Birds Of Prey Teased Cassandra Cain's Comic Book Origin

By Saam Hasan / March 1, 2020

Last month, DC Studios presented to us its latest instalment in the DC Extended Universe - Birds of Prey (let’s not bother with the full name because even Warner Bros realized it wasn’t a particularly great idea). The Margot Robbie led absurdist rollercoaster ride was admittedly divisive among the audiences, despite bouncing back financially after a disappointing opening weekend. Needless to say, if you haven’t still watched the film, consider yourself spoiler warned.

As is usually the case with the DCEU movies, the cast is absolutely packed, with several major characters jostling for screen time. One of them, was a certain Cassandra Cain. Played by Ella Jay Basco, Cassandra is portrayed as a young girl living with a dysfunctional foster family, whose personal trauma and suffering force her to take up a life of thievery and pickpocketing. Unfortunately, she bites off more than she could chew when she swipes a diamond belonging to Roman Sionis, a.k.a. the Black Mask.

This sets off the rest of the events of the movie as Sionis sends the freshly abducted Harley Quinn to retrieve said diamond in exchange for her own life, while at the same commissioning a massive bounty on young Cassandra’s head. Cain eventually ends up with Harley who chooses not to hand her over, especially after discovering Cass had in fact swallowed the diamond. And this, is where we get to witness a rather interesting conversation.

At Harley’s apartment, Cassandra notices a drawing of the Joker which had been used as a dart board, for knives. She goes up to the drawing and actually asks her host who this was. Naturally Harley expresses her shock at the fact that Cassandra didn’t know who the most dangerous person on the planet was, but perhaps this is a hint towards something bigger.

Fans of the comics will recognize Cassandra Cain as the daughter of the master assassin Lady Shiva and one of the people to take up the Batgirl moniker. Though initially it seemed the movie version of Ms. Cain would be a completely different character, but this little exchange may suggest otherwise. Now in the comics, Lady Shiva puts her daughter through a tough upbringing, so that she may grow up to be a super assassin just like mommy dearest. The fact that the Cassandra in the movies didn’t know who Joker was, may imply that she’s not actually from Gotham.

Maybe she was just left to fend for herself as part of her training and ended up here. As for the sob-story regarding her foster parents, she has proven herself a more than capable liar throughout the movie. In fact, right after Dinah Lance buys into her tragic domestic situation and gives her some food money, she reveals the cast on her arm to be a fake with no actual injury underneath. Perhaps, Cassandra Cain could go on to become at least one of the DCEU’s Batgirls?

Have you watched Birds of Prey? What do you think of Cassandra Cain in the movie and what her significance going forward could be?

Birds of Prey is in cinemas right now.