Johns delivers the best issue of this series so far here and redeems our hope that this series would one day start meeting its potential.
First, the story itself is intriguing. I know little about Cheetah. In fact, I think my only real exposure to her is from "Superfriends." But, Johns gives her one of the better (and more believable) origin stories that I've read in a long time. We learn that she's a friend of Diana's from the Smithsonian who helped Diana in her early exploits as Wonder Woman. Eventually, she moved to Project A.R.G.U.S. with Diana, working on cataloguing dangerous artifacts that she and A.R.G.U.S. recovered. One day, Barbara accidentally cut herself on a ritual dagger from a lost Amazonian tribe and was possessed by its goddess of the hunt, the Cheetah. It's not only a believable story (I mean, for comics), but it also really gives their conflict a hook. Diana is clearly racked with guilt over the accident and determined to help her.
Beyond the story, for the first time Johns actually spends a significant time focusing on characterization. First, Diana's guilt over Barbara is a nice change, since it shows her displaying actual emotions. Her response to her feelings for Steve Trevor was to cut off that part of her life completely and never discuss it. It's made her a difficult character to like, since she's been mostly emotionless throughout the series. By showing her concern over Barbara, Johns goes a long way to making Diana a lot more real. Moreover, Cheetah's successful attack on Diana, which opens the issue, gives us some insight into the team's evolving group dynamics. The other members of the Justice League are rattled by the attack, since they've never seen Wonder Woman defeated. Diana refuses their offers of assistance, since, as she says, the League wasn't created for its members to help each other with their individual problems. By having the other members of the Justice League wanting to help, it shows that they're starting to form the relationships that they had in the DCU. The lack of these relationships has left this book feeling cold and I'm glad to see that we're starting to address that problem. Johns also uses this discussion to tease out the relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman after the kiss. I particularly liked how he doesn't rush it. They don't forswear kissing again or commit forever, as often happens after one kiss in comics. They both somewhat wryly admit that it was "nice." I like this sort of ambiguity, since it usually fuels more interesting stories than those revolving around unrequited love or constant drama that comes with the forswearing/committing stories.
Moreover, Diana and Kal aren't the only ones who have a moment in this issue. I loved Flash's conversation with Cyborg. It reminds you that Vic is still just a kid in some serious need of friendship and guidance and that Barry is a genuinely decent human being. It's also nice to see a warm moment between two teammates (that doesn't involve tongue), particularly given the open hostility that Aquaman and Batman bring to the table.
But, perhaps the best part of this issue is the ending. A Cheetah-fied Superman? I mean, awesome. Also, after knocking him for so long as the writer of "Detective Comics," I'll say that Tony Daniel is a great replacement for Jim Lee as the artist on this book. His style is somehow more personal than Lee's and it's a great fit to this story. I can honestly say, perhaps for the first time, I am honestly excited about the next issue.
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