Monday, January 24, 2011

2006 Cheetah: From Bruce Wayne's private files in the Batcomputer



Pencil sketches by Alex Ross from the back pages of Justice #5 (June, 2006.) Text by Jim Krueger writing as Batman:

It is a curse to be raised among the wealthy. When I consider who I might have been, who I might have become if things had been different, I am almost grateful for this life I live. Not for what happened to make me what I am, but for what I may have been saved from.

PRISCILLA RICH was raised with all the advantages one could hope for, all the advantages I was born with. Her wealth made her petty and vain, and susceptible to the madness common to those who are raised with delusions of societal importance.

The very existence of Wonder Woman drove Rich to seek out a means to elevate herself above the Amazon ambassador. Soon, Rich embraced the belief that she could be possessed by the spirit of a cheetah, a spirit which would manifest itself when she clothed herself in the animate skin. If she is indeed insane, the law claims she cannot be held accountable for her actions. Still, the law often fails to uphold justice.

Cheetah has been driven further into this identity by her continued defeats by Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman herself has a strange compassion for this enemy, wishing to free her from the demon skin she wears. It is not unlike, I suppose, my hope that the demons that have so scarred Harvey Dent can once and for all be exorcised.



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