[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artists: Bilquis Evely & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Summary
Wonder Woman must protect Veronica Cale from Cheetah’s wrath.
Positives
I like the cover by Bilquis Evely and Romulo Fajardo Jr. The image of Cale’s daughter in Ares’ helmet is creepy and sad. It’s great imagery that grabs me and makes me want to read the story.
The interior art is by Evely with colors by Fajardo Jr., and it’s great. I love Evely’s Cheetah. She makes the character so expressive; there are moments in which I feel immense sadness for Cheetah’s tragedy, but Evely can also make her terrifying.
I like where this story ends. Everything is resolved but not necessarily in a way that satisfies the characters. Everyone has lost something. Diana’s lost her home, family, and lasso, Cale has lost her daughter, and Cheetah has seemingly lost her humanity. And these losses affect the other characters such as Steve, Etta and Doctor Cyber. It ends in such a way that I am really curious what happens next. Where do these characters go from here? It feels like a great season finale for a television show.
I really like Cheetah’s attack on Cale and the following fight between Diana and Cheetah. It really shows how powerful, dangerous, and scary Cheetah can be. People often say, even Wonder Woman herself once, that Diana doesn’t really have a rogues gallery. She actually does and Rucka integrated quite a few of them into his year of Wonder Woman in a great way. Cheetah and Cale are prime examples of this and I hope this story and her inclusion in Injustice 2 will lead to people giving Cheetah more credit as a character.
Negatives
Wonder Woman without the lasso is just weird to me. I’ll have to see what the new creative team does with that, but that seems like such a weird choice. It’s the source of a lot of fun for the character; it’s like Green Arrow refusing to shoot a bow and arrow anymore. It feels strange but we’ll have to wait and see.
Verdict
This is a great issue. The art is beautiful throughout, whether it’s an action scene or just characters talking. I love the epilogue nature of this story but it doesn’t feel tacked on or unnecessary. It’s important to the story to feel the weight of everything that has happened. I am excited to see where these characters go next. I highly recommend reading this issue.
