Stop me if you’ve heard this before: a group of criminals manages to plan and seemingly pull off what looks like an impossible heist, but at the last minute, the person they’re robbing gets wind that something is wrong and sends all of their resources against the thieves. While that could describe any of the Fast and Furious films, the Now You See Me trilogy, or Ocean’s 11, it also fits Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League #5 to a T.
Cheetah’s crew has finally done the impossible: they’ve managed to get onto the Justice League Watchtower and locate the Power Bank. What they didn’t count on was Cheetah being captured by Wonder Woman, the Question starting to grow suspicious about the little mishaps occurring around the Watchtower, or Batman – being Batman – to put two and two together. Thus, the race is on to get the Power Bank before the entire League comes on their heads.
With Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League #5, Greg Rucka writes the superheroic equivalent of a locked-door thriller. He also manages to make the idea of the Justice League Unlimited feel rather terrifying; typically, seeing an army of superheroes confront supervillains is a satisfying moment, but since the villains are the protagonists of this comic, it feels like staring into the jaws of Hell. Rucka also has a good grasp on the heroes, especially Wonder Woman and Question, since he spent a great deal of time writing them.
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Nicola Scott also gets the chance to draw nearly every superhero in the DC Universe, making Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League #5 a “Where’s Waldo” exercise of sorts. You like Blue Beetle? Both of them are there. You like the Teen Titans? Nearly all of them show up. You like Superman? Here he comes, swooping through a portal. Even the Challengers of the Unknown get a brief (and disgustingly hilarious) cameo. Annette Kwok also plays a major role in shaping the scene, as the cold blue interiors of the Watchtower are often broken up by the green of force fields or the bright red of an alert.
Scott never forgets that the villains are the stars though, spending plenty of time illustrating their facial reactions. Take when Cheetah is imprisoned in the Watchtower’s brig; one moment, she’s snarling in Wonder Woman’s face and the next she’s giving a sly wink to Lian Harper. Featherweight goes from frantic to furious in the space of a single panel…and then literally demolishes a complex piece of machinery with a single punch in a truly splash-worthy page. Even Batman, who’s pulled out of his sleep, has the signature stern look people would expect from the Dark Knight.
The end of the issue is a whammy as well, as it’s revealed that the Justice League might not be our villains’ biggest problem. It also makes Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League #5 one of the best entries in this miniseries, as the stage is set for one hell of an ending – and I trust Rucka and Scott to stick the landing.
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