David Cain is regarded as one of the most formidable assassins in the DC Universe. An early mentor to Bruce Wayne, he trained Wayne in multiple assassination and combat techniques, though Bruce rejected Cain’s lethal philosophy and eventually surpassed his teacher in ability.[2]
Frustrated with training other assassins who could not meet his expectations, Cain decided to raise his own perfect successor. He selected martial artist Sandra Wu-San as the child's mother after witnessing her fight her sister Carolyn. Believing Carolyn to be a limiting influence, Cain killed her, then ambushed Sandra with help from Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins. Sandra agreed to bear his child in exchange for her life and left the child in his care. Afterward, she trained herself to become the deadly assassin known as Lady Shiva.[3]
Their daughter, Cassandra Cain, was raised by David in complete isolation, trained solely in body language and combat—at the expense of reading, writing, or speaking. She became one of the world’s most lethal fighters, able to anticipate opponents’ moves through their movements alone.
The father
Cain’s relationship with Cassandra is abusive and controlling. He raises her as a weapon, but she ultimately escapes after being forced to kill for the first time. Traumatized by the act, Cassandra flees and eventually finds sanctuary with Batman and Barbara Gordon.
Cain reemerges in Batman: No Man's Land, hired by Two-Face to assassinate Commissioner Gordon. Cassandra intervenes and saves Gordon. Cain, visibly shaken by his daughter’s defiance and new ability to speak, leaves Gotham.
Framing Bruce Wayne
Lex Luthor hires Cain to frame Bruce Wayne for the murder of Vesper Fairchild. However, Cain has an ulterior motive: determining whether or not Batman is worthy enough to raise Cassandra.[4] Batman briefly flees with the intention of abandoning his life as Bruce Wayne, but a series of events force him to recognise the importance of his civilian life, while Cassandra determines that Cain was responsible after examining Vesper's corpse and realizing that she was immobilized with a nerve strike that Cain is known to use. Luring Cain into a confrontation, Cain concludes that Batman is indeed worthy and turns himself in to clear his name.[5]
Luthor hires Deadshot to kill Cain while he is in jail due to a fear of him implicating Luthor in Fairchild's murder. Cain has a death wish and almost allows himself to be killed before being reminded of Cassandra. He fights back and shoots Deadshot repeatedly, leaving him alive to prove a point. Cassandra visits Cain while in jail and attacks him, threatening to kill him if he ever commits another murder. Cain later escapes from prison undetected to give Cassandra a birthday present before returning to prison.
One Year Later
Cassandra shoots her father. Art by Freddie E. Williams II.
In the One Year Later storyline, Robin captures Cain and offers him to the League of Assassins to rescue Cassandra—only to learn she has become their new leader under the influence of Deathstroke’s mind-control serum.[6] Cassandra shoots Cain, apparently killing him, though his body is never found.[1]
The New 52
David Cain is reintroduced in The New 52 continuity reboot as an assassin working for the villain named "Mother". He is paid to eliminate some of the most famous and powerful people on the planet, no matter how seemingly impossible the task.[7]
↑ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p.58. ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
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