Cassandra Cain was Batman’s daughter. Then the universe was rebooted and she disappeared while her brothers remained. I’ve written a lot about my complaints with the new DC universe, but this one sticks with me.
Every woman is someone’s daughter. So deleting your big draw’s daughter send a clear message- women are not as important as men.
Now, I’m sure if you asked pretty much everyone would deny that this is the message. They would go on and on about it being a new universe with a condensed timeline and that they need to make sure the addition of characters enhances the overarching story. Barbara Gordon is the iconic Batgirl. It doesn’t make sense to have Cass as Batgirl too.
I call bullshit. Writers want to use her. Gail Simone, Scott Snyder, and Grant Morrison all asked to use her and were turned down. Fans want to see her. There have been mail in campaigns to bring her back, and last year she won DC Women Kicking Ass’s Kick Ass DC Woman contest.
In the New 52 continuity, there were 4 Robins over the 5 year timeline, all of which were Bruce Wayne’s sons. If you can fit Dick Grayson (the only one who is “iconic”), Jason Todd (who the fans killed and then was brought back from the dead), Tim Drake (who is slightly more well known since he has appeared in both The New Batman Adventures and Young Justice), and Damian Wayne (who is 10, but was conceived when Bruce was already Batman… oh screw it, I give up), you probably can fit Cass in as Batgirl during the time Barbara spent paralyzed.
Excluding Bruce’s daughter while creating plot holes to include his 4 sons shows a general disrespect for women as characters. It also shows a lack of respect for female fans. Woman aren’t considered necessary on the page or at the checkout. Which is a shame, since excluding 50% of the population hinders both storytelling options and sales.
