Batgirl

First Appearance BATMAN #567 (July 1999)
Status Hero
Real Name Cassandra Cain
Occupation Adventurer
Base Gotham City
Height 5ft 5in
Weight 127lbs
Eyes Green
Hair Black
Special Powers/Abilities One of the greatest martial artists in the world; a deadly master of nearly all forms of unarmed combat; can "read" the body language of an opponent and predict their moves.

Key Storylines

• Batman #55l-559 (Jul-Okt 1998): after the huntress forsakes her temporary role as Batgirl, a mute young girl named Cassandra Cain emerges and takes up the mantle of Batgirl.

• Batgirl #6(jun 2000): A psychic gives Batgirl the gift of speech, but strips her of some of her fighting skill.

• Batgirl #24 (Apr 2002): Batgirl and lady Shiva face off in a duel to the death between the world two gretatest martial artists!

• Batgirl #45-50 (Dec 2003-Apr2004): When doctor death releases soul, a rage inducing pathogen, onto gotham, batgirl and batman are forced into a confrontation spaning half of the city, including the destruction of sprang bridge.

Cassandra
is the third young woman to assume the mantle of batgirl. Ayoung orpan adopted by the master assasin David Cain, to become his greates pupil and heir, Cassandra was his most potent stuedent, but was ultimately uninterested in extending his legacy. Seemingly unable to speak, the young Casandara sopke with here body, and learned how to read the body language of those around her. Cain trainned her in the world's deadliest martial arts, and the young Cassandra soon made her first kill, a Macauan crime kingpin. Sickened by the act, the mute girl fled Cain's estate and evil influence and began to travel the world, searching for a new home and a new way of life.

The New Batgirl
Cassandara found her way to Gotham City just before it was devasted by an eartquake and cordoned off from the rest of the US During that time, she was recruited by mysterious computer hacker ORACLE to act as a messenger in the city, now called No Man's Land. Years earlier, Oracle (Barbara Gordon), daughter of police commissioner James Gordon, had been the first batgirl until she was shot and crippled by the joker. When cain casssandra saved the commissioner from her father's bulllet. Impressed by Cassandra skill and bravery, Batman took her under his wing and made her the new batgirl.
Still without voice, cassandra quickly took to her new role, hoping to atone for the killing of the gangster all those years ago. Soon after, batgirl saved a psychic named jeffers, who was on the run from the mob. Jeffers used his powers to reorder Batgirl's brain, giving her the power of speech, but stripping from her many of her martial arts skills. Batgirl began retraining and sought out Lady Shiva, then the world greates martial artist, for a single lesson she hoped would help her remaster her skills. The price of shiva's help was a duel to the death.

Batgirl fougth Shiva and won, sparing her life. The only person ever to defeat Shiva in unarmed combat. Gotham latest defender now holds a title of the greatest martial artist in the world.

from: DC Encyclopedia