Wonder Woman #23.1 Cheetah

Cheetah gets the spotlight in this one-shot as her past and future collide.



I have a confession to make.

Outside of the Justice League related comics, I had a very limited knowledge of Wonder Woman. And it didn't help that she doesn't have a very recognizable Big Bad like the others.

Cheetah is someone I only first saw in the JL Animated Series and briefly in the Wonder Woman movie. She did play a bigger part in Doom but this is the first time I've delved into her origins, though I've read the Justice League comics in which she guest-stared and the entire run of the New 52 Wonder Woman (which I've enjoyed, but it did not have Cheetah.)

And the result is somewhat mixed.

She comes across as a victim of her background but having a perverse sense of honor and codes. So, her transformation into the Cheetah and her 'hunt' of the one who taught her the Amazonian way both strike the right chords.

The problem arises from her association with Wonder Woman and this is one of the problems with the Wonder Woman comic, as stellar as it is as a standalone, it never did explore Wonder Woman's coming to 'man's world' and the friends she made.They tried to address this in a Justice League two-parter, but the friendship still feel half-baked.

But other than that, we get a cohesive story of how Barbara was indoctrinated into the perceived Amazonian way, hunted and killed her brother (in a manner reminiscent of the Hunger Games) and finally, became the ultimate hunter by turning into the Cheetah.

She also seems to have a code of conduct during 'hunts'. Though I have no idea why she attacked someone who was involved in another hunt already. Does that not violate the code or something?

But the actual problem is, having no previous knowledge of the actual Amazonian way (all we get is Wonder Woman laughing and I can't decide whether that scene was actual fact or a nightmare of Cheetah's) and never seeing Barbara's and Diana's friendship during their time at A.R.G.U.S, this comes up a little short.

An enjoyable read, but this didn't make me want to delve into Cheetah's life more.

Sp, I give it 7.5 out of 10.