The first Batgirl made her debut in 1961. It took forty years (and a couple of additional Batgirls) before she got her own ongoing solo comic. Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Batgirl #1 awaits!
BATGIRL #1
Writer: Scott Peterson/Kelley Puckett
Penciler: Damion Scott
Inker: Robert Campanella
Colorist: Jason Wright/Jamison Services
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Darren Vincenzo
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.50
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $13.00
Release Date: February 2, 2002
Previously in Batgirl: These days, we know that Cassandra Cain is the daughter of Lady Shiva, an assassin and one of the deadliest martial artists in the DC Universe, and another assassin, scumbag David Cain. Twenty-five years ago, though, all that we could glean was that she was so physically skilled that she could easily spar with the fastest fighters that Gotham City had to offer. During the No Man’s Land crisis, Cassandra appeared seemingly out of nowhere, saving the life of Commissioner Gordon after the U.S. government declared Gotham City had written it off in the wake of an Earthquake. During that same crisis, Helena “Huntress” Bertinelli resurfaced as a new Batgirl but returned to her primary costumed identity when things returned to what passes for normal in Gotham. This issue opens with a flashback to a young Cassandra, facing down a cadre of men with knives, cutting to the present, where she spars with the previous Batgirl, Barbara “Oracle” Gordon.
Babs is incredibly impressed by the girl’s prowess with escrima sticks but finds a tiny bit of satisfaction in disarming her. That satisfaction dissolves when Batman explains that the child was only taught lethal modes of combat in her assassin’s training, and that he himself had taught her stick fighting a few days before. “It took five minutes,” Batman grunts. As she prepares to support a new Batgirl in the field, Oracles lists the information that they know about the mysterious Miss Cain.
Spoilers: It’s not much. This scene also shows off the oh-so-1990s art style of Scott and Campanella, which reminds me somewhat of Impulse’s and, to a lesser degree, Robin’s solo title. Whether it’s just a coincidence or someone at DC decided that all titles starring teen heroes had to have gangly bodies with bulbous heads is unclear, but it was a major factor for me in not following this title regularly. (The costume design is one of my favorites, though, especially when drawn by Dale Eaglesham and Alex Maleev in its first appearances.) Oracle’s interactions with the pre-verbal Cassandra leave her worried about the girl’s overall mental health, a concern that she brings up with Batman.
He has his own views on that.
His arguments win her over (because in 2000 he had only lost ONE sidekick in battle, as opposed to however many it is now) and he begins his own Bat-training. “Hit me,” he tells Cassandra, then blocks her first strike, ordering her not to hold back.
Rather than worry about the blood being from incipient trauma to the thorax or lungs, Batman takes his new charge to the streets, where she takes on a group of criminals with speed and grace, only pausing to notice that her shadow on the wall is the same as Batman himself. With the bad guys wrapped up, Batman takes her to the roof to show Batgirl his their city.
As she leaps into action for the first time, we find that the flashback at the beginning of the issue isn’t a memory, but a recording, a “game tape” being watched by a mysterious man implied to be her old trainer. It’s a nicely done cliffhanger, even if I don’t care for the art, and Batgirl #1 makes for a very successful introduction as well as a good first issue, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. The promise of the Batgirl character was clear, the execution of the story well-handled, and it’s an issue that reminds us why Cassandra fans were so upset that her unexpected heel-turn and supplantation by Stephanie Brown were considered disrespectful.
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BATGIRL #1
Cassandra Cain's first official outing is a very well-crafted first issue, but the art doesn't really do the new Batgirl any favors.
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Writing7
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Art4
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Coloring6
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.