21 hours Ago By Marcus Helminiak
Lady Shiva is and has always been one of the DC Universe’s greatest fighters, and one of Batman’s greatest enemies. She’s gone toe to toe with the Dark Knight and his allies dozens of times over the years, and each time proved why she’s one of their deadliest foes. Shiva is combat personified, and would even give the uber-violent Absolute Batman a run for his money in the brutality department.
Undoubtedly, Shiva is a cold-hearted villain to her core. Which is what makes her dramatic decision in the recent Batgirl #6 all the more shocking. When backed into a corner with nowhere to run and facing an impossible army of super-ninjas, Lady Shiva sacrifices herself to allow Batgirl the chance to get away.
But why would the infamous assassin give up her life to save someone else? Well, we’ll have to check out what’s been going on in the Batgirl solo series for answers. If you haven’t been keeping up, Batgirl Cassandra Cain and her estranged mother Shiva have been on the run from a near endless army of super-powered and super deadly ninjas called the Unburied. These two women could give just about anyone from any comic universe a beatdown in pure hand-to-hand combat, but somehow, these ninjas are just as skilled as they are, and maybe even better.
At the tail end of last issue the mother-daugther pair was captured, and they had to fight their way out of enemy territory in a brutal battle that makes other comic book fights look downright tame.RELATED: Absolute Batman’s Brutal Takedown Just Put Every Batman Movie Fight to ShameBut this story hasn’t just been head-banging action. A central theme running through it has been the complex relationship between Batgirl and Shiva.
Their history hasn’t exactly been smooth, as the first time they met Lady Shive beat Batgirl black and blue, and the second time they set up a date for a winner-takes-all battle to the death. Although she spent most of her life not knowing who she was, and they’ve been enemies ever since they actually met way back in her original solo series, Batgirl still wants to love her mom. Similarly, despite the fact that Batgirl stands for justice, hope, and everything Shiva doesn’t, the assassin can’t bring herself to ever abandon her daughter, either.
So they fight each other as much as they do the Unburied.Still, when push came to shove, Shiva willingly threw herself into a battle she knew she couldn’t win to protect her daughter. Throughout this entire series, Shiva has reminded her daughter that although they are sometimes enemies, she will always love her.
In an honestly heartbreaking moment, Shiva reminds her of this one more time and charges into the hoard.Lady Shiva might not be anywhere near a good guy, but if nothing else she loves her daughter. Even more than her own life, which is more than a lot of bad parents in the DC Universe can say.
What does this mean for Lady Shiva going forward?While her life may be over, Lady Shiva isn’t out of the story just yet. The series writer Tate Brombal promises the upcoming issues will provide the “definitive history of Lady Shiva,” so fans of the assassin should stick around to see just what he means by that. Based on how the story’s been going down so far, this promises to be a massive shakeup for her lore that will be remembered for years to come.
And it’s not like this is the first time that a well known antagonist like Shiva has died. Popular villains, especially Batman villains, always have a way of showing back up when the story demands it. Eventually, we can expect Lady Shiva to return, like all good comic book characters do.
But right now, we got to see her go out in a way that no one could have expected, and that speaks to her being an even more interesting character than many even gave her credit for. And then there’s her daughter, who has in her mother’s death, fully accepted her heritage as the daughter of both Shiva and Batman. Cassandra Cain is wielding her heritage like blade, and that is somethine everyone should look forward to seeing.
Shiva might be dead, but her future looks bright.Batgirl #6 is on sale now.The post A Batman Villain Just Made the Ultimate Heroic Sacrifice appeared first on ComicBook.
com..
