Batgirl #1 Adds New Meaning to the Mantle and Evolves Batman’s Toughest Villain into Her Perfect Nemesis (Review)

Warning: Spoilers for Batgirl #1!DC Comics rechristens Cassandra Cain, her mother, the Bat-Family, and the Batgirl mantle in a new series. While she has been an active member of the Birds of Prey cast more recently, Cass has not led a series of her own in over 18 years. Earlier this year, DC announced that Cassandra would star in a new Batgirl ongoing series as part of the publisher’s new All In initiative.

Batgirl #1 by Tate Brombal, Takeshi Miyazawa, Mike Spicer, and Tom Napolitano officially marks the return of Cassandra Cain to comic book store shelves. The issue sees Batgirl officially working with Lady Shiva, her assassin mother, and in doing so, many ongoing themes from their history return to the surface. However, the new story also allows the creative team to recontextualize their complicated dynamic for DC’s current continuity.

As a debut issue, Batgirl #1 shows promise by adding new meaning to classic motifs from Bat-Family stories whilst adding new layers to a classic Gotham villain.

Batgirl #1 Offers the Perfect Martial Arts Story for New and Old Readers Alike

What Happens to Cassandra Cain and Lady Shiva?

Right off the bat (no pun intended), Batgirl is cornered into a conversation with her villainous mother, Lady Shiva. Shiva, for those unfamiliar, is best recognized as the one fighter who Batman has never beaten in a fight. Batman’s sidekicks have defeated Lady Shiva, interestingly enough, but never Bruce. As a mother, Shiva has always been a thorn in her daughter’s side. This scene is no different, but for once, Shiva hasn’t come to fight, but instead with a warning that she and Cass must evacuate as a lucrative group of ninjas wants them both dead.

Upon realizing her mother may actually carry some twisted love for her, Cass plunges into the fight, ready to fight by her mother’s side.

On cue, the group in question – the Unburied, a centuries-old sect of warriors – attacks them, forcing the estranged mother-daughter duo to fight and escape together. The Unburied specifically want Shiva dead, but they want Batgirl dead by association. Cass and Shiva’s journey leads them to Shiva’s temple as it burns to the ground. As they tend to the wounds of a fallen High Priest, Shiva saves Cass’ life. Upon realizing her mother may actually carry some twisted love for her, Cass plunges into the fight, ready to fight by her mother’s side for once to kick off Batgirl’s latest stylish reset.

Batgirl #1 Understands Who Cassandra Cain Really Is to a Tee

Respecting the Lore and Ongoing Themes

Batgirl #1 features a lot of subtle references to Cassandra Cain’s past as a character, as well as the past she shares with her mother. As Batgirl, Cassandra Cain spends much of this premiere issue reading her mother’s body language, which has always been a key secret superpower of Cassandra Cain’s, dating back to the original 2000 Batgirl series where she used that skill to figure out Batman’s secret identity. In another panel, Shiva references the time that she killed and then quickly revived her daughter to prove a point in Batgirl #25 by Kelley Puckett, Damion Scott, and Robert Campanella.

Though this series marks Cass’ first ongoing solo series since her original 2000-era
Batgirl
run ended, she did star, alongside her fellow Gotham heroes Barbara Gordon and Stephanie Brown, in 2021’s
Batgirls
, which is available now, both digitally and in collected editions, from DC Comics.

Since much of the referenced history takes place in an 18-year-old ongoing series that ended in 2006 – at least two continuity reboots ago – not many readers may be expecting callbacks like these. However, that these references do show up in this first issue shows just how well-versed and respectful the creative team is to the material that came before it. Fans who catch these references feel rewarded, while fans unfamiliar get to learn about what came before 2024’s Batgirl, all while enriching and deepening the lore of the Batgirl legacy.

Recontextualizing Batgirl’s Archnemesis Creates a Fascinating New Conflict for Cass Cain

Lady Shiva Is Put in a New Light

Perhaps what’s most impressive about Batgirl #1 is how it paints Lady Shiva in an entirely new light. She has existed in DC lore for 49 years, and for the most part she has been written as a pretty straightforward villain. Not to say that she’s a villain without layers – she is the one villain who understands Batman, after all. However, she’s always simply been a fighter who warrants competition from all sides of the world to prove that she’s the best. In regard to her daughter, she had previously spoken to and treated Cass as if she were her property.

Shiva had always talked to Batgirl as if she were always entitled to a fight with her, to prove herself, as Shiva was convinced that their destinies demanded that one must kill the other. This issue adds a new layer to Shiva that’s rarely been seen, if ever: this is a Shiva who genuinely cares for Batgirl, whether she shows it or not. She certainly has a strange way of showing it and would never audibly admit it, but through Batgirl’s skill of body language, she’s able to understand her mother all the better and the strange love she has for her.

Cass catches Shiva lying when she tells the Unburied that she doesn’t care about her daughter in an effort to protect Batgirl from them. This lie – and Cass catching it as a lie – is significant because this moment could go on to define their entire dynamic moving forward for this series. Not only does Cass need to learn to contextualize her typically cold, heartless mother as caring, but she needs to protect her as she is being chased down by a legion of ninjas. A jaded villain and a morally-staunch hero must become friends for mother and daughter to survive this obstacle together.

DC Comics Is Finally Giving Batgirl the Spotlight She Deserves

A Perfect Marriage of Stylish Art, Gripping Action, and Rich Storytelling

Even beyond the rich storytelling, there is much to enjoy about Batgirl #1. The action is sparse in favor of setting the stage for a compelling story, but when it arrives, the action is enticing at every turn. The action itself tells a story as Batgirl and Lady Shiva have to stop their own in-fighting – verbal and physical – in order to face down the Unburied. The art by Miyazawa deserves its praise as well, with each panel more striking and crisp than the last.

This series is a must-read for any Batgirl fan.

The first issue sets the stage for what could be a complex “buddy” story about two rivals who need to learn how to be allies for this dynamic to work. In one issue, Batgirl manages to enrich the ever-growing lore of Cassandra Cain, the Batgirl mantle, and the Bat-Family at large. Cassandra Cain has spent the last couple of decades as a fan-favorite supporting character, but she is finally given a new solo story to shine in an entirely new spotlight. This series is a must-read for any Batgirl fan, and future issues will surely be just as in demand.

Batgirl #1 is available now from DC Comics.