...3 ?

(apparently not the same guy; this guy must have even more identity issues then post-david connor eradicator)

9. Superboy (Kon-El, later Conner Kent)*

He also has two origins. His original origin links him to many Jack Kirby concepts and makes him one - a DNAlien, a metahuman made by genetically modifying human DNA. He was the clone of Paul Westfield (westfield is evil btw). Johns retcons this into a half-Luthor half-Superman clone (superman is good btw), who always is worried about turning EVIL due to EVILLL GENES. Anyways Young Justice (2019) revealed he was on gemworld during flashpoint so he survived. He's also met the legion (reboot) *He has referred to himself as Superman

10. Cyborg Superman (Hank Henshaw)

he has Reed Richard's origins, except his crew doesn't really survive. He became a mass of energy and basically can't die. Much more of a GL villain, but has become a Superman villain again recently

-End detour

11. Kal-El/Clark Joseph Kent

This Superman starts out as a Champion of the Oppressed like his golden age counterpart, then quickly gets into bigger and bigger ideas like a 5th dimensional being trying to sell out Superman. He also met a version of the legion that doesn't exist anymore due to saving him. He died and also maybe he got better (see Sideways) and also he fused with the post-crisis guy, leading to:

12. Superman Reborn (Kal-El/Clark Joseph Kent)

yeah sure this makes sense. (it does not, Superman has a bunch of contradictions with just post-crisis and post-flashpoint) 12.5 Infinite Frontier Superman (Kal-El/Clark Joseph Kent... maybe also Sonn?)

everything is canon now. How does that work with the various versions of Superman? It doesn't. This is where we are now. There really hasn't been much changes to Superman lore though. The biggest thing was probably Lex being a superhero in early metropolis. The one thing I'm pretty sure of is that this Clark has met all the legions

NON-CLARK DETOUR #3 13. Alexander "Lex" Luthor

After Prime Earth Superman died, many people took to the skies to carry on his legacy. One of such people is Lex Luthor

14. Kong Kenan, the New Super-Man

Kenan is imbued with the chi of Prime Earth Superman and gains superpowers, He develops and changes and grows as a person and learns how to use his powers as well as learns more about his family. Highly recommend New Super-Man

15. Denny Swan

He was hit by a sentient bolt of energy that carried a mutated genome of Prime Earth Superman so he thinks he's Superman, He blew up.

16. Emperor Super-Man/Super-Man Zero

A prototype Super-Man, also made by infusing him with the chi of prime earth superman; he was lab-grown

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