Insert Irate Cursing Here:

Damnit!

Remember how I said I didn't really like Cassandra Cain?

Well, anyway, I was chatting with this jerk here and the subject of Brave and the Bold comes up.

Anyway, it occurred to me that as much as I don't like the character that much, a team-up between Cassandra Cain and Guy Gardner could be fascinating. He's all about the posturing and bravado, after all, and it'd be really interesting to see that partnered with the girl who'd see straight through it. Heck, she couldn't NOT see through it, with the way her abilities work.

Also, he's a former special education teacher. That'd adds another interesting element of interaction. Cassandra's always been around Bat-types. Her sanest vaguely parental figure is probably Oracle, who's not really equipped for dealing with kids. And we've all seen how well Bruce does with his sidekicks...

Guy though. Guy knows kids. He's trained for dealing with kids. Especially kids with special needs. Cassandra's definitely not like anyone Guy would have ever taught before, but he's got the skillset and experience to understand her condition and situation in a different way than any of the characters Cassandra usually interacts with. (Also, he's immune to the Bat-intimidation, which would help.) Where everyone else sees a quiet, competent, dangerous living weapon/colleague/ally, Guy would see a damaged kid.

That interests me.

Then I had another thought, unlike anyone else in the Batclan, he really could understand her situation in another way:

Cassandra Cain was raised by David Cain, intentionally damaged, in order to make her a living weapon.

Guy Gardner was left completely insane by the Guardians because while they could cure his brain damage, he was more useful this way. (He was too "hesitant" when he was sane.)

It's the same thing. Different setting, different scale, but it's exactly the same thing.

Then I had the unnerving realization that actually, my favorite character has a LOT in common with Batgirl.

Both of them are the intuitive and emotional members of a largely cerebral cast. The Batclan are more obviously so, as they're ACTUALLY intelligent, but the Lanterns all tend to be focused toward loftier concerns and ideals. They're all emotional, but Guy is the one that really coasts on his emotions (usually anger) more than the others.

They're both portrayed as essentially the most compassionate of their casts. Cassandra had that whole death row storyline for example. While Guy is really the only Lantern that would go out of his way to buy a newbie hero a drink. (Not that the others aren't nice, but well, they'd have to notice the newbie first.)

Both characters end up particularly noted for their capacity to forgive. (Even if Cassandra tends to do it without punishing said transgressors with insults and annoyances)

Both characters are on the outskirts for a long time for circumstances that aren't their fault, and mistrusted and misjudged until people get used to them.

They've both gone batshit crazy under the influence of others...

...

And that's when it hit me. I have my goddamned touchstone with the character now. I'm going to end up rereading Batgirl, and I'm going to have this whole "paralleling my favorite character" thing in my head...

And I'm going to like her.

It's starting already.

DAMNIT! It's not fair!