I definitely prefer Mafdet over Urzkartaga.
Strength and durability are a given, but I don't think she should rely on those facets of her powers. I would say they should focus more on her being cunning, crafty, and clever. The violent beast is dangerous, but the Machiavellian woman is even more so. She COULD simply claw and gnash her way through a problem, but prefers trickery and deception and only does brute forces things as a last resort. Why work hard when you could work smart? Her knowledge on magical artifacts and the like could rival the gods themselves.
As for Urzkartaga...are there any gods in the places that Cheetahs are native to that make any sense? Heck maybe even a combination of different gods from different cultures could even be a thing.
Cheetahs are only native in Africa. Plus due to Diana coming from ancient gods it only makes sense to do the same for Babs. And no I have looked and the only cheetah god is Madfet. Unless it’s a smaller religion.
I definitely want the rebirth origin that Rucka gave us with the added sin of greed from post-crisis. Barbra needs a sort of tether that keeps her more on the villain lines and I think greed might be it. A greed for power/knowledge and a deep hatred of anything divine.
I'm also on board with a revamp of the Cheetah curse being from Mafdet instead of Urz.
Zaldrīzes Buzdari Iksos Daor
One thing I want to know if Cheetah winds up being the avatar for Madfet how should that affected her? Also in many cases, Egyptian myths have that Madfet, Baset, and Sekhet were close. So in a sense Cheetah could be powered by all three women. Madfet has also had other head of a cat, a leopard, a lynx, or even a mongoose. She may also take the form of a panther in some depiction. So Cheetah could have to take powers from these cats
Last edited by AmiMizuno; 09-22-2020 at 01:53 PM.
Cheetah needs to be as powerful as Diana to be her arch-nemesis (in terms of physical opponent).
I'd actually be inclined to give Cheetah the edge in various respects (definitely speed) with the proviso that tapping into / unleashing her full physical abilities comes at the cost of losing some of her ability to reason / giving in to a "feral" mind. So, although Wonder Woman would be more challenged physically, she'd be able to emerge victorious by using her wits.
I also think she needs a greater / bigger motivation than "jealousy". Maybe it's viewing herself as a goddess and considering humans worthless (in contrast to Diana who is a goddess, but wants to be more human)? Or maybe Diana works to keep mystical / magical artefacts out of the hands of others (good or bad), but Barbara believes that such artefacts shouldn't be locked away under the guardianship of a single person?
I wouldn't be opposed to Diana being indirectly responsible for Barbara's "curse". Something along the lines of Diana working with famed archaeologist Barbara Ann Minerva to discover the secrets of the Lost Tomb of Mafdet and they discover some chamber (or other McGuffin) and Diana tells Barbara not to engage with it, but Barbara's reckless lust for knowledge / power leads her to do so anyway. I'm perhaps thinking too much about the complicated relationship between Xena and Callisto in this scenario and maybe it doesn't translate very well to Diana and Barbara.
I often wonder should Babara also have relationships with Banas? I did have an idea that Diana starting having a good relationship with them so they allow Dr.Minerva to look at their items.