Justice League: Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Watchtower
The Power Bank. It contains a copy of the power of every member of the Justice League. After the events of “Absolute Power,” it became necessary in case someone ever managed to de-power a superhero or steal their power, and it’s currently stored on the League’s Watchtower. Cheetah and Cheshire know that if they were able to get their hands on it and either sell it to the highest government bidder, or start their own power-renting operation, they’d be set for life. Which is why they’ve decided to put together a team to steal it. Electronic probability manipulator Hazard. Witch-boy Klarion and his familiar Teekl. Super-strong granddaughter of Ra’s Al Ghul Featherweight. They’re all on board for what sounds like an impossible job, and that’s even before you consider who’s really in this for themselves.
In the hands of writer Greg Rucka and artist Nicola Scott,”Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Watchtower” is a solidly entertaining caper. Rucka is not only good with laying out the necessary setup for a crime this large, but also grounding it in the specific superhero milieu of the DC Universe. I mean, the gang is not only going to have to find a way to properly distract the largest Justice League ever, but fool the Watchtower’s Red Tornado AI, and then make it so that the magics behind their escape can’t be tracked. It’s all elegantly handled in a way that will definitely appeal to superhero fans.
Which is good because if this story has one big issue, it would be its predictability. As well-put-together as everything is, anyone who’s read enough “heist” stories will be able to immediately recognize its structure and see its twists coming a mile away. There were no real surprises in seeing how the title characters’ plan played out, which was a real shame. Fortunately, Rucka writes the entire cast really well which helps to offset that lack of surprise as you really do want to see these characters succeed. Particularly Cheetah given her more personal stake in these proceedings.
Scott has collaborated with the writer to good effect on multiple projects and that’s true again here. Hers is a more grounded style that, while it doesn’t go in for a lot of superhero flash, still manages to depict the genre’s larger-than-life aspects quite well. So no one needs to worry about whether the Watchtower, various natural disasters, or a big superhero/villain dust-up is going to look good. The real appeal of Scott’s art, however, is in her character work as she gives the cast lots of personality, and sells their individual quirks and dramas very well.
While I wouldn’t call “Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Watchtower” a great heist story, it’s too predictable for that, it’s still a good one and something I think is worth checking out. It’s got great art and a very engaging cast tackling a job that could only be done in the DCU. It even winds up promising a big change in regards to one of its characters which I hope is maintained through their future stories. Betting on the future in that regard might be a big ask, but you can at least enjoy the story in which it happens in the here and now.