Cassandra Sandsmark (New Earth)

Wonder Girl

Mainstream Universe‎, 1986‎-2011‎

Gallery

Real Name

Cassandra “Cassie” Elizabeth Sandsmark

Main Alias

Wonder Girl

Other Aliases

Drusilla Priam,[1] Donna Prince[2]

Relatives

(mother)
(partial clone)Zeus (father) Helena Sandsmark (mother) Epiphany (partial clone)

Affiliation

Teen Titans , formerly Young Justice

Base Of Operations

Titans Tower, San Francisco . Formerly Gateway City Philadelphia and Georgetown

Status

Alignment

Good

Identity

Public Identity

Race

Demigod

Citizenship

American

Marital Status

Single

Occupation

Student

Characteristics

Gender

Female

Height

[3]

Weight

[3]

Eyes

Blue

Hair

Blond

Origin

Universe

New Earth

Creators

John Byrne

First Appearance

Wonder Woman Vol 2 #105
(January, 1996)

Cassandra “Cassie” Sandsmark was the second person to be called Wonder Girl; the first being Donna Troy. Cassie was the daughter of Dr. Helena Sandsmark and the Greek god Zeus.

History

Origin

Cassie spent most of her time at her mother’s place of work, 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, used 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,[4] Brewer High School,[5] Dennis Peterson High School,[6] Gateway City High School,[7] and eventually the Saint Elias School for Girls.[8]

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.[9] Cassie eventually 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.[6]

Young Justice was disbanded after 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. 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. Ares 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 for during their time together in 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 appeared to her again, informing Cassie 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 joined 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. He died in Cassie’s arms.

The Cult of Conner

 Main article: 52

In the aftermath of Superboy-Prime’s actions, the Teens Titans fell apart. Cassandra left the Titans following Robin’s departure. She felt abandoned by her best friends.

Bereaved and desperate, Cassie became involved in an online cult heavily influenced by Kryptonian culture that she believed could bring Superboy back to life. She set up an altar in Titans Tower with Kryptonian crystals and a gold figure with the Superman-insignia, which meant “hope” on Krypton. Soon, Ralph Dibny approached 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 mentioned that it was another member, Devem, who led her to join. Cassie explained that the goal of the cult was to resurrect Superboy. As a test of their process, they intend to resurrect Sue Dibny. Cassie and Ralph attended a ceremony designed to resurrect Sue, but Ralph grew suspicious and with the help of other superheroes, disrupts the ceremony, destroying the Kryptonite which was essential to the process. Cassie left with Devem, blaming Ralph for destroying her chances to resurrect Superboy. After stopping Weather Wizard in Metropolis, Cassie met Supernova and refered to him incorrectly as Kon-El, actually turning out to be Booster Gold in disguise.

Return to the Teen Titans

 Main article: One Year Later

Wonder Girl attempted 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 donned a new costume influenced by that of the late Superboy, wearing a Golden Age Wonder Woman-themed t-shirt and denim jeans.

She “temporarily” rejoined the team, under the suggestion of Cyborg so that they may combine their forces to defeat the Brotherhood of Evil. Both Robin and Cyborg hoped that she would 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 was a large rift between the two teams, and Wonder Girl seemed 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 decided to rejoin the team permanently. When she went to tell Robin of her decision, she discovered his secret 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 never talked about the incident beyond coming to the agreement that it was a mistake, but both discussed it with others. With her life in disarray, Cassie was having difficulty with her personal life, often having major confrontations with her mother. Cassie had however gained a new friendship with the recently returned Supergirl, who had shared with her in mourning the loss of Superboy and Paradise Island.

Cassie and Tim tried to convince Raven to resurrect Superboy, as she had recently brought back Jericho. However, Raven claimed that Superboy’s soul had already transcended their plane of existence. The discussion was cut short when Cassie was captured by Deathstroke’s villainous Titans East, along with Robin and Raven after an attack by Inertia and Match. Each member of Titans East had been recruited to counter a specific Titan. Deathstroke selected Match, a clone of Superboy, to counter Cassie. Not only could he match her strength, but Match’s appearance had a psychological advantage over the Teen Titans.

The Titans battled furiously against the Titans East, during which they were able to convince Batgirl and Duela Dent to switch sides. Unfortunately that team was defeated by Slade’s, but thankfully Raven, Cyborg and Duela Dent managed to get aid from Nightwing, Donna Troy, Beast Boy and Flash. Together, the two generations of Titans overcame Slade, who along with Inertia, managed to escape.

Cassie was still very furious at Diana, who she felt abandoned her during the last year. She was also not pleased that Robin was aware of Diana’s disappearance, but never told her about it. Diana and Cassie had not been able to discuss their past differences, partially due to the kidnapping of Donna Troy. When Donna questioned Cassie’s hesitance to be near Match due to his resemblance to Superboy, Cassie finally broke down and told Donna how hurt she was over Superboy’s death after all that time. Adding to her pain, Cassandra attended Bart Allen’s funeral. During a heated and controversial eulogy, she vowed to get revenge for Bart’s death.[10]

Cassie and Supergirl discovered that their friends and family had been placed in an internment camp due to their ties to the Amazons. After a failed attempt to aid them, the two heroes agreed 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 caused the President to become mortally wounded. The actions of the Amazons and Wonder Girl’s own involvement caused public outcry and hatred against all those who had followed in Wonder Woman’s footsteps. Ultimately, Cassie declared that despite her training and past, she was not an Amazon, preferring her ties to the Teen Titans over that of Paradise Island.[11] Accepting her decision, Artemis wished her well and left Cassie to her devices. Wonder Girl celebrated by sharing another kiss with Robin in front of her teammates.

In the months following the kiss, Cassie and Tim continued to go through “will-they-won’t-they” moments in which they both questioned the validity of their relationship. It was after a battle against an army of future Titans, the pair finally decided to date. Unfortunately, their relationship is short-lived, as after their first official date Cassie ended the relationship, feeling guilty that she was using Tim.[12] This resulted in a growing animosity between the pair, which began to bleed into their relationships with the other Titans.

Wonder Girl

Cassandra attempted to redeem herself for the mistakes made by the Amazons on her own. Cassie adopted a secret identity, taking up the name “Drusilla.” However, as she attempted to apprehend a group of mystical beasts left over from the Amazons’ attack, she found herself confronted by her half-brother Hercules, who claimed he wanted to help her become a true champion of the gods and to rebuild Olympus. Cassie was reluctant to trust him. Hercules persisted and chased after Cassandra, taking the form of Superboy in order to get her attention.

Together, Hercules and Cassie tried to discover who was attacking the remaining Olympian gods. Soon into their search, they were attacked by the Female Furies. Hercules stopped the fight by explaining that he had allied with the Furies in hopes of rescuing the gods, or, failing that, starting a new pantheon with them. The Furies had their own plans and were only using Hercules to get to Cassie. The Furies soon betrayed them, with Bloody Mary using her bite to influence Hercules. The Furies kidnapped Cassie’s mother to lure her into a trap. Aided by the Olympian, Cassandra went into battle, being forced to fight her own brother. The Teen Titans, Empress, Arrowette and Wonder Woman showed up to help. After Bloody Mary was murdered by the New Gods killer, Hercules was freed from her spell and immediately saved Cassandra from being kidnapped by the Furies. Hercules went free after he revealed he was now a demi-god and that Zeus released him to help stop “the Great Disaster”. Hercules then left to perform certain “labors.” Cassandra eventually reconciling with Wonder Woman, who told Cassie that she has become her own woman.

Cassie was later attacked by her nephew Lycus, the son of Ares. He attempted to take her title as Ares’ avatar, along with her power. Although he was successful in stealing Cassie’s powers derived from Ares, Cassie discovered that she no longer needed to be blessed with powers from the gods as she willed her own innate power to surface. Cassie now possessed a high level of super-strength of her own.

Robin made the decision to leave the Teen Titans for an undetermined length of time in the wake of Batman’s death, leaving Cassie with the task of assembling and leading a new team. After an unsuccessful attempt by Kid Devil to recruit teen metahumans such as Klarion, Shining Knight, and the teen members of the Justice Society of America, Cassie eventually gaieds three new Titans in Static, Aquagirl, and Kid Eternity. Kid Eternity’s ability to summon the spirits of the deceased briefly tempted Cassie into having him summon Conner’s spirit. She eventually decided against it, telling Eternity never to grant her such a request, even if she were to beg him.[13]

Return of Superboy

 Main article: Final Crisis

Cassie became aware of Conner’s rebirth by Brainiac 5’s hand. Despite meeting him briefly on his return,[14] Cassie decided to wait until Martha Kent herself, now sheltering Conner at her place, invited Cassie for dinner, essentially granting Cassie and Conner a date. At first skeptical and fearing to “end as Lana Lang”, she was touched by Conner opening his heart to her about her fears and dreams for their future life, and thus decided to tell Conner about herself and Tim Drake. Conner quickly forgave her, explaining that even if Cassie still loved him, she could not have known of his impending resurrection. Happily, Cassie agreed to rekindle their relationship.[15]

Leader of Teen Titans

Due to personal responsibilities, neither Conner nor Bart returned to the team, though Cassie still continued to lead. However, following the demise of Red Devil, Cassie started questioning her leadership and began to make mistakes. During a massive battle with Cinderblock in downtown San Francisco, Cassie refused to let her team attack the villain directly, causing massive destruction to the area. The heroes continued in their fruitless stalemate until Beast Boy arrived and took command of the team, leading to their victory. In the aftermath of the battle, Beast Boy told Cassie that she had to stop dwelling on Red Devil’s death or else more innocent people were going to get hurt, something she did not take kindly.[16]

A few days later, Beast Boy made the decision to move back into Titans Tower and replace Cassie as the head of the team, declaring that they needed a more experienced leader to get back on track. Though Cassie initially said nothing about this, she ultimately becomes angry and told Beast Boy that no one asked for his help, and that she can lead the team just fine. Beast Boy simply replied by saying that the Teen Titans need help, and that everyone, including Cyborg, though so.[17]

Defending Titans Tower

 Main article: Blackest Night

Cassie joined Kid Flash and Beast Boy as part of a small group of past and present Titans who assembled at Titans Tower. Lacking assistance from Static, Miss Martian, Blue Beetle, Bombshell, and Aquagirl, the team barely survived the onslaught.

After Dove used her abilities to destroy the Black Lanterns, Cassie and the others travelled 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 used his abilities to transform several once-dead heroes into Black Lanterns, including Superboy, Kid Flash, Donna and Wonder Woman. In the ensuing battle, Cassie was killed when Wonder Woman violently tore her heart out. However, the entire battle was a mental ruse by Aphrodite, and Cassie was still be alive. When Black Lantern Conner attacked Cassie, all the while attempting to break free from the Black Ring’s control, Conner managed to break the control in temporary, short lapses, which he used to alert Cassie of the solution to his Black Ring problem. The battle moved to the fortress, where Cassie realized what Conner was referring to when he told them to move to the Fortress of Solitude where Conner’s corpse was placed as he awaited his resurrection in the future. The Black Ring, confused, left the living Conner and tried to attach itself to his corpse. Conner used his freeze breath ability, freezing the ring, and Cassie threw it into orbit. After reconciling, the trio headed 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. After Zeus and the other gods had left the mortal realm which left her bereft of her powers, Ares secretly made a pact with her and made her his champion on Earth, restoring and increasing her powers even further.[18] After her fight with Lycus, she lost her powers under Ares but managed to access abilities of her own demi-god heritage and power.
  • 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.[7]
  • Superhuman Speed: Like Wonder Woman, Cassie can move at supersonic speeds.[19]
  • Superhuman Durability: Cassie’ s durability is same as Wonder Woman but not vulnerable to bullets.
  • Superhuman Reflexes
  • Flight
  • Immortality

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

Transportation

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

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.
• Cassie considers Supergirl to be her best friend.[20] She formerly considered Arrowette her best friend.[21]

Recommended Reading

Related

Teen Titans member

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.

Young Justice member
This character is or was a member of Young Justice, a team of younger super-heroes and side-kicks who fight crime together separately from their adult counterparts, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the “Young Justice members” category.

Justice League member

This character is or was a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from both interstellar and domestic threats.
This template will categorize articles that include it into the “Justice League of America members” category.