#batbrood

During the Uptown Gotham Stadium for the Super Bowl 53, City Prince Bruce Wayne was seen being interviewed while enjoying a day out with his children.

However things quickly soured when an intoxicated fan, later to be revealed as a resident of Star City, rushed over and tackled Wayne's youngest, Damian Wayne.

At this moment an alarmed Bruce and co. Tried reasoning with the woman but, it had no effect as she did not jabe complete control of her mental faculties. Enough was enough and seeing her hold on his son tighten and the increasing discomfort of tje situation rise, Wayne took matters into his own hands and boy did he ever.

Bruce Wayne, CEO playboy extraordinaire and philanthropist, wrapped one arm around her waist and the other unhooked her arm from the younger Wayne's neck and hurled her over the next row. An incredible feat.

Wayne then spent the rest of the interview comforting his son and asking every few minutes how he felt and of he wanted to go home. The younger simply stated he was fine and that "such a thing would hardly be enough to harm me", such a brave boy.

The final question that closed this interview was really a surprise and a zinger.

Interviewer: "Mr.Wayne there have been many allegations about you backing the vigilante, Batman. Many chalk this up to you being lovers but there are some who state that your lobe for justice is the root cause.

A popular theory goes as far as to say that your yourself are the man behind the cowl. What say you?

Bruce: I would like to reassure the good citizens that no, I am not involved in an affair with a bat vigilante in my city. That would place myself and my children in more danger than normal.

Furthermore, Batman does not kill, not under any circumstances. But touch any one of my children and you will be dead where you stand. I may not be the Bat but, I am a father. Take that as you will."

Incredible. The power of familial bonds and a man who would move heaven and Earth for his kids. If that doesn't spell love and determination, I don't know what will.

We can all agree that he may not be Batman but he is a father.

And that may be more frightening than a masked hero who can break your bones twenty-one ways to Sunday.

I understand the sentiment of "Cass would be outraged by Jason's morals" (when we're talking New Earth, at least,) that makes sense. I do think she would hate his ideals. Not Jason himself, though.

Cassandra knows death. Literally the thing that motivates her to be a hero is that, because of her ability to read body language, she experienced death after her first kill. She didn't just watch that man die, she died with him. She knows exactly what Jason felt like when he died, she knows how much it fundamentally changes somebody. I think she wouldn't understand how Jason changed for the worse, but she, out of everyone in the Bats, would actually, genuinely be able to see the boy Jason used to be when looking at Red Hood without separating Hood and Robin in her mind. Your death isn't something you ever forget.

Also, not only does she know the pain Jason went through when he died, she knows the grief Bruce went through, and is still going through when she finds out about Jason's death.

Obviously, everyone loves this scene (Batgirl (2000) #7) because it perfectly encapsulates both Cass' and Bruce's ideas of what makes a vigilante/hero. But there's a second layer to this, which is that Cass, who speaks in body language, feels Bruce's grief. In this scene, Cass isn't just shocked to learn that a Robin died, she's mourning Jason just as much as Bruce is. She can feel all of his regrets, all of his pain, all of his guilt. Cassandra would never be able to look at Red Hood without remembering what Bruce felt, what she felt, when he died.

Lastly, while Cass' morals aren't as much about "second chances" as Bruce's morals are, she is still desperate to save people. And Jason's main thing is that Bruce (and Dick, I'll make a meta post about Brothers in Blood at some point) can't save him. Saving Jason Todd goes directly against Bruce and Cassandra's morals, but another thing that Bruce and Cass have in common is how unwilling they are to give up. Everybody will be saved, or they'll both die trying to make it so. "Everybody" includes Jason, who's always worn his heart on his sleeve, who most likely wouldn't even try to hide his emotions/body language from Cass, because he never bothers to hide his pain, is always begging to be saved, just in a way that Batman can't fix. Jason doesn't just need help, he wants it. So Cass would never hate him, because she sees that Jason wants to be fixed, wants to change the man that he is, but feels like he can't do that until Joker dies, as seen here:

(Urban Legends (2020) #6)