![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
Cass is having coffee, when a random diner empolyee decides to hit on her.


Embarassing romantic upset number one: finding that the girl you like is severely dyslexic and unable to read the note you sent her.
Wait, does the fact that she got a cheque mean she can no maths? Hm, I think I read elsewhere Cass just hands over a bunch of tens and twenties at random and they work out the change for her.
Anyway, considering Cass' boyfriends tend to have the lasting power of an unrefridgerated carton of milk, she happens to be single at the time so she takes him up on it.



Mickey Rourke seems to have taken time out of promoting Iron Man 2 to play Cass' dad here. Weird that this fear of intimacy hasn't appeared anywhere other than this mini series, huh?
Anyway, Javier decides to send her some flowers to make up for whatever slightly he assumed Cass felt he'd done.

Yeah, people make a lot of weird noises in this storyline. Batman spends two, three issues going Grrmph for example.
Wait, doesn't this invalidate the part of her origin where seeing someone killed in front of her make her run from her father and become the littlest hobo?
Anyway, Javier vanishes from the story as actual plot occurs, but we're left with these two panels as City of Light concludes.

Wow, look how enthusiastic she is. Why does Bruce hanging out in the background make it look like he made her go out with Javier again?
Anyway, Javier evaporated after this storyline, only to be semi-replaced with Tim. Who Cass was apathetic about unless off her face on Evil Juice. And then there was Sal, from Beechen's mini series, who also vanished after THAT mini was over.
Unless Cass is dossing at his house at the moment or something.
char: batgirl/cassandra cain
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:00 pm (UTC)Why oh why do/did Bat writers have such a huge stick up their ass about using her?
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:04 pm (UTC)Cass IS kinda awesome in the story, though she sort of talks too much (this was just after Officer Down, so she wasn't into monologues yet) and the only mention of her dyslexia comes in an off-hand comment when she gets Alfred to read some computer files for her.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:06 pm (UTC)That last ones especially a kicker, because they feel they can't "Know who she is" when writing her because they feel they cannot relate to her.
At least, that's what I think they think.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:11 pm (UTC)Cass should be amongst the easiest 'Bat' to get, as her background/origin is just as strong as Batman's.
I say should because of late, I haven't yet seen any indication that the vast majority of writers or editors know what genre is, let alone characterization.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:16 pm (UTC)Or, as I understand it, any major comic universe.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:18 pm (UTC)More than that, they should be able to contact past writers for information. This is the information age, yet comics are the only medium not taking advantage of that.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-28 01:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:03 pm (UTC)Eh, this is actually better than that overall. Prevents developmental brain damage.
Darn you National Geographic and your sciency ways destroying my comic book science!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:12 pm (UTC)Nat. geo had a special on "Wild Children," the kind "Raised by Animals" and stuff.
In actuality, it's humans seeking identifiable contact and following an animal around in liew of human contact that they've lost. It's happened with breeds of Monkeys and Dogs.
She can still be illiterate, but a silent/worldess upbrining would rob her of speach completely. She'd react to command words from authority figures, but that's it. Other examples boil down to "17 year old in Kindergarten" sort of developmental problems.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:16 pm (UTC)She did understand complex situations though and how to convey them. She explained how Cain was her father without words.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 03:30 pm (UTC)Brain all inter-connected 'n stuff.
Like I said: DAMN YOU, SCIENCE!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 07:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 08:04 pm (UTC)It's proven science!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-28 03:25 am (UTC)Yes, this is total nonsense, there is no "language of violence," it's not possible to duplicate the sophistication of verbal communication solely with body language. Nevertheless, that is Cass' premise: that body language is an actual language for her, sophisticated enough to convey ideas like love, parenthood, the identity of a former master, a reluctance to interact with an absent third party, whatever. Hence, her language centers are perfectly functional, hence, she can process abstract and complex concepts.
Math would still be a hell of an uphill battle, though.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:44 pm (UTC)And yeah, those flashbacks make absolutely no sense. Not only does it contradict her running away from her father once she made (and saw) her first kill, he's also talking to her, which he never did until they were reunited in NML.
I'm thinking that what we're seeing there is actually the movie, but Cass is imagining herself in place of one of the characters. Maybe? It's not very clear. (Maybe they're watching The Professional?)
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:48 pm (UTC)And no, those aren't panels from the movie, they're watching Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, as is shown from the black and white guy making Cass jump and the title's on the outside of the cinema.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:49 pm (UTC)And...huh. Okay, that is pretty weird then.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:52 pm (UTC)Beechen didn't for example, only skimmed the last storyline.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 03:00 pm (UTC)I was just thinking that if this mini-series was what Beechen had read prior to writing last year's Batgirl mini-series, it might explain it a little.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:59 pm (UTC)What's even worse is how his destruction of Cass' character actually saved him. I mean the plot holes...
"So Robin spends eight hours figuring out how to break into Blackgate, but can get back out lugging a full grown man?"
"Robin can convincingly impersonate a cop, but infiltrates the station in full costume?"
"So Robin's plan to clear himself of murder charges is to bust out a mass murderer and allow him to escape?"
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 04:06 pm (UTC)"What with Cass' sudden need to hump Tim when she's shown no interest in him before that point? I mean, Tim thinks that she's hot, but also that she's too much like Bruce at the same time, which weirds him out. Maybe it's just a side effect of the Slade juice, as Rose tried to get Tim as well."
"Who stapled Lynx's head back on and resurrected her?"
"What was up with Cass' huge thighs when she appeared in Dragon Lady mode?"
"Why!? WHY!?!"
no subject
Date: 2010-01-28 01:46 am (UTC)And then they gave him a Cass mini series to correct his own mistakes (which he didn't do) even after he admitted to not doing the homework on the character? Is that possible?
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 02:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 03:03 pm (UTC)With the sniper bullet and a headshot, it's like flipping a switch. Nothing traumatizing about it because by the time the person realizes that they've been shot, they're dead.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 06:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 06:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 07:07 pm (UTC)Cass had no idea what her training was about until she killed that dude. It was the first time she'd ever seen death. Up close, far away, by her own hand or anyone else's, ever. It was a major plot point. And yet here we have her shooting somebody and Cain talking up a storm in her ear. Inaccurate retconny crap, that simple.
Umm, what?
Date: 2010-01-27 07:51 pm (UTC)I don't recall them stating that her first murder was Cass' first encounter with death, but really, it wouldn't matter. What made her first killing so traumatic was what she 'read' as the person died.
Here, it's a quick shot and done. No reading possible
It's a lousy scene sure, but doesn't go against Cass' origin in any way that can't be handwaved away.
Beechen, however...
Re: Umm, what?
Date: 2010-01-27 08:55 pm (UTC)Though you'd think she'd pick up on the dude's body language too.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 07:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 03:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 04:31 pm (UTC)Aw yeah, Sciecne!
Edit: Wrong source.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 05:27 pm (UTC)Clearly the brain-whammy that gave her speech made her "translate" her memories from body language to spoken words.
Or, put another way, the writer had no idea how to communicate what was happening in the scene without speech bubbles.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 03:02 pm (UTC)And Cass with a boyfriend? BOO!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 03:32 pm (UTC)(I'm not going to touch the flashback failures here)
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 06:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-28 01:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-28 08:26 am (UTC)Just his design was so "white suburban angst" that it made me wince.
Like knowing that eventually he'd try to drown his sorrows to her on a date?
"Yeah, my life was pretty rough. I used to roll hadcore, got kicked out of highschool for doing E... fuck the establishment, right? My stepdad is always trying to rule me and shit, so I'm like "eff you, man!" and I got these tats. Also, I totally put miles on his prius last weekend to go to Curiosa. I'm a rebel that way, babe."
"My... He... gunshots. Alot."
no subject
Date: 2010-01-28 01:55 pm (UTC)Although now I kind of wish I'd interpreted him to be more like your version.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-28 03:00 pm (UTC)All the same, I'd be all for Cass meeting a nice, normal guy - or even a relatively sane meta.
Maybe I read too much into the kid? I had thought that they implied he was a tagger somewhere? Maybe not.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-28 06:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 05:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 05:21 pm (UTC)Or am I getting too clinical again. Damn PTSD
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 05:52 pm (UTC)I was attempting to use sarcasm to express my distate for (what comes off to me as) using Cass's traumatic past as a "punchline" in a "He likes her, she likes him, they don't quite get each other, hijinks ensue" sort of routine.
Conceptually, I don't have a problem with flashbacks of her childhood interfering with getting close to someone, if it's treated respectfully, but going by the pages presented here (note: I have not read the full mini), I see it being treated more as a gag.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 08:41 pm (UTC)I am off to lighten up now.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 05:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 06:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-27 07:11 pm (UTC)and don't get me started on how Cass was drawn there. At first I was thinking, "Green eyes? Sure, I guess we could go with that instead of the expected brown" but then the coloring in the movie theater scene made me realize just how off the art was...I don't know if it was anything in particular, but she seems both overly Asian and then not enough...but I guess I'm not making sense, aren't I?
no subject
Date: 2010-01-28 01:35 am (UTC)I don't want to say City of Light was bad, it had an interesting idea but it couldn't pull it off. Bruce went around (drawn badly) feeling sorry for himself and all dark and gloomy (natch) and Cass who had has much time in the mini-series was portrayed all wrong. Someone correct me but she never talked to her father because he never spoke to her, thats part of the reason why the speech of her brain was wired wrong. And this is the only time I've ever seen him drawn this way (yet know I can't get the image of Mickey Rourke as David Cain out of my head).
And yeah, I remember scenes of Cass where she had no idea about money, previous to hooking up with Babs she lived on the streets, after that Alfred did her shopping and after Bruce gave her her own place she an unlimited credit account and always carried around large bills (50s, 100s) in case she needed to buy something (though Alfred continued to buy her clothes and stock her fridge). This was all B.B. (Before Beechan) of course when Cass was written as a consistent character.