Cheetah (Deborah Domaine)

CHARACTER
[[Image:File:DeborahDomaine.jpg|center|306px]]
Created by	Gerry Conway William Moulton Marston
Affiliations	Secret Society of Super-Villains
Played by	Sonia Manzano (Voice)

History

Deborah Domaine was a woman born of wealth and privilege. Growing up in Chesapeake Bay, she became very close with her eccentric aunt, an heiress named Priscilla Rich. Even as Debbi grew into adulthood however, she never knew her aunt's most closely guarded secret – that she was once the psychotic villain known as the Cheetah.

Several years ago, Debbi became a socially active individual, involving herself in various environmentally conscious initiatives such as the Organization for Ecological Sanity (O.E.S.). She quickly rose to prominence within the O.E.S.'s ranks, and even used her private yacht off of South Shore Marina as a de facto headquarters for the group. Debbi would sail about the world, tracking down ecological disasters and raising public awareness concerning dangers to the Earth.

On one such occasion, the O.E.S. discovered an oil tanker that had ruptured and set ablaze. The super-hero known as Wonder Woman responded to the emergency and effectively contained the fire, as well as the tons of oil that had spilled out into the bay. Debbi and her crew met the Amazon and she invited her aboard her yacht to clean up. The two would likely have become friends, had fate not intervened.

Shortly after the oil tanker incident, Debbi received a letter from her aunt. Priscilla Rich was dying and wanted to see her niece while she still had a small amount of time available to her. Debbi visited Priscilla's mansion, and the aging heiress struggled to reveal her darkest secret. However, Priscilla died before she could say any more. Reeling from shock, Debbi stumbled backwards into Priscilla's boudoir, overturning a mannequin. Upon the mannequin was the costume of the Cheetah. The mannequin struck her upon the brow, rendering her unconscious.

Meanwhile, the terrorist leader known as Kobra had been looking to acquire fresh new recruits. He sent one of his agents to Chesapeake Bay to enlist the services of the Cheetah. Upon discovering that the Cheetah was dead, the agent instead abducted the unconscious Deborah Domaine.

When Debbi awoke, she found herself a prisoner of Kobra. As he was unable to make use of the original Cheetah, he decided to craft one of his own. He placed Debbi inside of a monitor station, suspended from the ceiling by electric cables. Using a brainwashing technique, Kobra exposed her to a barrage of violent images of ecological disasters. With every flickering image she was forced to witness, an electric charge was sent coursing through her body. Within a short period of time, the process drove Debbi Domaine irrevocably insane. Kobra outfitted her with a feline costume similar in design to that once worn by her aunt. He further implemented her with a set of chrome-steel claws, and thus the new Cheetah was born.

Powers and Abilities

If the Cheetah is goaded into a fit of frenzy, her strength level enhances to near superhuman levels. Like her namesake, the Cheetah possesses the swiftness and agility of a jungle cat. She is also a skilled hand-to-hand combatant and has been known to even keep Wonder Woman on her guard.

In other media

• In 1982 the Wonder Woman audio book story "Cheetah on the Prowl" was released with actress Sonia Manzano providing the voice of the Deborah Domaine Cheetah.

See Also

• Cheetah (Deborah Domaine)/Gallery
• Cheetah