Orphan (real name Cassandra Wu-San) is a supporting character in the animated series Young Justice. Because of her brutal training to be the "perfect assassin" her mother envisioned; Cassandra is unable to talk but she learned how to communicate through sign-language. She is the daughter of Lady Shiva and David Cain, a protege and former sidekick of Batman, and has been a previous member of the League of Shadows, Batman's team and currently, the Team.
Cassandra Wu-San was born in 2003 on the island of Santa Prisca, the headquarters of the League of Shadows. She is the daughter of the supervillainess Lady Shiva, the world's greatest female swordmaster and martial artist, and the top enforcer of the Light. Her father's identity has not been confirmed within the series. Lady Shiva conceived Cassandra with David Cain in the hopes of creating the ultimate assassin, a living instrument of death devoid of emotion, capable of surpassing even her in skill and effectiveness. To do this, she subjected her daughter to brutal training, resulting in Cassandra receiving multiple scars across her body including her face. To ensure that she would be incapable of forming bonds with others, Lady Shiva had Cassandra's vocal cords severed as an infant and refrained from teaching her to read or write. It left Cassandra's only form of communication being body language. Batman and his team received intel on Cassandra and the ordeals she suffered, keeping a file on her in the Bat Cave.
Betraying Lady Shiva
In 2017, Cassandra was given her first assignment for the Light, Cassandra was sent to assassinate the Joker, a former ally of the Light who sought revenge upon discovering that he had been their unknowing in their schemes 7 years prior. Cassandra managed to track Joker down to New York City, where he was in the process of committing a terrorist attack at the UN headquarters to kill Secretary-General Lex Luther, a Light member. Joker's attempts, however, were undermined by Batman's team who defused his bombs before they could detonate inside the UN council chambers. When Joker attempted to flee, he was unknowingly being pursued by Cassandra. The first vigilante from the team to see her was Barbara Gordon under the guise of Batgirl. Recognizing her, Barbara pushed Joker out of the way, just as Cassandra was leaping forward to kill him with her sword. While she succeeded in preventing her from killing the clown supervillain, it placed her in Cassandra's path instead. As a result, Cassandra accidentally struck Batgirl instead, slicing her in the back and resulting in permanent spinal injury.
Realizing what she had done, Cassandra fell to her knees in shock, removing her mask, and remorsefully looking down in horror at Batgirl. Recognizing her as well and seeing how truly guilt-ridden, she was, Batman gently took her sword from her hand, as the rest of his teammates subdued Joker. As Batgirl lay bleeding on the floor, she reached out to Cassandra who accepted her hand. As the two held hands, Batgirl told her how she didn't save Joker for his sake, but hers. Realizing who she was and the ordeals she had suffered, Batgirl didn't want Cassandra, a child, falling down a dark path by becoming a murderer and chose to risk death if it meant she could save her from such a painful existence. Shocked at Batgirl's, a stranger's, sacrifice for her and guilt-ridden over what she had done, Cassandra promptly deserted both her mother and League of Shadows and left with Batman and his team.
Becoming a Member of the Team
Barbara survived her injury but her spine was permanently damaged, confining her to a wheelchair where she eventually became the hacking superheroine code-named Oracle. Wishing to make amends, Cassandra adapted the codename Orphan, symbolizing her freedom from her mother. Despite her accidentally paralyzing Barbara, she became a member of Batman's team while being warmly welcomed into the team. She and Barbara eventually became very close, which later bonded them like sisters.
Personality
Due to her inability to speak or communicate through writing, Cassandra is very mysterious and difficult to understand or interpret. Due to her traumatic upbringing and training to be the League of Shadows' ultimate assassin, Cassandra is the most violent of Batman's team. This also causes her to struggle with Batman's team's rule of never taking a life, as her assassin training has made her fighting style increasingly aggressive and deadly. Thus, she struggles to abide by the rule but has never broken it in the end.
As a member of Batman's team, Cassandra is brave and dutiful, as well as being very loyal to her team and its mission. She cares for her comrades and fights to protect them if they are in danger. She is deeply loyal to her mentor Batman but is not afraid to disobey him or any of her other superiors from time to time. She is also the only protégée that isn't afraid of him to any degree. While she may seem anti-social, her behavior is mostly due to her inability to speak or write. In truth, Cassandra is, deep down, much more kind and caring than most suspects. When retreating from Santa Prisca, she only gave in to her mother's taught s when she threatened her best friend Barbara, showing the deep sisterly bond between the two friends.
This also shows that Cassandra is a good and kind individual. Despite her mother's attempts to destroy this kindness through years of brutal training and abuse, Cassandra's good side ultimately prevailed after she accidentally paralyzed Barbara. Despite being brainwashed since childhood, Cassandra was horrified at what she had done and was touched by how far Barbara was willing to risk her life to save her from falling the horrible path her mother envisioned for her. Guilt-ridden over her actions and wishing to atone for her crimes, Cassandra joined Batman's team without hesitation, since then becoming a valuable member and teammate.
Cassandra also possesses a burning hatred for her mother Lady Shiva due to the years of horrific abuse, torture, and brainwashing she had subjected her to. This hatred made her come very close to killing her mother, had it not been for Barbara convincing her not to become the weapon Lady Shiva had intended her to be. This shows that despite her bloodlust and willingness to use lethal tactics in combat, Cassandra truly does want to avoid being the monster her mother desires her to be, desiring to be a true hero like her mentor and best friend. Her hatred of her mother also extends to the organization she leads, the League of Shadows. When charged with guard duty over Cassandra Savage and Onyx Adams, Cassandra refused to budge as Tigress ordered her away, not trusting either and wanting to find out their true objectives. When Cheshire suggested killing them both, Cassandra showed her approval by drawing her sword, demonstrating her hatred for all her former comrades in the Shadows.
