Cassandra Sandsmark

**Cassandra Elizabeth Sandsmark**, simply known as **Cassandra Sandsmark** and **Wonder Girl**, is a character from the *DC* comics.

Cassandra was originally the daughter of Olympian God Zeus and Dr. Helena Sandsmark. She became the second Wonder Girl in an attempt to save Wonder Woman's life. Cassie continues adventuring as a member of the Teen Titans. Her New 52 incarnation is the daughter of Wonder Woman's half-brother Lennox, and derives her powers from an ancient armor named the 'Silent Armor' related to the demon Trigon.

In the AWA fics, Cassandra is set to appear in a future AWA storyline.

## **Appearance**

has a slender yet muscular build with blue eyes and blonde hair with unkempt bangs. Her hair is long, running down her back, and she wears a black headband. She wears a black sleeveless top with two stylized golden W's on it, which resemble the W's that Wonder Woman wears across her camisole. She has red pants with two white stripes on the sides, and blue shoes.

Like Wonder Woman, she wears two silver bracelets and star earrings (though silver instead of red), and uses a golden lasso that hangs at her waist.

## **Personality**

Cassie has displayed a remarkable amount of growth in her relatively short career, which is comparable to her older namesake Wonder Woman. Cassie has become one of the most highly recognized and trusted young heroes. Two of the reasons for which she took on the role of Wonder Girl have continued to define her as a character: her youthful adventurousness and her sense of duty to her allies and friends. Her inexperience was a common point of crisis and conflict during her early years but she has maintained her indomitable spirit throughout her career.

Cassie's tenure as a member of Young Justice was littered with change, in both her civilian and superhero identities. She found herself with a powerful crush on Superboy, leading to new moments of indecision and dramatic fluctuations in confidence. However, it was out of these low points that Cassie truly found herself. Cassie ditched her childish original costume in favor of a more adult outfit, a sign of her burgeoning confidence in herself and her abilities. It was during this period that Cassie's leadership potential emerged, as she took the reigns of the team from Robin and led a massive strike force of young and inexperienced heroes into the team's most epic battle.

Her confidence was again shaken with the death of Donna Troy, leading to a reduced (and sometimes reluctant) role in the new Teen Titans. She still displayed the strength that had made her such a strong member of Young Justice, however, going as far as to take the lead in her relationship with Superboy and help Raven adjust to her life as a teenager.

Cassie continued as a stable, dedicated heroine until the death of Superboy and the loss of her powers. She has distanced herself from her mother and her teammates, letting her grief and the influence of Ares make her bitter and more violent. She has shown glimpses of the "old" Cassie during recent events, however, leading one to believe that her personality will right itself as she deals with her loss.

## **Abilities**

When Cassie first became Wonder Girl, she attempted to fight crime with the help of Amazon artifacts "borrowed" from Wonder Woman. She derived super strength from the Gauntlet of Atlas while gaining flight and super speed from the "Sandals of Hermes." It was also during this period that she was trained in unarmed combat, largely by former Wonder Woman stand-in Artemis.

The powers granted to Cassie by Zeus were largely the same as those granted by the artifacts, but they operated at a higher level. Unfortunately, they also came with a rarely used loophole given to Cassie's mother Helena, wherein her powers could be canceled if her mother so wished. Soon after Cassie joined the Teen Titans, she was granted the Lasso of Ares by the War-god himself. The lasso gave Cassie the ability to manipulate electricity through it's enchanted fibers. She also has a suit of Armor similar to Diana's with a shield and sword to go with it, for times of great Danger or need.

When Zeus and the rest of the Olympic Pantheon left Earth during the Infinite Crisis, Cassie realized that her powers were waning -- with some instances of total failure. In order to help defeat Alexander Luthor, Cassie finally gave into Ares, taking half of his powers to replace what she had lost. She seems to have retained her former abilities, but recent battles show her strength may have been enhanced -- a fact Cassie herself has commented on.

Cassie served Ares as his connection to our realm, until recently when he brought his son back to take her place. After talking to her father, Cassie realized that she had spent too much time relying on others first artifacts, then her father and later her brother. During her battle with her nephew, she gave him all of her brother's power and was able to tap into the divine energy that was her birthright as a daughter of Zeus. Cassie appears to have all the same abilities, though her strength has once more increased.

#### **Superhuman Strength**

Cassie Partial 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. Cassie when powered by Zeus previously, was not as strong and could lift around 100 tons, and could effortlessly throw a bus around. Now Cassie is much stronger after she taps into her own powers from being the daughter of Olympian God Zeus Cassie powers grow to now being able to lift in excess of 100 tons.

#### **Superhuman Durability**

Cassie possesses a high resistance to damage and magical attacks. If she were somehow wounded, her partial godly energies would enable her to recover with superhuman speed.

#### **Flight**

Cassie can also mystically fly through the atmosphere through sure act of will, enabling her to soar through the atmosphere at sub-orbital levels and travel across the planet. She is immune from the effects of extreme height, such as dizziness and lightheartedness.

#### **Superhuman Reflexes**

Cassie is fast enough, her mind processes information at least on a subliminal level that she is aware of her surroundings. She is fast enough to deflect and catch bullets.

#### **Superhuman Speed**

Cassie can move at supersonic speeds. She can move fast enough to not register in the normal peripheral range of humans and seemingly vanish and disappear at will.

#### **Healing**

Cassie's body heals at a superhuman level.

#### **Superhuman Agility**

Cassie's agility is far beyond that of even an Olympic level athlete.

#### **Superhuman Stamina**

Cassie can last a great deal of time in any fight.

#### **Superhuman Senses**

All five of Cassie senses can be used to a superhuman degree.

#### **Martial Combat**

Cassie can fight armed and unarmed and has had Amazon training.

#### **Divine Birthright**

Cassie being the daughter of Olympian God Zeus, Cassie can tap into her own powers as a demi-god (like her brother Heracles). Her real powers increased to an even greater level of strength and abilities than ever before. Cassie is still a young girl and as she grows so may her powers and abilities and she may one day be even greater than Wonder Woman herself or join her father as an Olympian Goddess.

#### **Lasso of Lightning**

The Lasso of Lightning is a mystical item given to Cassandra Sandsmark by her brother Ares. Lightning emitted by the whip is fueled by its wielder's anger. This allows Cassie to expels Zeus's lightning when used in anger.

#### **Bracelets**

These are a pair of steel cuffs that are indestructible because they were created from Amazon magic, Cassie's Bracelets work like Diana's. Cassie uses her super reflexes to deflect projectiles, blades, punches, or any form of offensive attack used against her. She can also use them to deflect an object back into her enemies.

#### **Amazon Armour**

When faced with a large threat Cassie will wear her Amazon Battle Armor for added protection as well as use martial weapons such as swords.

#### **Sandals of Hermes**

The Sandals of the God Hermes, this enchanted winged footwear gives its wearer flight and enhanced speed. When Cassie first became Wonder Girl, she attempted to fight crime with the help of Amazon artifacts "borrowed" from Wonder Woman. She long since gained her own powers and abilities.

#### **Gauntlet of Atlas**

The Gauntlet of Atlas magnifies its wearer's strength by a factor of ten. However, the wearer must be careful or find themselves in a frenzied state. Wonder Woman herself has used the gauntlet on occasion but is hesitant to do so due to the difficulty in controlling her strength at such a level. hen Cassie first became Wonder Girl, she attempted to fight crime with the help of Amazon artifacts "borrowed" from Wonder Woman. She long since gained her own powers and abilities.

### **Weaknesses**

Maternal De-empowerment: 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. After Cassie taps into her own powers as demi-god it is now shown is her mother can still take away her powers. Cassie is somewhat vulnerable to piercing weapons, such as projectiles. Rifle or top notch machine-gun fire can cause bruising to slight penetration wounds.

## **Trivia**

* In her Teen Titans days both pre and post Flashpoint some artists gave her a lot more cleavage and lower necklines than others, and post-Flashpont there was a tendency to make her breasts bigger than her head and so perfectly round they had to have been implants despite the fact that she's still a high school aged kid, but it’s justified since she’s descended from the Olympian gods. And Cassie was always a late bloomer.