This is an in-universe article with out-of-universe material.
History
Cassandra "Cassie" Sandsmark is the second person to be called Wonder Girl; the first being Donna Troy. Cassie is the daughter of Dr. Helena Sandsmark and the Greek god Zeus.
Origin
Cassie spent most of her time at her mother's work at the Gateway City Museum of Antiquities, where she had a penchant for getting into trouble. She quickly befriended her mother's new employee, Wonder Woman, and was eager to help her. During a fight with a Doomsday clone and another battle with Decay, she created a costume and used magical acquirements (the Sandals of Hermes and the Gauntlet of Atlas) to help Wonder Woman, much to her mother's horror. Cassie later had the opportunity to ask Zeus for a boon, and requested real superpowers. Zeus granted her request, but gave Dr. Sandsmark the ability to deactivate them. Dr. Sandsmark, however, reluctantly accepted her daughter's wish to be a superheroine and rarely if ever uses this ability. Artemis was assigned as her teacher.
Even without her power, Cassie was a problem child, and frequently had to change schools. Throughout her teens, she attended Holliday School for Girls, Dennis Peterson High School, Gateway City High School, and eventually the Saint Elias School for Girls.
Young Justice
Cassie heavily idolized Donna Troy, the original Wonder Girl, and to that effect wore a black wig over her natural blond hair (it also helped to conceal her identity). Donna gave Cassie the second costume she wore as Wonder Girl, but Cassie was afraid to wear it lest it were ruined (she did don the outfit during the "Sins of Youth" crossover when she was temporarily aged to adulthood). As Wonder Girl, Cassie joined Young Justice due to her crush on Superboy. She became close friends with Arrowette, Secret, and Empress. During her time with that group, the dark god Oblivion caused Wonder Woman's Wonder Dome palace to destroy Gateway City. Artemis ordered Cassie to help with crowd control instead of wasting time putting on her Wonder Girl disguise. Agreeing with her, Cassie revealed her secret identity before news cameras for the first time in her superhero career.[3] Towards the end of the Young Justice series, Cassie became the leader of the team, after beating Robin during an election for command. Her secret identity was again publicly revealed when the second Silver Swan attacked her at her high school.[4]
Young Justice was disbanded after the events of Graduation Day, a crossover with Titans. During these events, Optitron offered to fund both the Titans and Young Justice. Donna Troy was thought to have been killed by a rogue Superman android, leaving Cassie shaken and causing both teams to disband.
Teen Titans
Cassie later joined some former members of Young Justice in the newest incarnation of the Teen Titans. Early on, she was gifted with a lasso by Ares, the Greek god of war and frequent enemy of Wonder Woman and the Amazons. Despite appearing similar to Wonder Woman's lasso, Cassie's expels Zeus' lightning when used in anger. Over the course of the series, Ares has often appeared to Wonder Girl, usually to warn her about "the coming war." During her time with the Titans, Cassie also developed a relationship with Superboy, whom she had harbored feelings through before and throughout Young Justice.
Crisis
Main article: Infinite Crisis
During a battle against Brother Blood and a handful of zombie Titans, she acknowledged that her powers were fluctuating and sometimes disappearing altogether. Despite this, Cassie attempted to help Superboy after he was beaten to near-death by Superboy-Prime. After intervening and subsequently saving him, Cassie and the Titans infiltrated a Lexcorp laboratory to find a way to cure Superboy. While the other Titans flew to Blüdhaven following an attack from the Society, Cassie remained at Titans Tower to watch over Superboy. When he awoke, the pair of them reconnected and remembered their past in Young Justice, which seemed so much happier and easier. Conner then took Cassie to Smallville, and, afraid that it would be their last night together, consummated their relationship.
Ares again appears to her and informed that the reason behind her weakening power was Zeus taking back the powers he had granted to her as he left the mortal plane. Ares then offered Cassie some of his power in exchange for becoming his champion and acknowledging him as her brother. She joins Superboy and Nightwing up north, with powers returned, to assist in the assault on Alexander Luthor's tower. Superboy sacrificed his life to defeat Superboy-Prime and destroy the tower, and died in Cassie's arms.
The Cult of Conner
Main article: 52
Directly after Infinite Crisis, the Teens Titans fall apart. Cassandra leaves the Titans during the year in which 52 takes place, following Robin's departure. She feels abandoned by her best friends.
Cassie becomes involved in an online cult heavily influenced by Kryptonian culture. She sets up an altar in Titans Tower with Kryptonian crystals and a gold figure with the Superman-insignia, which means "hope" in Kryptonian. Soon, Ralph Dibny approaches her because someone defaced the grave of his wife Sue with an upside down 'S' Shield, which in Kryptonian means "resurrection."
About five days later, Cassie and her fellow cult members meet with Ralph. Cassie mentions that it was another member, Devem, who led her to join. Cassie explains that the goal of the cult is to resurrect Superboy. As a test of their process, they intend to resurrect Sue Dibny. Cassie and Ralph attend a ceremony designed to resurrect Sue, but Ralph grows suspicious and with the help of other superheroes, disrupts the ceremony, destroying the Kryptonite which was essential to the process. Cassie leaves with Devem, blaming Ralph for destroying her chances to resurrect Superboy. After stopping Weather Wizard in Metropolis, Cassie meets Supernova and refers to him incorrectly as Kon-El, who actually turns out to be Booster Gold in disguise.
Return to the Teen Titans
Main article: One Year Later
Wonder Girl is seen attempting to stop Gemini of the Brotherhood of Evil from escaping S.T.A.R. Labs with valuable technology, revealing that she had been following the Brotherhood for some time. She also sports a new costume influenced by that of the late Superboy, wearing a Golden Age Wonder Woman-themed t-shirt and denim jeans.
She 'temporarily' rejoins the team, under the suggestion of Cyborg so that they may combine their forces to defeat the Brotherhood of Evil. Both Robin and Cyborg hope, however, that she will agree to return permanently. When Kid Devil was mortally injured during a battle with the Brotherhood, the Doom Patrol arrived on the scene, offering to help. Yet there appears to be a large rift between the two teams, and Wonder Girl seems particularly upset that Beast Boy left the team to rejoin the Doom Patrol. After the combined efforts of the Teen Titans and Doom Patrol defeat the Brotherhood of Evil, she decides to rejoin the team permanently. When she goes to tell Robin of her decision, she discovers his secret and failed attempts to bring back Superboy. In their shared grief, the pair kissed one another, but upon realizing what they had done, Wonder Girl flew away from Robin. The pair have yet to talk about the incident beyond coming to the agreement that it was a mistake, but both have discussed it with others. With her life in disarray, Cassandra has been having difficulty with her personal life, often having major confrontations with her mother. Cassie has gained a new friendship with the recently returned Supergirl, Kara Zor-El, who has shared with her in mourning the loss of Superboy and Paradise Island.
Following the Titans "world tour", Cassie and Tim try to convince Raven to resurrect Superboy, as she had recently brought back Jericho. However, Raven claims that Superboy's soul has already transcended this plane of existence. In the middle of this conversation, Cassie is captured by Deathstroke's villainous Titans East with Robin and Raven after an attack by Inertia and Match. Each member of Titans East has been recruited to negate a specific Titan. Deathstroke selected Match, a clone of Superboy, to counter Cassie. Not only is he a powerhouse, Match's appearance gives Titans East a psychological advantage over their counterparts.
The Titans battle furiously against the Titans East, during which they are able to convince Batgirl and Duela Dent to switch side. Unfortunately the team is defeated by Slade's team a second, but thankfully Raven, Cyborg and Duela Dent manage to get aid from Nightwing, Donna Troy, Beast Boy and Flash (Bart Allen). Together, the two generations of Titans defeat Slade, who along with Inertia, manages to escape.
Cassie is also still very furious at Diana, who she felt abandoned her during the last year. She is also not pleased that Robin was aware of Diana's disappearance, but never told her about it. Diana and Cassie have not been able to discuss their past differences, partially due to the kidnapping of Donna Troy. When Donna questions Cassie's hesitance to be near Match due to his resemblance to Superboy, Cassie finally breaks down and tells Donna how hurt she still is over Superboy's death all that time later.
Adding to her pain, Cassandra attends Bart Allen's funeral and during a heated and controversial eulogy, she vows to get revenge for Bart's death.[5]
Cassie later confides in Supergirl her feelings over current events, but the two of them are soon thrown into the events of Amazons Attack. The two discover that their friends and family have been placed in an internment camp due to their ties to the Amazons. After a failed attempt to aid them, the two heroes agree to bring the U.S. President to Hippolyta in order to stop the war. They are ambushed by a group of Amazons in the process, which causes the President to become mortally wounded. The actions of the Amazons and Wonder Girl's own involvement cause public outcry against all those who have followed in Wonder Woman’s footsteps. Ultimately, Cassie declares that despite her training and past that she is not an Amazon, preferring her ties to the Teen Titans over that of the Amazons.[6] Accepting her decision, Artemis wishes her well and leaves Cassie to her devices. Wonder Girl celebrates by sharing another kiss with Robin in front of her teammates.
In the months following the kiss, Cassie and Tim continue to go through 'will-they-won't-they' moments in which they both continue to question the validity of their relationship. Then following a battle against an army of future Titans, the pair decided at last to date. Unfortunately, their relationship is short-lived, as after their first official date Cassie ends the relationship, because she feels she is using Tim.[7] This has resulted in a growing animosity between the pair, which has begun to bleed into their relationships with the other Titans.
Wonder Girl
Cassandra attempts to redeem herself for the mistakes made by the Amazons on her own. Cassie adopts a secret identity, taking up the name "Drusilla" (the same name used by Wonder Girl in the 70's). However, as she attempts to apprehend a group of mystical beasts left over from the Amazons' attack, she finds herself confronted by her half-brother Hercules, who claims to want to help her become a true champion of the gods and to rebuild Olympus. Cassandra is reluctant to trust him. Hercules persists and chases after Cassandra, and takes the form of Superboy in order to get her attention.
Together, Hercules and Cassie try to discover who is attacking the remaining Olympian gods. Soon into their search, they are attacked by the Female Furies. Hercules stops the fight by explaining that he has allied with the Furies in hopes of rescuing the gods, or, failing that, starting a new pantheon with them. The Furies have their own plans and are only using Hercules to get to Cassandra. The Furies soon betray Hercules, with Bloody Mary using her bite to gain power over Hercules, forcing him to do what the Furies want. The Furies then kidnap Cassandra's mother to lure her into a trap. Aided by the Olympian, Cassandra goes into battle, being forced to fight her own brother. The Teen Titans, Empress, Arrowette and Wonder Woman show up to help. After Bloody Mary is murdered by the New Gods killer, Hercules is freed from her spell and immediately saves Cassandra from being kidnapped by the Furies. Hercules goes free after he reveals he is now a demi-god and that Zeus released him to help stop "the Great Disaster". Hercules then leaves to perform certain "labors."
The series ends with Cassandra reconciling with Wonder Woman, who tells Cassie that she has become her own woman.
Cassie is later attacked by her nephew Lycus, the son of Ares. He attempts to take her title as Ares' avatar, along with her power. Although he is successful in stealing Cassie's powers derived from Ares, Cassie discovers that she no longer needs to be blessed with powers from the gods as she willed her own innate power to surface. Cassie now possesses a high level of super-strength all her own.
Robin recently made the decision to leave the Teen Titans for an undetermined length of time in the aftermath of Batman R.I.P., leaving Cassie with the task of assembling and leading a new team. After an unsuccessful attempt at having Kid Devil recruit teen metahumans such as Klarion, Shining Knight, and the teen members of the Justice Society of America, Cassie eventually gains three new Titans in Static, Aquagirl, and Kid Eternity. Kid Eternity's ability to summon the spirits of the deceased briefly tempts Cassie, who considers having him summon Conner spirit. However, she eventually decides against it, telling Eternity never to grant her such a request, even if she were to beg him.[8]
Return of Superboy
Main article: Final Crisis
Cassie becomes aware of Conner's rebirth by Brainiac 5's hand. Despite meeting him briefly at his return [9], Cassie decides to wait, until Martha Kent herself, now sheltering Conner at her place, invites Cassie for dinner, essentially granting Cassie and Conner a date. At first skeptical and fearing to end as Lana Lang, basically replaced as Conner relocated to Smallville and gained a new circle of friends, she's touched by Conner opening his heart to her about her fears and dreams for their future life, and thus decides to tell Conner about herself and Tim Drake. Conner quickly forgives her, explaining that even if Cassandra still loves him, she couldn't have known of his impending resurrection in the immediate aftermath of the Infinite Crisis, so she has nothing to blame. Happily, Cassie accepts to rekindle their relationship. [10]
Leader of Teen Titans
Due to personal responsibilities, neither Conner nor Bart have returned to the team as of yet, though Cassie still continues to lead. However, following the demise of Red Devil, Cassie begins questioning her leadership and begins to make mistakes. During a massive battle with Cinderblock in downtown San Francisco, Cassie refuses to let her team attack the villain directly, causing massive destruction to the area. The heroes continue in their fruitless stalemate until Beast Boy arrives and takes command of the team, leading to their victory. In the aftermath of the battle, Beast Boy tells Cassie that she has to stop dwelling on Devil's death or else more innocent people are going to get hurt, something she does not take kindly.[11]
A few days later, Beast Boy makes the decision to move back into Titans Tower and replace Cassie as the head of the team, declaring that they need a more experienced leader to get back on track. Though Cassie initially says nothing about this, she ultimately becomes angry and tells Beast Boy that no one asked for his help, and that she can lead the team just fine. Beast Boy simply replies by saying that the Teen Titans need help, and that everyone, including Cyborg, think so.[12]
Defending Titans Tower
Main article: Blackest Night
Cassie joins Kid Flash and Beast Boy as part of a small group of past and present Titans who assemble at Titans Tower. Lacking assistance from Static, Miss Martian, Blue Beetle, Bombshell, and Aquagirl (each of whom are presumably defending other cities), the team barely survives the onslaught.
After Dove uses her abilities to destroy the Black Lanterns, Cassie and the others travel to Coast City in order to assist the Flash and Green Lantern in there battle with Nekron. To the horror of the gathered heroes, Nekron uses his abilities to transform several once-dead heroes into Black Lanterns, including Superboy, Kid Flash, Donna and Wonder Woman. In the ensuing battle, Cassie is killed when Wonder Woman violently tears her heart out. However, it is then revealed that the entire battle was a mental ruse by Aphrodite, and Cassie is shown to still be alive. When Black Lantern Conner attacks Cassie, all the while attempting to break free from the Black Ring's control, Conner manages to break the control in temporary, short lapses, which he uses to alert Cassie that the solution to his Black Ring problem. The battle moves to the fortress, where Cassie realizes what Conner was referring to when he told them to move to the Fortress of Solitude where Conner's corpse is placed as he awaits his resurrection in Legion of Three Worlds. The Black Ring, confused, leaves the living Conner and tries to attach itself to his corpse, but Conner awakens his freeze breath ability, which freezes the ring, and Cassie throws it into orbit. After reconciling, the trio heads back to Coast City for the final battle.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Demi-Goddess Empowerment: She was eventually granted abilities by Zeus, who granted "her fondest wish." This gift's import proves to be rather vague, and Cassie could arguably have access to more powers than she has previously been aware of.
- Superhuman Strength: Her Olympian flesh and bone is about one and a half times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the Olympians' superhuman strength and weight.[13]
- Superhuman Speed: Like Wonder Woman, Cassie can move at supersonic speeds.[14]
- Superhuman Durability: Cassie's been pushed through buildings, knocked into cars and tackled by superhumans. Her godly flesh can withstand powerful impacts and blunt force trauma.
- Superhuman Reflexes: Cassie is able to react to and deflect bullets with great comfort.
- Flight: Wonder Girl can also mystically fly through the atmosphere through sure act of will, enabling her to soar through the atmosphere at sub-orbital levels and travel across the planet at supersonic speeds.[13]
Abilities
Weaknesses
- Maternal Depowerment: Discouraged by previously shown arrogance in his children (Ares and Heracles), Zeus also blessed Cassie's mother with the ability to take away her powers for a short time via a simple touch. However, this may not be true now that she is no longer drawing her strength from Zeus.
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Gauntlet of Atlas (Formerly)
Transportation
- Sandals of Hermes (Formerly)
Weapons
- Lasso of Lightning: Shortly after joining the Teen Titans, Ares approached her and gave Cassie her own magic lasso. Unlike Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth, Cassie's is a weapon which channels Zeus' lightning.
Notes
- Cassandra first appeared as Wonder Girl in Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #111
- Initially used the Gauntlet of Atlas and Sandals of Hermes, but was granted superpowers by Zeus in Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #122.
- Zeus was revealed to the audience as Cassie's father in Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #181-183; Cassie suspected it for some time, but did not learn definitively about it until Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #217.
Trivia
- Cassandra was in love and in a relationship with Superboy, before he died. After his recent resurrection they have decided to put their feelings on hold to allow Cassandra to better lead the Teen Titans, after Red Robin joined the team, however, she relinquished control of the Titans and still has not rekindled her relationship.
Recommended Reading
Related
- 481 Appearances of Cassandra Sandsmark (New Earth)
- 185 Images featuring Cassandra Sandsmark (New Earth)
- 17 Quotations by or about Cassandra Sandsmark (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Cassandra Sandsmark (New Earth)
External Links
- Cassie Sandsmark (Pre-Flashpoint) bio at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
- Cassie Sandsmark (Post-Flashpoint) bio at the Unofficial Guide to the New DC Universe
- Cassie Sandsmark (Pre-Flashpoint) profile at TitansTower.com
- Cassie Sandsmark (Post-Flashpoint) profile at TitansTower.com
Footnotes
- ↑ Wonder Girl #2
- ↑ 52 #12
- ↑ Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #140
- ↑ Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #171
- ↑ Countdown to Final Crisis (vol. 1) #43
- ↑ Teen Titans (vol. 3) #49
- ↑ Teen Titans (vol. 3) #55 (2008)
- ↑ Teen Titans (vol. 3) #71
- ↑ Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #5 (2009)
- ↑ Adventure Comics (vol. 2) #2 (September 2009)
- ↑ Titans (vol. 2) #17 (August 2009)
- ↑ Teen Titans (vol. 3) #75-76 (September-October 2009)
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Teen Titans (Volume 3) #1
- ↑ Teen Titans (Volume 3) #94
 This character is or was primarily a member of the younger superhero team known as the Teen Titans, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Teen Titans members" category. |
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