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33. Blackbat (Cassandra Cain)

I fully acknowledge that Blackbat is probably the least prominent character to make this list (aside from White Lightning, who largely made the 52 spot as a statement more than anything else). She appeared at the end of one session in Boston, serving as a cliffhanger, since obviously two of the party there already knew her, and then appeared briefly at the start of the next session. I wasnt even on that particular mission, and thus had no personal interaction. But Cassandra Cain, aka Orphan, aka Batgirl 3.0 (4.0?) was my favorite character in campaign one, and I fully acknowledge that there is a certain bias that comes with that territory.

In campaign one, I played Talirah Isiset, an Egyptian princess with severe daddy issues, since her father abused her and just generally treated her less like a daughter and more like a tool for his own legacy. Meanwhile, during No Mans Land, there was a plotline shortly after we wrapped up the Patchwork (a section of Gotham that wound up being pieced together from fifteen different universes), where a sniper began picking off various individuals from throughout the city. It happened again and again and again, and it became a real problem that we needed to deal with, especially since he tried (and failed) to assassinate Harvey Bullock, only to catch Jim Gordon in the crossfire.

So, we began to investigate the shootings, and they led to a series of sites where we discovered that an expert marksman was able to bank bullets off of buildings in order to attack targets well beyond the scope of a straight line. Arriving at the shooting locations, we began running into this strange, black-clad girl who seemed desperate to tell us something, yet could not speak the words she needed to say. We werent sure exactly what her purpose or her goal was in meeting with us, and she didnt seem all that certain either. It often times seemed like she couldnt decide between wanting to help us investigation, or wanting to hinder us from investigating further. Eventually though, after getting viciously outmatched in melee combat and seeing our tank get his butt kicked, we managed to take her down and knock her unconscious for interrogation.

It was at that point that we learned that this girl was Cassandra Cain, a mute not because of any psychological impairment, but rather because her fathers assassin training saw no need for her to learn how to speak. It was never made ENTIRELY clear why she decided to turn away from David Cain and help us (beyond an innate realization that the treatment she received from him was inhumane), but nonetheless, she became an ally. Cassandra led us right to Cains hideout, and we managed to break in and neutralize him. Our party was gunshy about killing him, and we couldnt risk imprisoning him (since everyone knows that prisons in Gotham City get broken out of even at the PEAK of the citys infrastructure), so eventually, we had to settle on teleporting him out via Nightshade.

During the interim period between meeting with Cain and removing him from the city however, is when Tali and Cass developed their bond. As mentioned, Tali was abused by her father, and out of concern, she found herself seeking out Cassandra after Cain effectively banished her from his family for her betrayal of his trust. It was here that she witnessed Cassandra sitting outside her fathers base and trying several times to sneak back in, only to become more and more bruised and battered with every attempt. She just wanted his love, and to be treated like a father SHOULD treat his daughter, yet Cain would have none of that. In that regard, Tali found a kindred spirit.

Soon after this all went down and Cain was gone for good, Batman took Cass under his wing, christening her the new Batgirl. For the rest of the campaign, Batgirl lived with us in the clocktower, curled up in a little hidey-hole at the base of the buildings elevator shaft. She also took up guard dog duty, protecting the clocktowers residents (and becoming rivals for the role of Batman protg with Spirit). Also, she had the cutest little Batmannerisms, namely how Batman (and Robin, and Spoiler, and Batgirl 2.0) would grapple off into the sky to depart a scene, but Cass didnt have a grapple gun. Soshe would just aim her fist to the sky and then run off. Its just cute, okay?

Anyway, Tali continued to make inroads with her, learning Cass punch language and (alongside Rozetta) teaching Cass to speak English just a little bit. She became Talis closest ally in Gotham, joining her on two separate occasions when it came time to face down Talis father, and finally understanding the bond that Tali felt upon seeing Cains cruel treatment. The pair wound up facing Pharaoh down in one final battle to help save Gotham (but really, it was Cuesh who saved Gotham). And of all the people Tali befriended and bonded with during the year of No Mans Land, Cass was easily her closest relationship. She was the little sister Tali never had.

I mention all of that campaign one backstory for two reasons. One, Cassandra means a lot to me from campaign one, so even if shes had a severely-reduced role thus far, Im incapable of not overinflating her placement on this list out of sheer bias on my part. But two, and more important for ACTUALLY justifying her placement on the list, campaign one needed to be explained, because over the course of the year (campaign time, not real time) in No Mans Land, those of us in the Clock Tower at the very least (Spirit, Fastbreak, Rozetta, Obrov and Tali) became Cass family, just as much as she became ours. We were all part of the Clocktower Bat Family together, and there was love and camaraderie there that Cass never got from her assassin father and warrior mother.

That closeness was what made it all the more heartbreaking for Cass when that family drifted apart. Obrov left Gotham to live with the Doom Patrol. Rozetta left Earth entirely out of disgust for what became of the Lex Luthor administration. Fastbreak became deeply tied with Cluemaster, aiding in his political ascent. Tali joined up with Max Lords new Superbuddies team, becoming the pop idol equivalent of a superhero more than anything else. And Spirit, though he never left Gotham behind, still left for a time, to go to college and get his M.D. All of Cass family that she loved and cared for, and who cared for her, left her behind. While I personally think Tali would never have forgotten her little sister, I can also imagine the distance being difficult, given the lack of technological knowhow between the two girls. Plus, Tali wound up being the only known P.C. death between the two campaigns, thus further isolating Cass and making the bonds she formed feel like nothing more than lies.