Scott Peterson is playing it cagey about Batgirl Beyond

Because who wants to ruin people's anticipation?  Scott Peterson is amazing.  He's known about this for half a year and he hasn't spilled.  And he's still not spilling.  I think if I'd been in his position and Annie Wu started turning in pages that look like the promotional piece of the first cover DC's been showing around-- Peterson gives you yet another chance to absorb its cool into your system, thereby enriching your own, personal cool-- I would have wet my pants.

Seriously.  I would have done it.  I'm one of the all-time best secret-keepers ever invented, but I would have at least wet my pants like an over-excited kid hitting Disney World for the first time.

Now I honestly don't think Batgirl Beyond will be Cass Cain's triumphant return to the DC universe.  There may be elements of her in the mix, but I have a feeling this will be a totally new character.  And Batgirl Beyond won't make me forget Cass, who is my once and future Batgirl/Black Bat of choice and always will be.  Still I'm more than a little enthused about a serious ass-kicking Batgirl.  With art that looks like this.

What I can't figure out is if Batgirl Beyond is a stand-alone title or if it's just an issue or two or three of Batman Beyond.  A lot of the news I've seen has been contradictory on that point.  One report suggested it's a new title, another said it's a miniseries within Batman Beyond, DC officially calls it an "arc."  Or has my reading comprehension regressed that much over the past few years?

Cassandra Cain as Batgirl Beyond?

Before we get too excited, remember this is DC we're talking about.  And Cass.  Two tastes that no longer seem to go together, as if peanut butter and chocolate suddenly became as incompatible as minty toothpaste and orange juice.  But there's a new Batgirl coming in Batman Beyond.

Her identity is unknown, but she "going to have a healthy working relationship with Commissioner Barbara Gordon," according to Comicbook.com-- plus a Cass-ian bat-logo.  Considering the involvement of Scott Peterson, that it's a relatively low-risk digital title, the completely bad-ass first-look image by artist Annie Wu, the book's setting in a future DC universe, Lady Shiva's de-aging in the New 52 and the pro-Cass moment at a recent comic book convention, there's at least the shadow of a chance this future Batgirl might be Cass.

Let's be realistic, however.   That having Batgirl Beyond reveal herself as Cass would work perfectly within the current continuity plus make me incredibly happy renders it even less likely she will be my favorite benched DC character, though.  My best guess is she will be a totally new character, and-- even though I desperately hope DC will make the genius move of making her Cass Cain-- in the interest of conciliatory gestures, I'm willing to give her a shot even on the basis of the creative team (that image compels!) and digital format.  Yeah, I might even do something once seemed more unlikely than even the idea of Cass back in action in the DC universe-- I might buy an issue of Batman Beyond.

Oh, but of course... there's always a chance she's Stephanie Brown.  Right?  Right?