Wonder Woman #46 - Discussion & Spoilers

[SiegePerilous02]

Cheetah does need a motivation and she also needs a better game if she's to be a threat not just to Wonder Woman but to everyone in the DC Universe. The WW fans don't think Cheetah "needs" to be very fast though much to my surprise, Superman "needs" it more I guess, after all Cheetah is only a Wonder Woman villain and gone are the days when Wonder Woman was "stronger than Hercules, swifter than Mercury, as wise as Athena". Now it's "not as strong as Superman, slower than kryptonians, not wise at all"

Most Wonder Woman fans are happy with the idea of Wonder Woman being as fast as Superman. However, Cheetah should be faster than either of them, and none of the three should be as fast as a Flash or other speedsters.

Agreed that Cheetah needs better motivation to be a bigger threat in the DCU, but this version has too many personal conflicts. I can't see her wanting to rule the world or anything like that.

I thought about it and maybe she would turn her archaeology passion into hatred. Her curiousity for the gods and ancient civilizations turned her into a blood-thirsty monster. So she could turn that into a reason to try to destroy everything traditional. Museums and temples and artifacts.

But idk, even that seems out of character to me. I can't see a way out, guys, and I'd honestly prefer her to be WW's personal threat, not the big "super hero saves the city from the villain" one. Keep that to Ares, Cale, Silver Swan, Psycho, Poison etc.

Rucka set her up with a motivation that isn't too different from your second paragraph. She spent her life being passionate about archaeology and myth, and look where it got her. She wants to destroy the Olympians and the Amazons out of spite now. This a motivation that can lead to dire consequences in the DCU: if she succeeds in killing some Olympians, there are going to be pretty big repercussions. And her misguided hatred of the Amazons means her hate has placed Hippolyta and the rest in her crosshairs. She can easily be a threat or callously cause events that lead to a threat that endanger a city or the whole DCU.

I didn't read the issue, but it doesn't sound like anything in it makes any of the above undoable. Her conflict with Cale is interesting and needs to stick around, and Cale is after all just a mortal woman. It's not like it requires a great deal of effort or creativity on Cheetah's part to harm her. Hopefully we can get through this arc without anything TOO damaging, but honestly Robinson hasn't made anybody look good in this run.

[Mel Dyer]

...she's going to need some work and a plan. As always with Barbara Minerva, I want world domination and the assemblage of personal power. Bring on the evil Indiana Jones who's the foremost archeologist and leading mind behind the mystical, magical, and godly artifacts in the DCU. I want to see her as much at odds with Luthor as she is with Diana.

Enough with Cheetah being beholden to gods as well (we got enough with that Grail and Darkseid and now apparently Grail and Ares), regardless of if it's Urzkartaga or the Dark Gods. Time for Ms. Minerva to be in control of her destiny.

I kind of wish that Jason and Glaucus were out of the book...

"Enough with being beholden to gods--it's time for Ms. Minerva to be in control of her own destiny!"

What a GREAT line for Barbara Minerva! If only some genius would steal it and scribble into a WW comic...

At this point, I think Jason is in Etta's way, because I'm convinced that's what Diana's on-going narrative is missing.

[Joao]

Most Wonder Woman fans are happy with the idea of Wonder Woman being as fast as Superman. However, Cheetah should be faster than either of them, and none of the three should be as fast as a Flash or other speedsters.



Rucka set her up with a motivation that isn't too different from your second paragraph. She spent her life being passionate about archaeology and myth, and look where it got her. She wants to destroy the Olympians and the Amazons out of spite now. This a motivation that can lead to dire consequences in the DCU: if she succeeds in killing some Olympians, there are going to be pretty big repercussions. And her misguided hatred of the Amazons means her hate has placed Hippolyta and the rest in her crosshairs. She can easily be a threat or callously cause events that lead to a threat that endanger a city or the whole DCU.

I didn't read the issue, but it doesn't sound like anything in it makes any of the above undoable. Her conflict with Cale is interesting and needs to stick around, and Cale is after all just a mortal woman. It's not like it requires a great deal of effort or creativity on Cheetah's part to harm her. Hopefully we can get through this arc without anything TOO damaging, but honestly Robinson hasn't made anybody look good in this run.

Great exposition! I agree that the Cale conflict has to stay. She is a great point to the Cheetah x Diana comparisons and moral compass. Diana always acts in a cautious but compassionate, empathetic way, while Cheetah just wants revenge. It's interesting cause in this issue, as bland as it may be, we have a line of dialogue where Cale says she did it all for her daughter and Barbara doesn't give a damn. Diana would stop right there and understand her reasons and feel for her.

So many shades of Greek tragedies. The scholar in me goes crazy lol

As for the hate she feels for the amazons... I'm not sure. In the last moments of Godwatch, the last thing she did was beg to enter Themyscira. Proving its existence and finding it still the work of her life. And if Diana ever returns to Themyscira, I wouldn't be surprised if she took Cheetah to the island so she could go back to her old self. That is a story I would love to read tbh.

But totally agree on the gods part. They made her a monster, used her as a chess piece when she only had the desire to know them out of admiration. She can be the Kratos of this universe. It's a pity god killing is a trope that is not that original anymore, and Robinson made sure to use it in the worst way.

[JLH]

Wonder Woman v Supergirl? Now you have my attention!

I didn't see that last page coming. It sure woke me up! Hopefully it plays out well next issue...Robinson's run hasn't exactly wowed me.

[Mel Dyer]

WW #46 proves to me that we're ready for TWO WW comics. One is WW, featuring her superheroic adventures in Man's World. The other could be an anthology comic, featuring the adventures of Donna, Jason and the Amazons, all in separate, on-going stories.

[SiegePerilous02]

Read this in the store today. Yikes some of this was bad, as usual, with some interesting ideas executed in a lousy way.

I was not a fan of Veronica begging Cheetah to spare her life AT ALL. I don't recall her doing that in Rucka's run when Cheetah was mauling her. She's SOL in a direct confrontation, but the woman has stronger nerves than that. Also, Cheetah ranting like a lunatic was annoying. She said Urzartaga sucked and she didn't need him anymore but wanted to avenge Cale's insult to him? What?

Also, Veronica should have been smart enough to have better contingencies in case Cheetah woke up.

Great exposition! I agree that the Cale conflict has to stay. She is a great point to the Cheetah x Diana comparisons and moral compass. Diana always acts in a cautious but compassionate, empathetic way, while Cheetah just wants revenge. It's interesting cause in this issue, as bland as it may be, we have a line of dialogue where Cale says she did it all for her daughter and Barbara doesn't give a damn. Diana would stop right there and understand her reasons and feel for her.

Thanks! Yeah, the interpersonal dynamics between the villains was my favorite aspect of Rucka's run, and Godwatch was my favorite arc in it. Cheetah, Veronica, Dr. Cyber and Circe all have a lot of ongoing story potential from that arc alone, and I'd love to see the likes of Giganta, Clea, Saturna, Zara, etc. thrown into the mix as Godwatch expands.

As for the hate she feels for the amazons... I'm not sure. In the last moments of Godwatch, the last thing she did was beg to enter Themyscira. Proving its existence and finding it still the work of her life. And if Diana ever returns to Themyscira, I wouldn't be surprised if she took Cheetah to the island so she could go back to her old self. That is a story I would love to read tbh.

She begs to be let in, but once the tree blows up in her face (lol dick move Athena and co.), she swears off the Amazons as well. They seemed to be her "gateway drug" and favorite subject of Greek myth, and her quest to find them led her to Diana and in turn led to her curse. This was the final insult, so her being a potential danger to Hippolyta and the others is on the table.

I think Cheetah somehow being brought to Themyscira to be reformed is a fantastic idea, though to further add to the tragedy it probably wouldn't take.

[brettc1]

Like most I gave it 3/5.

The art was good, and I appreciated the modesty of Diana's skirt when she sweeps Cheetah's leg. It looks like the are going for the feel of the movie with her fighting style. So props for that.

I agree with Gaelforce that it has been a good long while since Cheetah wanted to do anything beyond slice the neck of the nearest person. Even the Firstborn had a more complex motivation.

If KOBRA are in DC now, maybe Jason will join the JOE's and take up space in their comic.

But seriously though, I see that in their very early appearances Kobra was a cult. Kobra had a prophecy that one day someone would lead them to greatness. Finding this someone as one of a set of twins, they selected one at random and took him to be raised by them.

So it is mildly interesting that they should turn up now in Wonder Woman when she has suddenly discovered she has a twin brother.

Oh, and the twin they kidnapped and raised as their leader - his name was Jason [Burr].

OOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Dr. Poison]

Like most I gave it 3/5.

The art was good, and I appreciated the modesty of Diana's skirt when she sweeps Cheetah's leg. It looks like the are going for the feel of the movie with her fighting style. So props for that.

I agree with Gaelforce that it has been a good long while since Cheetah wanted to do anything beyond slice the neck of the nearest person. Even the Firstborn had a more complex motivation.

If KOBRA are in DC now, maybe Jason will join the JOE's and take up space in their comic.

But seriously though, I see that in their very early appearances Kobra was a cult. Kobra had a prophecy that one day someone would lead them to greatness. Finding this someone as one of a set of twins, they selected one at random and took him to be raised by them.

So it is mildly interesting that they should turn up now in Wonder Woman when she has suddenly discovered she has a twin brother.

Oh, and the twin they kidnapped and raised as their leader - his name was Jason [Burr].

OOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I think Rucka made the Cheetah's motivation pretty clear. She wants to be rid of her curse and punish those responsible for her becoming the Cheetah(the plant god whose name I can never spell & Veronica Cale).

Burnt Bacon Man's motivation was to destroy everything because daddy Zeus abandoned him. Meh......

[SiegePerilous02]

I think Rucka made the Cheetah's motivation pretty clear. She wants to be rid of her curse and punish those responsible for her becoming the Cheetah(the plant god whose name I can never spell & Veronica Cale).

Burnt Bacon Man's motivation was to destroy everything because daddy Zeus abandoned him. Meh......

If I was to rank them, I'd probably go Rucka's Cheetah > the First Born > Robinson's Cheetah thus far (unlikely to get better before this is done, sadly) > Grail.

Rucka had Cheetah act savage, but he had her voice a clear and concise motivation going forward. And he showed that she had a history of raiding tombs to find artifacts for various purposes. I feel there is no excuse for future writers to screw that up and find creative ways for her to accomplish her goal beyond slashing and eating people.

[Dr. Poison]

If I was to rank them, I'd probably go Rucka's Cheetah > the First Born > Robinson's Cheetah thus far (unlikely to get better before this is done, sadly) > Grail.

Rucka had Cheetah act savage, but he had her voice a clear and concise motivation going forward. And he showed that she had a history of raiding tombs to find artifacts for various purposes. I feel there is no excuse for future writers to screw that up and find creative ways for her to accomplish her goal beyond slashing and eating people.

I think Robinson gave a good reason for Cheetah acting the way she did. The arrival of the Dark Pantheon is driving her and other being to act more aggressively than normal(as evidenced by Supergirl on the last page).

[Kalethas31]

WW #46 proves to me that we're ready for TWO WW comics. One is WW, featuring her superheroic adventures in Man's World. The other could be an anthology comic, featuring the adventures of Donna, Jason and the Amazons, all in separate, on-going stories.

I'm looking forward to Jason and Donna getting to know each other

[kjn]

I think Robinson gave a good reason for Cheetah acting the way she did. The arrival of the Dark Pantheon is driving her and other being to act more aggressively than normal(as evidenced by Supergirl on the last page).

Except what is shown on page always trumps backstory. If the default position of Cheetah has become to act violently, then any explanation will simply fade into the background and be lost. On the other hand, the explanation works narratively for Supergirl, as she is acting out of character, as viewed by both Wonder Woman and us readers.

[VonHammersmark]

Most Wonder Woman fans are happy with the idea of Wonder Woman being as fast as Superman. However, Cheetah should be faster than either of them, and none of the three should be as fast as a Flash or other speedsters.

No there's no reason Superman should be as fast as Flash or significantly faster than Wonder Woman for that matter, and Flash shouldn't have the absurd ability to travel through time unaided by the cosmic treadmill or some other special device. Now if I ever got the chance to write Wonder Woman, I would definitely rebrand Cheetah as the fastest sprinter in the World and the apex predator, it just makes so much sense

[RepHope]

An ok issue. I liked that Cheetah still has a hatred for Cale although I wish she wasn't just a pawn of her god anymore. Was surprised by Supergirl's appearance at the end, hopefully Robinson handles that well.

[Pinsir]

This wasn't too bad, I actually read the issue from beginning to end! Haven't done that in a while...