Batgirl, Vol. 3: Death Wish

Batgirl (2000) - Original TPBs

by Kelley Puckett, Chuck Dixon, Damion Scott (Illustrator)

While preparing for her long-awaited death match against Lady Shiva, Cassandra Cain, a.k.a. Batgirl, engages in a series of adventures with Batman and Robin, while dealing with the reappearance of her father.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Batman, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Superheroes

176 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2003

About the author

Kelley Puckett is a comic book writer. He is the creator of the character Cassandra Cain, the Batgirl who succeeded Barbara Gordon and who was succeeded herself by Stephanie Brown, as well as the second Green Arrow, Connor Hawke.

Reviews

[Elizabeth Wallace · Rating 2 out of 5]

One or two nice things here and there, but in the end a pretty disappointing read. The artwork has a lot of detail, but it's way too confusing, there's no order or balance, a lot of times I ended up staring at a page going "Wait, who's arm is that, what am I looking at, what just happened...?" ESPECIALLY in the fight scenes, which I started to skip over in frustration after a while. When that happens, it's not "detailed artwork," it's a mess.

And despite all the character development that was supposedly going on, I ended up feeling like I hadn't seen any depth to a single character.

I've been pleasantly surprised by a lot of DC stuff I've read lately, but this wasn't one of them.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

HOW did I not have an Oracle OR Barbara Gordon shelf before? Arrrrgh. I'm pretty much a sucker for Chuck Dixon stories, so there's no objective review to be had here.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Batgirl: Death Wish picks up where the previous volume left off, collecting seven issues (Batgirl #17–20, 22–23, and 25) of the 2000 on-going series.

Cassandra Cain as Batgirl is a seventeen year old trained from childhood to be a lethal assassin, ant this trade paperback questions if she can ever cast off her tainted past and take the place of former Batgirl, Barbara Gordon. Batgirl continues her training with Batman, but his young protégé is starting to feel that she's on a very short leash indeed. Dealing with blackmail, bank robberies and burglary is one thing, but for Batgirl to step into the major leagues, a major menace is required, and that comes in the form of Lady Shiva. Cameo appearances of Tim Drake as Robin (Batgirl #18) and Stephanie Brown as Spoiler (Batgirl #20) make a one-issue story appearance.

With the exception of guest writer Chuck Dix0n (Batgirl #20), Kelley Puckett penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written rather well, it continues the reeducation of Cassandra Cain. Bruce Wayne as Batman and Barbara Gordon as Oracle tries to wean off Cassandra Cain’s more deadly inclinations. The team-up with Tim Drake as Robin, shows his insecurities of having a former assassin as a vigilante, but changes his mind after one mission together. She reluctantly teams up with Stephanie Brown as Spoiler on a mission together. Lady Shiva returns in an extra-sized issue (Batgirl #25) and it is finally reveal that David Cain is Cassandra Cain's father.

Damion Scott is the penciler for the trade paperback. Since he was the only penciler, the artistic flow of the trade paperback flowed exceptionally well. For the most part, I enjoyed his penciling style – it accentuates the narrative rather well, albeit a tad too cartoonish at times.

All in all, Batgirl: Death Wish is a wonderful continuation to what would hopefully be an equally wonderful series.

[Lisa Feld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool to see Batgirl interacting with Robin, get a sense of how the Batfamily is slowly integrating its newest member. And interesting to see Batman's willful blindness to the idea that someone who understands his mission so well, understands the value of life, could be operating from guilt over her past actions rather than the need for vengeance and justice that drive him. But most surprising is the way in which the battle with Lady Shiva, set up as a ticking clock in previous issues, impacts both Batgirl and Shiva when the showdown finally comes.

[Aimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I like the idea of this better than the execution. It was okay. Some sections I liked more than others, but the ones I wasn’t a fan of felt rushed and a little disjointed. I’m also realizing that I might not be a fan of “father batman”. I think I prefer it when he goes solo.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather simplistic storyline with art that was fun but also very badly suited to action sequences as often the strained attempts at wild perspectives made pages hard to decipher.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't get behind this art. It is aggressively unpleasant to look at. Still, I do enjoy the character and the Spoiler teamup issue was a real standout.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read, but a good read.

[a ☕︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

the showdown w lady shiva happens in this one. another installment i couldn’t put down! my fave issue is when barbara argues w bruce about letting cassandra up for air, sunshine, roses (and wins that argument). it’s such a sweet interlude.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those who aren't super familiar with the Batgirl mythology, it might be surprising to know that this isn't the usual Barbara Gordon Batgirl. I hadn't read any of the stories featuring Cassandra Cain before this one though I had read about her history. As a character, her being slow to speak (having only recently learned verbal communication after being trained entirely in silence) is a unique character trait and does nicely set her apart.

Her showdown with Lady Shiva is very interesting, though without the set-up, I probably missed some of the tension.

I liked this book, but nothing much stood out. The Lady Shiva arc is the only main one though arguably the brief Cain plot is noteworthy. Also the second chapter in this volume made no sense to me (Batgirl breaks someone out of Death Row...only to put them back in Death Row? What?). It was disorienting and interrupted the flow of the rest of the story.

If you already are a fan of the Cassandra Cain Batgirl, this is probably enjoyable, but if you aren't, I wouldn't start here.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Consider child abuse well beyond the norm: a girl is raised without speech to understand only motion, fighting, and violence. A girl is trained from the time she could stand to fight, to be an assassin. A girl whose father plays a lovely game of "two for flinching" with her, involving gunshot wounds. When she is eight years old, he tells her to kill. When she is eight years old, she obeys. She doesn't understand words, only body language, and she is made intimately familiar with death when she is only eight years old.

So she learns a lesson, and later a telepath teaches her how to speak and she becomes Batgirl, but she still feels overwhelming guilt. This guilt makes her commit suicide by agreeing to a death match with Lady Shiva--the greatest martial artist on the planet--and she dies. And then she wins the fight.

Cassandra Cain: baddest.

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of the other volumes I've read with Cass Cain, this has to be my favorite. It had a nice balance between vignettes and story. Cass is still in an early stage of her new life compared to later events that I've already read. It was nice to see her and Stephanie are friends at this point in time. One of my favorite parts was the quick look into her life with Stephanie as she kept saying "read it" over and over again. This is when it's revealed that Cass cannot read, and Stephanie offers to help her. Also, there's interaction with Robin, which is interesting when he sees the scars left behind of her other life. Cass is built into a human character in this with little bits and pieces as she tries to find herself in the mess that Cain left her in.

I'm hoping to read more of Cass Cain. I'm always on the look out for affordable volumes.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

2000's Batgirl is the best. There's no other way to split it. Kelley Puckett's view and writing if this character is amazing. I miss this character so much. She was Damian before Damian was around.

Don't get me started on the art. Damion Scott is a master. His style breath life into this story. The movements and fluid characters. There no static just life. He can draw like no other.

The story was great too. I remember bits of it when I read the single issues. Regrading it in two days was amazing. This story screams out and takes you away. Maybe I'm a little bias, this type of art and story reminds me of a great time in my life. That's what books are there for and this one does it perfect for me. So much so I want to find this entire run and read it again. It's that good.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kelly Puckett finally writes a full arc story combined from all the issues rather than small stories compiled together. Lady Shiva is back for her fight to the death, and Batgirl is keeping this from Oracle and Batman.

The result is a poorly drawn fight scene that seems like it should be the most epic thing in the world but is drawn very messy.

The artwork by Damion Scott definitely holds back the story. If you want to see a good fight scene laid out, check out Ryan Ottley and Corey Walker for their work in invincible. Usage of two page spreads and background images make for a real sense of motion, not a bunch of characters swinging their arms around.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cassandra Cain was an interesting character when she first showed up in Batman: No Man’s Land. Her character had a ton of possibilities but as with most DC characters she was made too powerful. We witness that here as she finally has her showdown with Shiva. I do like the budding friendship with Spoiler as I think it works much better than with Barbara. The art is at times almost indecipherable. I understand that its stylized but during certain scenes its hard to tell what’s going on. Overall this is an average book that could have been much better!

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is more like a 2.5 stars, it's just not good enough for the full three.

Unfortunately, these books don't stand the test of time. The story telling and the art are very dated. The story can be hard to follow at times, with how choppy it is, and the art is just awful so it makes everything even more confusing.

But I did like the cameos from Robin and Spoiler.

It's disappointing because I really want to get to know Cassandra better but these books are so below par.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of my massive Barbara Gordon Re-read which I had a glorious amazing time with. The art in the early Batgirl stuff was very touch and go to me, which made me wince a while reading through it, but I definitely appreciated the beginning of Cass' story, and Bab's involvement in that with Cass and with/against Bruce.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a big fan of the art here. It's a bit too... chaotic, I guess? And the story with the man being executed was strange. I don't know if I just missed something, but I pretty much had no idea wth was going on there. She goes to all this trouble to break him out and then just puts him back? What? But, the rest was good, especially the part with Lady Shiva. She's always fun.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another solid entry in the Cassandra Cain Batgirl series. It wasn't amazing on the whole, but there were amazing moments. We really delve into who Cassandra is and why she is the way she is.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I knew of Cassandra Cain, but knew nothing really about her. This book didn't tell me everything I needed to know, but it made me want to read more. I found the artwork intriguing and enjoyed the tempo of the story. Hope to pick up more Cassandra Cain.

[Jacqui Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Getting over the she's not Barbra, I don't see anything compelling about Cassie in this set. This one isn't as well written as the previous volume. It's weird how she's always referred to as Batgirl rarely is her name used. I find Cassie is portrayed extremely flat for a former child assassin.

[Virginia Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

So the showdown with Shiva gave Batgirl a new lease on life...now what? I will be picking up the next volume ASAP.

[H. Givens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the Cassandra Cain Batgirl, and I loved the art in this volume even though the blocky noir style isn't usually my jam. Beyond that, it's just sort of "Batgirl's daily grind" stuff.

[Victor Orozco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, sweet... but fierce. An apt description of these Batgirl stories as well as the character herself. The story goes by very quickly but its a very nice ride. C+

[Contessa Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Graphic novel tore at my heart strings when it came to Batgirl's relationship with her father. the plot was excellent and the art was beautiful

[Kevin Connery · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Batgirl #17-20, 22, 23, 25, BG Secret Files)

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh... didn't really enjoy it at all. Art was cool at times but the story was pretty flat.

[Adam Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book collects Issues 17-20, 22-23, 25 of Cassandra Cain's run as Batgirl. This book is one of those comic stories that works better as a trade. Individually, except for the final issue, these stories seem unconnected okay crime adventures with Robin (Tim Drake) and Spoiler joining her on a couple cases one issue being dedicated to a long dialogue between Batman and Oracle about her.

However, read as a trade, it's actually a very good character story about Batgirl dealing with her guilt over killing a man as a child and the ticking time bomb which is her battle to the death with her mother Lady Shiva. Within the context of the trade, it's a longer story as she deals with her guilt and her true nature. Batman's observation that she's not a killer because how could a killer get what we do here, is a thought provoking idea. The conversation works in the context of the book because so much of is action, it actually makes a nice break. What makes the book pay off is the final chapter with the battle with Lady Shiva. The fight and the revelations that come out of it make for a nice twist. Overall, a good story where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.