#idk if this meta made that much sense... i just wanted to explore dick-cass again

[casscainmainly]

I was thinking about this panel from Batgirl (2024) #3 again, and how I was puzzled at the choice of "faith" for Dick. The others in the issue more or less make sense - Barbara's will, Stephanie's heart, Bruce's pride etc. reflect Cass' perceptions of her family, and what she prizes in them. But "Dick's faith" is not as intuitive as the others. To over-analyse this panel for a sec, I'm going to take a look at Dick and Cass' relationship through the lens of faith (in the sense of belief/trust), and what that might mean for what they value in each other.

Bruce Wayne

One of Dick and Cass' first significant interactions is Batgirl (2000) #29, during the Murderer/Fugitive arc. Here, Cass expresses guilt for "doubting" Bruce, for losing faith in him. Dick replies, "we all do." Of course the "all" includes people like Babs and Tim, but it's significant that this conversation takes place between the two of them. They are the two people who arguably have the most faith in Bruce - both, but particularly Dick, staunchly refused to believe he killed someone. The doubt still comes in, though.

Cass and Dick do a re-enactment of the murder, ending in Dick declaring that Bruce couldn't have done it. Alfred thanks Cass for helping Dick overcome his doubts, but I would argue that Dick helps Cass overcome her doubts, too:

Here, Cass looks to Dick in the midst of her own uncertainty, and probably reads the assurance in his body. The re-enactment allows both of them to find solace in each other's faith. Faith and doubt become important parts of their relationship, particularly because they both recognise each other's similar faiths in Bruce.

In Nightwing (1996) #81, we get another example of how their relationship is closely tied to their perceptions of Bruce.

Cass laughingly tells Dick that both him and Bruce will never learn what they "can't change about each other," and Dick responds, "I wouldn't change a thing." Cass' smile to me indicates that she understands and appreciates what Dick is saying - while it's not exactly the same, her relationship to Bruce (especially pre-Horrocks) also centres the deep trust her and Bruce have in each other. Like in Murderer/Fugitive, this little exchange reflects their faiths in Bruce.

This faith in Bruce translates into faith in each other. Right after this exchange, Dick asks Cass for help:

This part is SOOO precious to me. For two characters who haven't interacted that much, there is such trust evinced here. For Dick to so openly ask Cass to help, for Cass to so readily reply; it's an implicit trust in each other's abilities, and an instinctive knowledge that they will help each other out. This trust is the foundation of the Dick-Cass relationship, and in my opinion underscores all the beef that follows.

Heaven and Hell

I've talked before about how Dick functions more as an ideal in Horrocks' run, and I still believe that, but in a 'faith' context this hallucination is also interesting. In Batgirl (2000) #46, Cass inhales a drug and hallucinates her devil/angel selves. Her devil self says: "Ah, yes... Dick[...] brave and noble and kind... They're all rotten to the core. Everyone is. Even you!"

What these lines reveal is that a) Cass had an extremely high opinion of Dick and b) Dick, to Cass, represents some kind of reflection of herself. Finding out he's rotten unlocks the fear that "even [she]" is rotten. Dick and Cass is fundamentally a relationship of reflection: in Murderer/Fugitive, they reflect each other's doubts or faith in Bruce, and here Dick reflects Cass' growing doubts in herself. When she begins to doubt Dick, she similarly begins to doubt her own humanity and capacity for good.

The Dick-Cass Beef

Now we get to everyone's favourite Dick-Cass topic, Batgirl (2008). Dick is definitely OOC here, and there are behind the scenes reasons why Dick is the one to distrust Cass, but in this doubt/faith reading Dick being the distrustful one actually fits.

Their relationship began with sharing their doubts/faith in Bruce. Now, at one of Cass' lowest points, they're sharing their doubts in her.

Cass wants to kill Slade + David Cain, thus reneging on her vow never to kill. In other words, she has lost faith in her own redemption: "I am not a detective. Not like the man whose symbol I am privileged to wear." She's distancing herself from Bruce, saying she's "not like" him and distancing herself from the bat symbol. Though her inner monologue refers to this journey as making up for her wrongs, it's clear that deep down, she doubts they will take her back after she kills again. Dick is, in a lot of ways, an external manifestation of that doubt.

In both Dick-Cass fights (#1 and #5), Cass doesn't reply to any of Dick's accusations. Her silence implies she agrees with him:

"Nightwing is right not to trust me." Once again, Dick's faith in her reflects her faith in herself, which at this point is nothing.

But Dick-Cass relationship doesn't end here. In the wake of Bruce's disappearance/death, Cass and Dick make up in Batman & The Outsiders (2007) #14, putting aside their differences to "fill the void he left". Once again, their relationship revolves around their faith in Bruce + the bat symbol; in the wake of Bruce's absence, and the doubt that engulfs them, they band together.

Dick trusts Cass' network, and Cass trusts Dick to lead it. Even after the entirety of Batgirl (2008), when push comes to shove (and with Bruce gone), they still have faith each other.

Do You Really Believe That?

Most of this post is about Dick as a reflection of faith for Cass, since a lot of these issues are from Cass' perspective. But Cass bolsters Dick's faith in himself, too, in Gates of Gotham #4:

I've written about this issue a bajillion times, but it is just so good and so important to how I understand Dick and Cass. Firstly, this scene parallels the scene in Murderer/Fugitive, with Dick and Cass in a car discussing their doubts and fears. Except this time Cass, instead of Dick, is driving; this time Dick is the one looking for reassurance.

Dick expresses doubt in his abilities to protect Gotham as Batman. Cass asks, "do you really believe that?" Belief is a central part of this run, with the main villain operating on false beliefs, and Dick working through his own beliefs about himself and Gotham. Cass being the one to help him highlights the centrality of faith in their relationship -like Murderer/Fugitive, they look to each other for reassurance, for trust.

This run is a lot about Cass and Dick coming to terms with Bruce/the bat symbol - for Dick, it's proving he can handle the mantle, and for Cass it's overcoming her exile to Hong Kong and choosing to stay in Gotham. These choices are made outside of Bruce (who told Dick not to become Batman/told Cass to give up Batgirl). This conversation in the car is them affirming their faith not in Bruce, but in each other.

Conclusion

"I am[...] Dick's faith." Maybe it's the fact Dick's faith has been shaken before that makes her say this. Dick and Cass have gone through periods of doubt in Bruce, in their ability to wear the bat symbol, in each other, and in themselves. But they eventually come back to that foundation of trust, that faith that threads through their entire relationship. Obviously Brombal probably didn't mean any of this, but it's a fun look into what makes Dick and Cass' relationship so hard to pin down, and so uniquely special.