The following story and photos are from Giant Panda King's book,
Gotham 1919-1939 by Russall S. Beattie, available from www.giantpandaking.com.
Viewer discretion is advised.
During Bruce Wayne’s years training abroad, one of his mentors was a man named David Cain.
Cain had once been one of the most formidable assassins in the world, belonging to an
organization that was the elite of the elite. They were known by some as the League of Assassins.
He had fallen out of good graces with the leader of the League.
Though he was well past his prime, he was still one of the deadliest men in the world.
Cain yearned to be back with the elite, but opportunity evaded him.
When Bruce trained with him, he learned everything Cain had to offer: jujitsu, judo,
and many other forms of martial arts. While Bruce was a quick learner, Cain soon grew frustrated
with the young man. No matter what he taught him, Bruce was not willing to use it to kill.
The two - mentor and student - often disagreed on this philosophically,
but Cain still continued to train Bruce. After months of training, Bruce and Cain parted ways.
Bruce felt he had learned all he could from the fighter, and Cain felt he had nothing more
to teach Bruce if he would not kill. They left on tense terms. Unbeknownst to Bruce,
Cain’s young daughter, Cassandra, had been watching everything her father had taught Bruce.
Cassandra had been born years before, when Cain was still a part of the League of Assassins.
Cain had fallen in love with another assassin of the League, and the fruit of their romance
was Cassandra Cain. Cain had hoped for a child that would be born the perfect warrior. Cain
wanted a son, and, upon seeing that the infant was a girl, almost did away with her. But he
saw her mother’s strength in the baby’s eyes. Cain decided to keep Cassandra’s existence to himself.
He hid Cassandra from everyone after her birth, even her mother.
He lied to his lover that the baby had died during labor, leaving her heartbroken. It
was not long after that Cain was at odds with the League’s leader, and was forced to leave.
Cain had become increasingly reckless and defiant, and the League’s leader cut him loose.
Cain took Cassandra with him, keeping her a secret. As the years went on, he trained her
intensely. He never even taught her to speak; the only language he wanted her to know was violence,
body language, and combat. The years passed, and Bruce Wayne’s time with Cain came and went.
The Bat-Man also appeared in Gotham. When Cassandra reached the age of 16,
her skills had advanced so much that she was on par with the skills of Bat-Man.
Cassandra was capable of reading a person’s intent before they even made a move.
Cain was still yearning to be a part of the League again. He witnessed the rise of the Bat-Man,
knowing full well that it had to be Bruce. He followed the Bat’s career as closely as he could,
and a plan slowly began to form in his mind. He continued to train Cassandra intensely.
Cain wanted his daughter’s skills to be razor-sharp by the time they returned to Gotham.
Cain had been contacted by an associate of his, King Snake. King Snake was a mercenary well-versed
in hand-to-hand combat. He had once been a member of Her Majesty’s Service until he was blinded.
King Snake had an interest in challenging the crime boss in Gotham’s Chinatown:
Lady Shiva. King Snake had heard of her exploits. He had already conquered the Triads in Hong Kong,
but saw a potential rival in Shiva. Cain joined King Snake’s forces, the Ghost Dragons,
in what would come to be known as the Tong War of Gotham. Cain brought Cassandra with him,
crafting armor for her to use. He planned to use her to bring down Shiva and help put King Snake in
Gotham as the crime lord of Chinatown. Shiva was herself a member of the League of Assassins. The
fact that Cassandra would try to kill Shiva would reveal a startling fact to Cain’s young protege:
Lady Shiva was, in fact, her mother.
America had thought they’d seen the last of the “Tong Wars'' that had terrorized the Chinatowns
of American Cities in the late 1800s. They would find themselves woefully wrong in that assumption.
Gotham was about to become the host to the very last one, and one of the bloodiest in America’s
history. The Bat-Man and the GCPD would be hard-pressed to bring an end to the death plaguing
the city during this time. Cassandra would soon find herself torn between her mother and father
in a completely brutal and unfair conflict. Cain would fight, but would have to come to terms
with his abandonment and untruthfulness to Shiva. Shiva’s anger would burn at Cain for his betrayal,
and she would find herself desperate for assistance; any help she could find to save her
daughter from Cain’s manipulation and wrath. Shiva would turn to a most unlikely ally: The Bat-Man.