David Cain is a

fictional character In fiction, a character is a person or being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, in which case the distinction o ...

and

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

appearing in

American comic books An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

. Primarily associated with the

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

mythos, he is a master assassin and a former member of the

League of Assassins The League of Assassins (sometimes known as the League of Shadows or Society of Shadows in adapted works) is a group of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The group is depicted as a collective of assassins who ...

. Cain first appeared in ''

'' #567 (July 1999), and was created by writer Kelley Puckett and artist Damion Scott.

Fictional character biography

The assassin

David Cain is regarded as one of the most formidable assassins in the DC Universe. An early mentor to

Bruce Wayne Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. In t ...

, he trained Wayne in multiple assassination and combat techniques, though Bruce rejected Cain’s lethal philosophy and eventually surpassed his teacher. Frustrated with training other assassins who could not meet his expectations, Cain decided to raise his own perfect successor. He selected martial artist Sandra Wu-San as the child's mother after witnessing her fight her sister Carolyn. Believing Carolyn to be a limiting influence, Cain killed her, then ambushed Sandra with help from

Ra's al Ghul Ra's al Ghul is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. Created by editor Julius Schwartz, writer Dennis O'Neil, and artist Neal Adams, the character first appeared ...

and the League of Assassins. Sandra agreed to bear his child in exchange for her life and left the child in his care. Afterward, she trained herself to become the deadly assassin known as

Lady Shiva Lady Shiva (real name Sandra Woosan or more recently Sandra Wu-San) is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was co-created by Dennis O'Neil and Ric Estrada, and first appeared in ''Richard Dragon, Ku ...

. Their daughter,

Cassandra Cain Cassandra Cain (also known as Cassandra Wayne and Cassandra Wu-San) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott, Cassandr ...

, was raised by David in complete isolation, trained solely in body language and combat—at the expense of reading, writing, or speaking. She became one of the world’s most lethal fighters, able to anticipate opponents’ moves through their movements alone.

The father

Cain’s relationship with Cassandra is abusive and controlling. He raises her as a weapon, but she ultimately escapes after being forced to kill for the first time. Traumatized by the act, Cassandra flees and eventually finds sanctuary with Batman and

Barbara Gordon Barbara Joan Gordon is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. The character was created by television producer William Dozier, editor Julius Schwartz, writer Ga ...

. Cain reemerges in '' Batman: No Man's Land'', hired by

Two-Face Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bob Kane, and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). He has become one of the superhero Batman's most enduring e ...

to assassinate Commissioner Gordon. Cassandra intervenes and saves Gordon. Cain, visibly shaken by his daughter’s defiance and new ability to speak, leaves Gotham.

Framing Bruce Wayne

Cain is later employed by

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

to frame Bruce Wayne for the murder of Vesper Fairchild. He uses the opportunity to test Bruce’s worthiness as Cassandra’s surrogate father. Convinced of Batman’s character, Cain eventually confesses to the crime to clear Bruce's name.''Batman'' #605 (September 2002) While in prison, Cain is targeted by

Deadshot Deadshot is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer David Vern Reed and artist Lew Sayre Schwartz based on a concept from Bob Kane, the character first appeared in ''Batman (comic book), Batman ...

, but he survives the assassination attempt.

One Year Later

In the ''

One Year Later "One Year Later" is a 2006 comic book storyline running through the books published by DC Comics. As the title suggests, it involves a narrative jump exactly one year into the future of the DC Universe following the events of the "Infinite Crisi ...

'' storyline, Robin captures Cain and offers him to the League of Assassins to rescue Cassandra—only to learn she has become their new leader under the influence of

Deathstroke Deathstroke is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the character first appeared in ''The New Teen Titans'' #2 (December 1980) as Deathstroke the Terminator. In his co ...

’s mind-control serum.''Robin'' (vol. 2) #150 (July 2006) Cassandra shoots Cain, apparently killing him, though his body is never found.

In other media

As of 2025, David Cain has yet to appear in any major live-action adaptations, though elements of his backstory have influenced characters in media involving Cassandra Cain and the League of Assassins.

References

{{Reflist

External links

David Cain at DC Database

David Cain on Comic Vine
DC Comics supervillains Characters created by Kelley Puckett Characters created by Damion Scott Batman characters Fictional assassins DC Comics martial artists Fictional characters with post-traumatic stress disorder