Last year saw the launch of DC All In, a major new publishing initiative that has brought new titles, new creative teams and an all-new universe to the world of DC Comics. This month on DC.com, we’ve asked some of our contributors to write about an All In title that they’ve personally gone All In on, letting us know what it is about the comic that they’ve been enjoying.
If you’re a DC fan—heck, if you’re a fan of any comic book franchise—you know how it feels when attention is put upon your favorite character. Especially if that character is, to your mind, underrated.
That’s the case for Cassandra Cain, the first Batgirl to pioneer her own ongoing series in the 2000s and the first woman of color to wear the mask. Cassandra’s violent upbringing didn’t include teaching her how to speak, instead focusing on a mastering of body language. In a visual medium such as comic books, this presented an interesting creative challenge for Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott, who together crafted one of the most unique superhero books of the early 21st century. Cassandra’s peerless martial arts prowess was balanced by her sense of displacement with her fellow Bat-Family teammates, and an anxiety as to whether she was a hero or villain, having been raised to be an assassin by her mercenary father.

Batgirl’s insecurities doubled when she ran into Lady Shiva, the world’s deadliest martial artist and someone whom not even Batman could defeat. When Cass found out that Shiva was actually her mother, her belief in her own heroism nearly shattered. This set up a narrative ripe with possibilities for a superhero who, despite being one of the greatest fighters in the DC Universe, was engaged in a brutal internal battle for her very soul.
Now with DC’s All In initiative, writer Tate Brombal and artist Takeshi Miyazawa have brought Cassandra and Shiva back under the spotlight with all the turbulent character drama and fast-kicking action fans have yearned to see for the past 25 years!
In the new Batgirl series, Lady Shiva comes to warn Cassandra of an ancient order of murderous monks, searching for the key to ultimate power and seeking to eliminate anyone who threatens to stand in their way. With both mother and child standing at the top of the fighter food chain, Shiva wants to get Cass out of Gotham City, gather up her forces and mount a defense. But Cass doesn’t believe the woman who takes her name from the Hindu God of Destruction. Having been mentored by Oracle and Batman while forming strong relationships with Spoiler, Robin, Signal and the others, Cass fights to believe she’s as heroic and honorable as her friends and nothing like her killer mother. Unfortunately, this steadfast belief system threatens to get them both killed, as a powerful group of ninjas calling themselves the Unburied attack Batgirl and Shiva, putting them on the run out of the city. Never one to back down from a fight, Cass is still unsure if she can trust her mother and worries that she’s leaving the city she’s been trusted to protect defenseless against an unknown threat.

Over the first three issues, it’s clear that Brombal knows his stuff when it comes to Cass. While Cassandra’s supreme fighting skills have shaped her into the most formidable martial artist in the Bat-Family, what makes her compelling as a character is how she sees herself in relation to other heroes who she admires and her childhood upbringing as a killer. Her trained talents include reading body language so precisely that she can counteract and take advantage of attackers before they even realize what’s happening. She’s the best of the best, but she struggles not to see herself as the very worst—even worse than all of the super-villains she’s fought alongside Batman.
Brombal’s writing is littered with thoughts from Cassandra about how she refuses to trust Shiva, despite Shiva’s every physical move signaling complete honesty. Shiva’s a killer who relishes in taking life, someone Cassandra has denounced and abhors. She refuses to trust her mother because she cannot trust herself.
This is the raison d'etre of the modern Batgirl. While Barbara Gordon is the daughter of a police commissioner who followed in his footsteps, and Stephanie Brown is the child of a villain who purposefully rejects his career in favor of crimefighting, Cass is the Batgirl who most lacks faith in who she is as a hero. Her adventures go beyond simple punching and kicking (though there’s no shortage of that in any great Batgirl story). It’s a battle of self-image, something everyone can relate to, especially when immersing oneself in a world of inspirations.

All of this is wonderfully complimented by Takeshi Miyazawa’s sublime illustrations. Over the years Miyazawa has refined his manga-influenced sensibilities, producing lush artwork that accentuates action while balancing terrifically human character detail. When Batgirl unmasks for the first time after a fight with the Unburied, her face denotes all the pangs of sadness and worry, despite being covered in blood and bruises. It’s a thematic touch, not only brought on by the events of the script, but by the themes of the series. It reveals a sorrowful, bloodied woman, blaming herself for the violence which is about to commence. Cass sees herself as a bringer of destruction, like her mother, and struggles to disprove herself of that fear.
The story of Cassandra Cain has resonated with readers for over two generations, and now under the guidance of Brombal and Miyazawa, that resonance is likely to continue. Cass’s struggle with self-acceptance and doing the right thing is a battle that is universal to all of us. It makes her, despite her unequaled skill at martial arts, an endlessly compelling and relatable character. With the new All In series, Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa have demonstrated they understand the assignment. Take it from this fan, or better yet, pick up the book yourself. It’ll soon become your new favorite.
Donovan Morgan Grant writes about comics, graphic novels and superhero history for DC.com. Follow him on Bluesky at @donomark and X at @donoDMG1.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Donovan Morgan Grant and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.