After the news-making kiss between Superman and Wonder Woman in ‘Justice League’ #12, this issue  starts a new arc featuring the Cheetah as the main villain. After facing off against the power of Graves in the last arc, I don’t see how the Cheetah can be much of a threat to the Justice League, but let’s find out anyway…

The issue begins with a single page awkward goodbye after that kiss. It seems Diana isn’t sure what to think about the situation. But we don’t get to learn much more about this as the next page is a splash of Wonder Woman going toe-to-toe with the Cheetah in the middle of Central Park. (The caption says this is three days after the kiss.) I don’t read ‘Wonder Woman’ so I don’t know if Cheetah has appeared in that title yet. Either way, this issue does a decent job recapping the villain’s origin story. Her name is Barbara and she was a friend of Diana’s until she was scratched by a magical dagger that turned her into the Cheetah. Now Diana thinks that taking down the Cheetah is her duty but the League has other ideas.

While Diana isn’t happy with it, the League says that they realize that a single villain like Cheetah might be beneath the full force of the team but, since Diana is their friend, they want to help. To further complicate the situation, Superman and Diana are now feeling awkward and unsure with one another in the aftermath of their kiss. But, in the end, the League does what they always do and pulls together and it’s off to the Congo to track down the Cheetah.

Meanwhile, in a backup story, Steve Trevor (who was recently fired from his job as the Justice League liaison) is trying to drown his troubles in a bottle when he’s paid a visit by Oliver Queen. Since both he and Trevor having been shunned by the League, it looks like Ollie assumed Trevor will be friendly with him. When Trevor doesn’t seem to want the company, Oliver shows him a mysterious badge that he ripped off a recent villain that he fought. This piques Trevor’s interest and… it’s to be continued in next year’s new ‘Justice League of America’ series which stars characters like Hawkman, Martian Manhunter, and Green Arrow in their own darker version of the League.

This isn’t a bad issue but, like Diana says, the Cheetah really doesn’t seem like much of a match for the Justice League. She’s small potatoes but it looks like writer Johns is going to use the story as a backdrop for the real drama of Superman and Wonder Woman’s relationship. I just hope that this title gets back to the but-kicking soon enough.

Final Score:

 

JUSTICE LEAGUE #13
Story by Geoff Johns
Art by Tony S. Daniel, Richard Friend, and Batt
Cover by Tony Daniel, Richard Friend, and Tomeu Morey