Batman works with a huge number of vigilante heroes, both as part of his Bat-Family and just as Gotham's protector, but only a few are graced with the supreme honor of wearing the Bat symbol. In fact, Batman has even been known to rescind the right to wear the symbol when one of his proteges steps out of line. So with The Joker War Zone showing two new heroes wearing the symbol, it's sensible to assume that two DC heroes have just been granted the equivalent of a promotion.
Batman #100 is approaching, and Batman’s most recent assortment of rogues and heroes have been revamped: new identities, new costumes… the works! With DC's unique approach to continuity, less prominent characters tend to suffer the most from revamps, and the two new honorees are no exception, with both having been stripped of prominent names and costumes by various Crises. Thankfully, Batman #100 seems set to restore them to their former glory.
In early leaks obtained by Bleeding Cool, Batman #100 depicts Stephanie Brown (aka Spoiler) and Cassandra Cain (aka Orphan) in their old-school, pre-New-52 costumes, and they’re wearing the Bat-logo right on their chests. This week’s The Joker War Zone #1 sees the two donning their new (old?) duds to stop contemporary Bat-villain the Henchmaster within the battleground that is Gotham City.
“Joker War,” the intense Batman story that’s been rocking the Bat-books all summer, has seen Bruce lose his riches, Wayne industries, and all his wonderful toys and properties. This is a raw, bare Batman: no fancy cars, no high-tech computer, no manor, no Cave, because the Joker has made his play and taken over. It's a low point for Batman, but there's no better time for the Bat-Family to show their support.
The iconic Batman symbol has gone through many incarnations in the character’s expansive eighty-plus-year history, the most famous being the black bat on yellow oval from the blockbuster-smash movie Tim Burton’s Batman (1989). Anticipation for that film was so high that people shaved the logo into their hair, got it tattooed, wore it on T-shirts, and painted the streets with stickers of it. When Bruce Wayne launched Batman Incorporated during Grant Morrison’s highly-praised run, he used its symbolic clout to spread the awareness of Batman globally, basically franchising it by training an international lineup of heroes in the Batman brand.
Cassandra Cain was first introduced during the Greg Rucka-led, and vastly inspirational “No Man’s Land” arc which saw a massive earthquake demolishing Gotham City and splintering it off into several gang territories. Cain was one of the survivors of the quake and, as a trained-assassin, immediately began defending impoverished citizens before Wayne adopted her into the Bat-Family. Meanwhile, Huntress, dressed in a Batgirl costume, would graffiti the Bat-symbol all across Gotham to remind the gangs that heroic eyes were on them. After reclaiming her Huntress identity, Helena abandoned the Batgirl costume and Cassandra adopted it, becoming one of DC’s most popular Bat-heroes. Similarly, Stephanie Brown began as Spoiler, serving as Robin for a short time before a brief stint as Batgirl.
Recent years have seen both Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown in a sort-of comic book limbo, shuffling through various titles and incarnations. The fact that DC is now fully approving them again as Bat-Family members with their own Batman-symbols is exciting news for fans of the characters and for where things are headed in the cataclysmic “Joker War”.
Source: Bleeding Cool