Legends Of Tomorrow: Who Is Cassandra Savage?

In “Leviathan,” we were introduced to Vandal Savage’s daughter — Cassandra Savage. We explore who this character is and who her comic book counterpart may be.

In this week’s DC’s Legends of Tomorrow episode — “Leviathan” — the world was introduced to Cassandra Savage (played by Jessica Sipos), daughter of Vandal Savage. The team was quite surprised that Savage actually had any offspring, or even the propensity to raise one. I mean, he doesn’t look like a guy that would win Father of the Year anytime soon. What we did learn was that he was just as manipulative to his own daughter as he was to other people — which is no surprise she switched sides at the end. So who is Cassandra Savage? In this article, we explore a possible comic book counterpart.

Quick Recap

Cassandra Savage was introduced as just another soldier among Vandal Savage’s genocide-fueled army. When she initially faced off with the Legends, Kendra noticed that Cassandra was in possession of a bracelet that Kendra wore in her past life. We already know the rules about killing Savage: the object has to be something Kendra owned in her first life; and the deathblow has to be from Kendra.

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So it was only logical that Kendra wanted the team to retrieve the bracelet. To that end, Leonard and Mick went back to Savage’s headquarters and kidnapped Cassandra. Holding her in the Waverider, the team also wanted to know vulnerable areas in Savage’s defense. Cassandra was pretty mum about those details because she was a highly trained soldier. She also saw her father as a hero who fought against people who tried to commit genocide. One of the first victims was her mother, who died from a virus that was released by Per Degaton … so she thinks.

Savage, knowing that the Legends were holding Cassandra hostage, moved in with his secret weapon — the Leviathan, a giant robot. When the Leviathan attacked the Waverider, it displaced a whole population of refugees which Martin and Jax brought on board the ship. Leonard, knowing that visual evidence would be the most effective, showed Cassandra video footage from years ago of Savage encouraging genocide to the Kasnian Council. Leonard also brought to light that the virus that was released was done so by Savage himself. Cassandra had been fed lies by her father all these years.

When Cassandra finally returns to headquarters, Savage notices her missing bracelet. He immediately gets wind that Cassandra is assisting the Legends. He holds his own daughter hostage and calls out to the team. Seeing her father’s true colors, Cassandra solidifies her choice in changing sides. At the end, Cassandra joins the resistance forces to help them bring down Savage.

Comic Book Counterpart Candidates

There is no direct source for Cassandra Savage. However, in researching if Vandal Savage had any offspring to begin with, two names popped up — Scandal Savage and Kassidy Savage. Scandal Savage (I know, the name sounds ridiculous, especially because it also rhymes with “Vandal”) was created by Gail Simone and Dale Eaglesham, and made her first appearance in Villains United #1 (July 2005). This character is the product of Vandal Savage and an unknown Brazilian woman. Scandal is part of the Secret Six and has the powers of invulnerability — due to Vandal’s immortality. She also possesses two sets of blades which are mounted to her forearms.

The second incarnation is a character named Kassidy Savage who was created by James Robinson and Bernard Chang. She made her first appearance in DC Universe Presents #9 (July 2012). Kassidy Savage is the biological daughter of Vandal Savage. When Kassidy was 10 years old, Vandal was arrested and sentenced to Belle Reve for a series of murders. Vandal was a serial killer who committed ritualistic human sacrifices as an offering to his gods. Kassidy’s mother would die within one year after Vandal’s sentencing. Kassidy later grows up to become one of the FBI’s best profilers, specializing in serial killers.

Sixteen years later, a copycat named the “Swan-Killer” begins to perform the same ritualistic sacrifices as Vandal. After Vandal attacks two FBI agents who try to interview him, Kassidy opts to speak to Vandal herself. When Kassidy is forced to kill an escaped inmate, Vandal agrees to help her. The killing of the inmate impressed Vandal and convinced him that Kassidy was a true “Savage.” There was another caveat though. Vandal needed to see the crime scenes in person. He admits to his daughter that if he were to be released, he will try and escape. However, he knows that she requires his help and this would be the only way to get it. Kassidy reluctantly agrees and arranges a temporary release for Vandal.

Who Could It Be?

The most likely character that Cassandra was modeled after would have to be Kassidy Savage. Cassandra Savage is not a villain. In Legends of Tomorrow, she truly believed that her father was altruistic and that his war was to protect the people of Earth. It wasn’t until Leonard revealed the true nature of Vandal Savage that Cassandra realized she was fighting for the wrong side.

Though Scandal Savage may have seemed to be a likely candidate due to her fighting abilities, the character also possessed powers that Cassandra did not. On top of that, Scandal followed faithfully in her father’s villainous footsteps and was also part of the Secret Six.

Next: Catch up on Legends of Tomorrow with a recap of 'Leviathan'

We all know that there is usually never a faithful or even a direct correlation with characters in the comics. But in this case, Cassandra was most likely inspired by Kassidy. Both similar in nature, and both losing their mothers at a young age. Even their names are similar sounding. It will be interesting to see where DC’s Legends of Tomorrow will take this character, and how Vandal will react to his own blood turning against him.