DC’s Absolute Universe Debuts New Takes on Two Beloved Batgirls

DC’s Absolute Universe is showing no sign of slowing down… and now, it’s bringing two beloved Batgirls into the fold. Last week, the publisher officially announced Absolute Cassandra Cain: The Shadow’s Hand #1, a new one-shot that will be released wherever comics are sold on Wednesday, September 9th.

The one-shot is spinning out of the pages of Absolute Catwoman, which introduced Absolute Cass in its first issue earlier this month. Absolute Catwoman #1, written by Che Grayson and Scott Snyder with art by Bengal, colors by Giovanna Niro, and letters by Lucas Gattoni, is already getting a second printing that will be released on July 15th.

Absolute Cassandra Cain: The Shadow’s Hand #1 will be written by Che Grayson with art by Matias Bergara and a main cover by Bengal. According to DC’s official description of the issue, years ago, The Joker trained with the League of Assassins, and when he learned all he could, he slaughtered everyone. Out of the wreckage rose Lady Shiva and her daughter, Cassandra Cain.

Absolute Cassandra Cain: The Shadow’s Hand #1 reveals the origin of the Absolute Universe’s most formidable assassin, and how her story is one that is intertwined with the world’s greatest thief, Selina Kyle! After the issue, Absolute Catwoman will resume publication with its fourth issue in October.

Who Is Absolute Batgirl?

Just a matter of days later, during a panel at Charlotte’s HeroesCon, the Absolute Batman creative team of writer Scott Snyder and artist Nick Dragotta announced a turning point for the series’ version of Barbara Gordon, who was introduced as a member of the Gotham City Police Department and ally of Bruce Wayne’s crusade as Absolute Batman. In September’s Absolute Batman #24, Barbara will be transforming into a Batgirl-esque character known as the Absolute Bat.

Dragotta subsequently shared a high-quality look at the cover art for Absolute Batman #24 (which is, itself, an homage to Dragotta’s now-iconic image for Absolute Batman #1), as well as a design sheet for The Bat’s costume. Just like her main universe counterpart, Barbara will become a costumed superhero largely-independently of Bruce himself… and this time around, she’s driven by the sudden death of her father, Jim Gordon.

“Barbara knows Batman didn’t kill her father,” Dragotta teased during the panel. “She’s going to grab her dad’s coat. We’ve seen Bruce hanging up; he’s going down this spiral from the Scarecrow. Barbara’s going to take the mission into her own hands to avenge her father. She’s got this great story; she’s going to become The Bat. Her day job is a cop, but at night she’ll have to go outside the law to get things done. But she still has this core, it almost feels more Batman than Batman.”

“One of the fun things is she fights differently, and so in terms of the shotgun, you might recognize that from the very first issue we did,” Snyder echoed. “Bruce repurposed Alfred’s shotgun to be this Batshotgun that fires electrified mini Batarang pellets, so that it’s non lethal and at the same time super bad ass. She uses different weapons that way. She follows some of the same tenants. She’s not out there murdering people. But at the same time, she is really tough. Wait till you see her with the coat off, it’s awesome. She’s buff, she looks like [an] MMA [fighter], out of control. She’s got the wraps, she’s got the tank top, kevlar with the Bat symbol on it. It’s one of my favorite designs.”

There’s no telling, at this point, what the long-term future holds for Absolute Cassandra Cain and Barbara Gordon. But the idea of both of them not only existing in this universe, but flourishing in their own remixes of their respective mantles, is fascinating. Will they cross paths with Stephanie Brown, who is a part of the gigantic mech suit operation known as Absolute Robin? Will they join forces with Absolute Black Canary (and maybe even Catwoman) to become a new version of the Birds of Prey? Anything is possible.

(featured image: DC)

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