Warning! Contains Spoilers For Detective Comics #1084!

Batman has several apprentices who could one day take over the cowl – though it seems that DC has officially stated that it will be Cassandra Cain who carries on the mantle of the Caped Crusader. While some fans want Dick for the role, and others think Damian should inherit the title from his father, Cassie Cain has proven to be the closest Bruce Wayne has to a true heir.

Detective Comics #1084 includes a backup story – by Alex Paknadel and Robbi Rodriguez – in which readers are shown the only member of the Bat-Family who continues to carry on Batman’s legacy after he’s gone. In this tale, Batman was chased out of Gotham by the Orgham family, and it’s not Tim, Damian, or even Dick who keeps Batman’s legacy alive, but Cassandra Cain.

Cassandra honors Batman in the only way she knows how: changing her fighting patterns and movements to resemble Batman, as her way of keeping his memory alive.

Cassandra Adopts Batman’s Fighting Style To Honor Him

Preserving His Legacy Among Gotham’s Criminals

Cassandra Cain had a pretty tough childhood. She was raised by the legendary assassin, David Cain, and was treated as nothing more than a weapon. She was meant to be trained to be the perfect bodyguard for Ra’s al Ghul. David taught her how to read the subtlest movements in a person’s body. She got so good at this that she could read body language as effectively as anyone in the DC Universe. This allowed her to become one of the greatest fighters in DC, but it had a major drawback the first time she killed a man.

In that moment, she was able to see life leave his body, and feel his fear of dying. This moment traumatized Cassandra, and she fled from her father. Similarly, Batman also has a strong trauma response related to death, due to his infamous origin story, witnessing the murder of his parents. As a result, this means Cassandra relates to Batman’s mission, and more crucially, his “no-kill rule” far more than any of the Robins. Not only this, but every Robin has also stated at one point or another that they don’t want to be Batman.

Cassandra Cain Is The Only One Who Truly Wants To Be Batman

His Legitimate Heir

As DC has revealed at various points, few of the Dark Knight’s proteges truly want to follow in his footsteps. Cassie Cain is the notable exception. Dick Grayson enjoys his own identity as Nightwing, Tim has never wanted to be Batman, Jason has never expressed any interest, and Damian used to want to be Batman, but has seemingly grown out of this desire. Cassandra Cain is the only one who truly deserves and wants to be Batman, because she believes in his mission more than anything or anyone else.

Every member of the Bat-Family believes in Batman’s mission to some degree, but only Cassandra Cain embodied Batman’s mission after he was gone. She changed her entire fighting style to mimic his, even though it was a downgrade from hers. She did this, so people would remember him, and it was seemingly effective, as a criminal mistakes Cassandra for Batman after she beats him down. Despite all the fan debates, it seems that DC has finally stated that Cassandra Cain is Batman’s one true heir.

Detective Comics #1084 is on sale now from DC Comics!