Greg Rucka, Nicola Scott, and the rest of the creative team deliver a seriously fun, villain-centric heist story in Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League #3. Set in Morocco, near Casablanca, this issue immediately throws us into a high-stakes mission: stealing the Justice League’s Power Bank from the Watchtower.
We open on a villain’s meeting at some fancy estate. Cheshire and Cheetah are the ones running the show. They’ve gathered a motley crew for introductions and a full rundown of the heist. The assembled team includes Hazard, who can manipulate probability to get the desired result; Klarion and Teekl, a powerful magic user and his cat; and Featherweight, who is incredibly strong and tough and just happens to love cats. Oh, and Cheshire’s daughter, Lian, is also present, but she’s explicitly told she will not be involved.
Their goal is the Power Bank, which is basically a massive storage unit that the Justice League built to keep backup copies of heroes’ powers. It’s a pretty questionable solution to all the power chaos they dealt with during the Absolute Power event. But Cheetah is quick to hype its worth, betting that any government would “bankrupt themselves to buy it off of us.”
The main chunk of the plot focuses on the intricate problem of actually reaching the Power Bank, which is housed in a highly secured lab on the Justice League’s Watchtower. We learn that access is almost impossible, requiring either a conventional docking bay or League members’ teleporters, which are explicitly tied to their biometrics. To make matters worse, the Watchtower always has at least twenty heroes aboard, its head of security, The Question, and one of the big heroes (think Superman, Batman, or Green Lantern). Plus, Red Tornado is currently embedded within the Watchtower mainframe, always looking out for threats. Basically, it won’t be easy!
The plotting in Cheetah & Cheshire #3 is crisp, expertly laying out the stakes and the complex plan while weaving in great character moments. Speaking of surprises, I have to give huge kudos to Greg and the team for bringing back Sideways! I’m a huge fan of his from his 2018 New Age of Heroes debut, and he hasn’t been around much since. There’s always a subset of fans who feel DC doesn’t focus on teen solo heroes enough, but Sideways was so unique: young, with a cool costume and great powers, plus a Hispanic American heritage that DC definitely needs more of. Bringing him back was a fantastic rabbit to pull out of the hat.
Nicola Scott’s art and Annette Kwok’s colors maintain a dynamic and vibrant feel throughout the issue. The character designs are distinctive, which really helps keep track of the large ensemble. The action sequence where Sideways saves “Mittens” from traffic is particularly kinetic, with letterer Troy Peteri’s RFFT sound effects perfectly capturing the hero’s dimension-hopping bursts. The settings are also gorgeous, sharply contrasting the luxurious Moroccan backdrop with the high-tech schematics of the Watchtower.
Bottom line: this issue is a hit. Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League #3 is tightly constructed and really character-driven. It expertly balances what you need to know with what you want to see, making the Watchtower’s security the perfect obstacle that forces the villains to get creative. The stage is absolutely set for a thrilling continuation!
‘Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League’ #3 Delivers a Rogue’s Gallery Road Trip
Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League #3 is tightly constructed and really character-driven. It expertly balances what you need to know with what you want to see, making the Watchtower’s security the perfect obstacle that forces the villains to get creative. The stage is absolutely set for a thrilling continuation!
