Batgirl #63
Batgirl #63 opens the two-part 'Could've Been' arc, which is the first sustained clash between Cassandra Cain's Batgirl and Rose Wilson's Ravager — a mirror-image confrontation built around two daughters shaped into weapons by their fathers. The issue is structurally important within the post-'War Games' Blüdhaven era because it stages all three members of the Deathstroke/Penguin contract chain (Penguin, Deathstroke, Ravager) against Cassandra in a single storyline, deepening the thematic weight of her solo run in a city that is not her own. It also represents a pivotal story beat in Andersen Gabrych's tenure on the title, testing the limits of Cassandra's emotional intelligence as much as her martial ability. Within the broader Cassandra Cain reading order, this issue is the narrative pivot that sets up the emotional resolution paid off in #64.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Andersen Gabrych took over as writer on Batgirl with issue #58 (November 2004), and Alé Garza became his primary penciler, forming the creative partnership that carried the series through its Blüdhaven phase. Issue #63 sits squarely in the middle of that run, published April 27, 2005, with a cover by Dustin Nguyen and editing by Michael Wright under Executive Editor Dan DiDio. The Blüdhaven relocation itself was an editorial consequence of the 2004 'War Games' crossover, which left Gotham's costumed heroes legally banned and Nightwing injured — factors that gave Gabrych a clean sandbox in which to build Cassandra's standalone identity.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published April 27, 2005; cover-dated June 2005; part of Batgirl Volume 1 (2000–2006), issue #63 of 75.
- Written by Andersen Gabrych; penciled by Alé Garza; inked by Jesse Delperdang and Margeaux Pepoy; cover art by Dustin Nguyen; colored by Wildstorm FX.
- Story title: 'Could've Been, Part One: Nowadays' — part one of a two-issue arc concluded in Batgirl #64 ('Gone, Daddy, Gone').
- The Penguin hires Deathstroke (Slade Wilson) to kill Batgirl in Blüdhaven; Deathstroke then subcontracts the actual killing blow to his daughter Ravager (Rose Wilson), setting up their first direct confrontation across this issue.
- Batman (Bruce Wayne) appears in a supporting role, shown approving of Cassandra's community work in Blüdhaven — including use of a Wayne Foundation grant — providing a contrast to the threat closing in on her.
- Doctor Psycho and the Calculator also appear as antagonists, situating the story within the broader villainous Society infrastructure of DC's mid-2000s line.
- The issue is part of the post-'War Games' editorial status quo in which Cassandra moved to Blüdhaven after Gotham's costumed heroes were declared illegal by the GCPD following that crossover event.
- Collected in the trade paperback Batgirl: Kicking Assassins (DC Comics, 2005), which gathers Batgirl #60–64 and is written entirely by Gabrych with art by Garza.
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