Warning: contains spoilers for Deathstroke Inc. #2!
In Wonder Woman 1984, audiences were finally introduced to one of the Amazon hero's greatest foes: the Cheetah. Played by Kristin Wiig, she proved a formidable adversary for Wonder Woman, reflecting her appearances in the comics. Now, in Deathstroke Inc. #2, on sale now in print and digital, readers learn the Cheetah is the ruler of her own land.
There have been three incarnations of the Cheetah. The first, Priscilla Rich, debuted in 1943’s Wonder Woman #6. Her niece, Deborah Domaine, briefly took up the mantle, but was eventually eliminated from continuity. Barbara Ann Minerva, the current incarnation, first appeared in 1987’s Wonder Woman #7 and has become one of DC’s top villains, recruited by Lex Luthor into the Legion of Doom. Minerva was an archaeologist who wanted Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth for herself. She failed in her attempt to claim it and the two became bitter enemies. The Cheetah has not been seen since DC’s line-wide relaunch Infinite Frontier, but she makes a shocking return in Deathstroke Inc. #2, written by Joshua Williamson, with art by Howard Porter, colors by Hi-Fi, and letters by Steve Wands.
Deathstroke, along with the Black Canary and the Toyman, have allied themselves with a mysterious organization called T.R.U.S.T. After stopping the Cyborg Superman from launching a psychic assault on the Multiverse, the trio return to headquarters. Toyman is told to return to base, but Deathstroke and Black Canary are ordered to track down the Cheetah. T.R.U.S.T. wishes to bring Cheetah to justice for her crimes. The two agree to track her down, but T.R.U.S.T. tells them they know exactly where she is located. Readers then see a giant castle, elevating off the ground and surrounded by a moat. Humanoid cat people are skulking around in the trees surrounding the castle. From inside, a throng of cat people have assembled, their heads bowed in supplication, chanting, “Hail Queen Cheetah.” Cheetah sits grinning menacingly on a throne, wearing a tiara and outfit similar to Wonder Woman’s.
The issue ends there, leaving readers to wait until next month to learn how the Cheetah came to rule her own kingdom, one full of anthropomorphic cat people like herself. Did she discover this place, and these people? How did she come to be their ruler? Cheetah is not only strong and fast like her namesake, but she is also cunning and ruthless—traits that would serve her well on any ascent to power. Cheetah has not been seen in several months, and it's now clear where she was, and what she was up to: consolidating her power on a distant kingdom, for some unknown reason, and one that cannot be good.
What is also clear is that Deathstroke and Black Canary will be in for the fight of their lives when they find Cheetah. Wonder Woman 1984 showed the world why she is one of the Amazon’s greatest foes, and now the comics are making her even more powerful, giving Cheetah her own land, and her own people.