WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Trial of the Amazons: Wonder Girl #1, on sale now.
Cassie Sandsmark is perhaps one of the best and most beloved parts of Wonder Woman's history and also one of the most overlooked. Although the character became a prominent part of the DC Universe in the early 2000s, thanks to her roles in both Wonder Woman and Teen Titans. Since the New 52, things have changed. She has dropped in both popularity and her overall prominence in comics. She only featured in Teen Titans during that era, with no connection to Wonder Woman, and was completely absent in DC Rebirth. It wasn't until Young Justice's brief revival under Brian Michael Bendis and Patrick Gleeson that she returned, however briefly.
However, with that series' cancellation and the new status quo set by Infinite Frontier, Cassie has been replaced as Wonder Girl by Yara Flor. Although the 2000s icon featured in Yara's Wonder Girl series, she was far from the main character and seemed directionless in her own life until the quest for Yara came along. Now, during Trial of the Amazons, Cassie is still without a purpose in the Amazons' world.
However, the latest event's greatest tragedy may have just given this Wonder Girl a new opportunity. Previously, Cassie, wanting to be useful as always, asked Nubia if she could investigate Hippolyta's death. The new Queen of the Amazons agreed and this investigation is one of the focal points of Trial of the Amazons: Wonder Girl #1 (by Joëlle Jones, Jordie Bellaire, and Pat Brosseau). There is something comical about some of the interactions Cassie has during her sleuthing, such as a brief video call with out-there suspects like Dr. Psycho, Constantine, and Zatanna. However, Wonder Girl's unique approach to detective work could be her new evolution in the DCU.
Though it can be rare, there are certainly a few characters who have started out as the classic superpowered crimefighter and grown into a wildly different type of hero. In particular, the detective role that Cassie has adopted here has worked for a number of Marvel heroes looking for a rebrand. Jessica Jones was famously created just for this premise alone. Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos created the character as a former superhero who became a private investigator. Since then, this unique take on superhero life went on to become one of Marvel's acclaimed Netflix series, with the character herself becoming one of the more popular in the Marvel Universe.
Originally, Bendis imagined Spider-Woman Jessica Drew as the star of the Alias series - before he came up with the idea of the original character Jessica Jones. Oddly enough, Drew eventually did become a private investigator too. After the events of 2014's Spider-Verse event, she quit the Avengers and struck out on her own. The X-Men character Multiple Man did something similar too. He stepped away from the usual X-action and founded XXX Investigators in Mutant Town. This P.I. firm eventually received government funding and was renamed X-Factor Investigations, showing how a major rebranding can lead to bigger things.
Perhaps that's Cassie Sandsmark's next step too. There may be multiple characters who share the same name in the DC Universe right now, such as Batgirl Robin, and Superman, but with Yara Flor becoming the newest Wonder Girl, Cassie may forever be in her shadow. A similar thing happened to her fellow Young Justice teammate Tim Drake.
Since the end of Young Justice, Cassie has been desperate to do something useful but has only found short-term solutions, like tracking down Yara. First a missing person's case and now a murder inquiry? It already seems like this Wonder Girl has found a new calling. Cassie's unique positivity has already made her detective work seem fresh and new, and since the Amazons don't have anything remotely like a detective in their world, it could set her apart from the crowd once more.