We very much respect any genealogist who dares try to untangle the mess of the extended Bat-Family tree at this point. Not content with simply the Caped Crusader and his trusty sidekick Robin, over the years Gotham City has become home to dozens of derivative masked vigilantes in similar rodent-shaped cowls, ignoring due process of the law in favour of tying people up with grappling hooks and chucking boomerangs in their faces. One of the earliest additions to Batman's ever-growing inner circle was Batgirl who, when she wasn't dressed up in purple tights, was better known as Barbara Gordon, daughter of the Gotham Police Commissioner. At least she was right up until The Joker shot her through the spine and paralysed her for life, as seen in the classic (and brutal) Alan Moore and Brian Bolland graphic novel The Killing Joke. Although she couldn't do all the physical crime fighting stuff any more, Barbara remained part of the superhero community as Oracle, sat in a secret location and keeping tabs on Gotham's bad 'uns. Which left the Batgirl name up for grabs, and grabbed it was - by mute Asian assassin Cassandra Cain. Poor old Cassandra has been wiped out of continuity thanks to DC's New 52 reboot, but for a while she was a worthy successor to Barbara. The daughter of assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva, she was a little more violent than the Dark Knight preferred, and so Batman got her to tone it down a bit, whilst also teaching her basic social skills and literacy her bonkers parents had never bothered to. It was a sweet story, and she brought a fresh spin on a Batman sidekick, so it was a shame to see her go.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
