Cass/Danny Weekend - Fun Fact! Day 7
And so, the beginning of the end. Today is the penultimate fun fact for the Cass/Danny Weekend, and we hope you've all had a blast. For these last two days, I want to talk about a point that I found very interesting and how it mirrored our two characters.
So, and to say this as plainly as I can, Cass and Danny are not often depicted as smart. What do I mean by that? After all, Cass works side-by-side with the World's Greatest Detective. She has to deal with all sorts of Gotham Rogues and genius strategists whose psychological warfare could break the best of men. How is she not smart?
And that's the thing. She is smart. She's just not smart in the traditional way, in the way that society dictates people should be.
Nevermind Cass' training, her intimate knowledge of the human body and how it works, and of course how to break it. In many comics you will read about her, and especially in the early days of her career as Batgirl, Cass is depicted to be inarticulate and illiterate. That is, she cannot speak and read. And while we as an audience can see how capable she is, in a real world sense, she would be considered mentally disabled.
And these are real disabilities that she struggles with for a long time in her comics career. Even when the psychic meta tried to reorient her brain hoping it would help her, there was still a steep learning curve. No amount of powers could automatically fix it all. Because language is a skill you have to learn, and for a long time she never had the opportunity to learn it. Yet just because she can't communicate the traditional way, doesn't mean she doesn't know how to express herself in other ways. This meta includes some great comic panels from the Batgirl (2000) edition that uses framing, body language, and perspective to showcases how her story can be told, despite a general lack of dialogue from her.
And of course, we can't go without touching on Cass and her ability to "read" people. Essentially, Cass takes note of people's muscle movements, posture, and other physical, active traits to anticipate blows or intent, emotions. (Keep in mind, that after the psychic altered her brain, Cass loses this ability. Don't ask me how that works, that's just comics logic for you.) Except it won't always be a perfect read. Because while there are many details that are naked to her eye, that doesn't always mean she can make out a lie. That doesn't always mean she can't have all the right pieces and still come to the wrong conclusion.
There is a common misconception in fandom that Cass seems to have perfect emotional intelligence just because she can read people's feelings, despite their attempts to hide it. Wayne Family Adventures shows us that, although this skill allows her to be more forward with people, it doesn't mean she always knows the right time to approach it and much less how to tactfully do so. You can look at Episodes 32 and 33 of the first season to see how Cass handles this after pushing Stephanie's boundaries when she, with good intentions, tried to force her to open up.
Now you're probably thinking, "Halfa, this is depressing. Are you telling me that Cass has no advantages at all?" And to that I say, no advantages? No advantages?!
Cass has had the odds stacked against her for her entire life and despite an abusive childhood and torture disguised as training, Cass still had the autonomy and critical thinking to realize, in critical moments, what choice she has to make. That's huge! Disabilities are so often depicted poorly (and let's face it, DC doesn't do a great job either), and characters with these disabilities treated poorly as a result. And yet we have a titular character who does not let these disabilities dictate her life!
No, she doesn't have it easy! No, she doesn't have any real advantages. And that's what makes her relatable. That's what makes her character real. Because we don't have automatic advantages. There is no perfect catch-all that will make life smooth-sailing. But despite it all, that doesn't mean we have to give up.
Cass spent nine years homeless. Think about that. In a world so dependent on technology, on being able to communicate on a basic level to get by day to day, or even to read something as basic as a map, Cass survived. She survived nine years on her own. That is a testament to her character. Her disabilities made her life harder. It did not make her life impossible.
And I think that's a message we can all stand to remember in our lives.
Thank you for following our adventures with Cass. We hope you learned something new about her that made you fall in love with her character all over again.
