Cheetah (comics)
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The Cheetah is a fictional character in the Wonder Woman stories published by DC Comics.
In the Pre-Crisis version of the character, the Cheetah was a human woman who wore a cheetah pelt-patterned catsuit. The first woman to wear the costume, in Wonder Woman #6 (October 1943), was Priscilla Rich, a 1940s-era Washington, D.C. blonde debutante who suffered from a split personality. After being eclipsed by Wonder Woman at a charity event, Priscilla retreated to her room and collapsed before her makeup mirror. There she saw an image of a woman dressed like a cheetah. "Horrors!" she cried, as she gazed at her evil inner self for the first time. "Don't you know me?" replied the reflection. "I am the REAL you — the Cheetah — a treacherous, relentless huntress!" The image commanded her to fashion a Cheetah costume. "From now on, intoned the reflection, "when I command you, you shall go forth dressed like your TRUE self and do as I command you..."
Priscilla had several run-ins with Wonder Woman before retiring to her North Shore Maryland mansion. In Wonder Woman # 274 (Dec. 1980), the villain Kobra attempted to recruit the villainess for his organization. His operative found the reclusive Priscilla an invalid. However, Priscilla's niece Deborah Domaine had come at her bidding and the operative stayed to observe. Before Priscilla could unburden her alter ego as the Cheetah, she died. The operative returned Deborah and the Cheetah costume to Kobra's headquarters, where he questioned her "You didn't know about your aunt's secret life, did you? Well, you'll learn — Since we couldn't have the original, we decided to make do with a recreation. You shall be that recreation, Ms. Domaine."
Kobra brainwashed Debbie and provided her with an updated version of the Cheetah costume. The original suit included a cat-earred cowl and clawed, flat-soled boots. Debbie's version had an V-neck, slit to the sternum, a headband with cat-ears (concealed for the most part beneath her long, brown hair), and four-inch heeled boots. Both costumes included razor-sharp chrome steel nails, painted bright red. "You are my servant, and I, your master. You are the Cheetah!" he cried, "And you will fill the world with terror!" Debbie also had several conflicts with Wonder Woman, before be retconned out of existence due to the history-altering aftereffects of the Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985-1986).
The current Cheetah is anthropologist Barbara Minerva. She had searched out a tribe in Africa who utilized a female guardian with the powers of a cheetah. She and her party killed the guardian, then Barbara took her place. Instead of a costumed woman, this Cheetah is a cat-human hybrid with her own pelt, tail, pointed ears, and fang-like canines.
Cheetah was voiced by Marlene Aragon in Super Friends. She was voiced by Sheryl Lee Ralph in Cartoon Network's Justice League animated series. For the animated series, Cheetah's origin was modified. Barbara Minerva was a biologist who spliced cheetah genes into her own.