In Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League #1, the two titular villains hatched a plan to break into the Justice League’s watchtower and steal a mysterious artifact. It was an insane idea, for so many reasons. Anyone who’s read Justice League Unlimited knows that the League is now a veritable army of superheroes. Anyone who’s ever read a comic knows that supervillain teams rarely work out – whether it’s the Legion of Doom or the Sinister Six, too many clashing egos often lead to disaster, and the heroes are victorious.
I’m happy to report that Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League #2 fully sidesteps this trope in its opening pages, as Cheetah lays out some ground rules to Cheshire about who they’re hiring for the job. She correctly points out that bigger villains like Lex Luthor or Gorilla Grodd would bring their own massive egos to the table, and that a small crew would pull off the job better. Greg Rucka writes this interaction with plenty of wit and wisdom, setting the stage for the rest of the issue to segue into the classic “gathering the team” sequence of a heist story.
This leads to some rather unorthodox picks, but once again, Rucka does an excellent job of exploring what each character brings to the team. Becky Sharpe, the daughter of the Golden Age villain the Gambler, wants to use her good look power for more than ripping off casinos. Klarion the Witch Boy seeks forbidden knowledge. The “muscle” for the heist comes from an unexpected source: Cheshire’s daughter Lian, who shares an oddly sweet bond with Cheetah that I hope to see more of in future issues.
DC
Nicola Scott also takes a unique approach to the artwork, as Cheshire and Cheetah are mostly shown in regular clothes. In fact, all the villains in Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League #2, minus Klarion, wear normal clothes. It’s unexpected, but it’s a great way of showing that these characters aren’t trying to be supervillains 24/7. They’re people like you and me (once again excluding Klarion, who’s a literal witch). Annette Kwok’s colors help in this regard, bringing a balanced collection of tones to the usually outlandish world of the DC Universe.
Nowhere is Scott’s human touch more evident than with Cheetah. Usually, we see her engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Wonder Woman or as a feral creature, but here, she’s often shown doubled over in pain or having casual conversations. It makes her feel like an actual person, even though she’s sporting claws and fur, and it’ll make even the hardest of hearts stir. We all have those urges we try to shove deep down, but Cheetah’s are tormenting her, even if she tries to shrug it off.
Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League #2 doesn’t just flip the script on supervillain team-ups, it takes the time to humanize its villains. It’s that approach that makes this stand out in the current crop of DC titles, and now that the team’s assembled, the question remains: can they actually rob the Justice League?
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