Absolute Cassandra Cain: Hand of Shadow #1 Review

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In this review of Absolute Cassandra Cain: The Shadow’s Hand #1, we get Cassandra Cain’s origin story in this one-shot from the pages of Absolute Catwoman.

ABSOLUTE CASSANDRA CAIN: THE HAND OF THE SHADOW #1
Written by CHE GRAYSON
Art by MATIAS BERGARA
Main cover: BENGAL
Variant covers: MATÍAS BERGARA, INHYUK LEE, DERRICK CHEW
Number of pages: 32 pages
Release date: 09/16/26

This review contains spoilers.

Lady Shiva leads the League of Assassins and takes in a new student. This student becomes his best assassin. By far the best. Until one day he asks Shiva for something and Shiva tells him “no.” The student breaks and turns into a monster and breaks through the league. The student was the Absolute Joker.

This is the story that David Cain tells Cassandra. He says there are only seven members of the League left. And that he shouldn’t talk like his mother.

Due to an explosion, Cass’s voice box is damaged and she will never be able to speak again. Shiva says David has weakened her and leaves. Shiva says that he wished to one day become the new Head of the Demon, but now he will become the Hands of the Demon.

After a Rocky-style training montage, Shiva says that they will find the others and that they live in the shadows. Mother and daughter travel the world to rebuild the League. They find Ben Turner and others. At one point, Scandal Savage refuses and jumps off a mountain, but Cass saves her. Cass begins to think that the more he pushes her, the more she begins to resist his teachings.

The last person on the list is Tatsu Yamashiro. Shiva doesn’t want her because she was caught by the Joker. Cass has something Shiva doesn’t: compassion. So she decides to find Tasu herself. She follows her to Ark D.

Cass finds Tatsu, who has the biggest hair ever dedicated to comics. Spawn’s cape is jealous of this flow. Tatsu says that the room they are in only opens from the outside, so they are trapped. They then fight some zombie skeletons.

Cass finds some magic swords and easily defeats the skeletons. Tatsu has Cass look at her soul extraction sword to find out what happened to her and discovers that Selina Kyle’s explosion stole her voice.

As they try to leave, Shiva and his team arrive. Shiva orders him to return to her. Cass refuses and a fight ensues. Nothing like seeing the bond between mother and daughter. Shiva takes care of Cass, but Cassandra blinds herself and calls herself the Shadow. Now that he can’t see, his concentration is even greater and then he defeats his mother.

We find out that the Joker asked for the garter all those years ago and Shiva said no. However, now, Shiva takes his daughter’s hand and they become the League of Shadows.

Analysis

Che Grayson had a lot of heavy lifting here. She has to give the full origin of not only Cassandra Cain but also the backstory of the League of Assassins. I think she handled it very well. Obviously with Cass you need to keep her quiet and I think Grayson wrote that backstory too. At first it was a decision not to speak because of dad and then she physically couldn’t speak because of the accident. She attributes this to her parents and their sins and how she is trying to overcome them.

Bergara’s art is great too. There is a softness to Cassandra that I think is captured very well. I also love the art technique when Cass went into shadow mode. It was black and white and a credit to the artist and colorist. The art also reminded me of Dan Mora, which is a huge compliment.

Seeing Absolute Joker again was… Something.