Sebastian Ballesteros
43 years ago - Sebastian Ballesteros is born in Argentina.
24 years ago - 19-year-old Sebastian takes over his uncles failing real-estate business.
22 years ago - 21-year-old Sebastian begins to worship an obscure tribal death god, making regular human sacrifices.
14 years ago - 29-year-old Sebastian's real estate empire becomes one of the largest in Argentina.
7 years ago - 36-year-old Sebastian serves as an agent of his patron god during the Godwar. He is corrupted by Circe, who takes him as a lover to manipulate him and sway the battle.
5 years ago - 38-year-old Sebastian steals the knife that empowered Barbara Ann Minerva and usurps her power, becoming the new Cheetah. He battles Atremis during her time as Wonder Woman. Barbara eventually uses her knowledge of magical artifacts to overpower him, kill him, and drink his blood, retaking her curse.
Sebastian became Cheetah briefly in the late 90's. It was an interesting swerve for the character; he very deliberately petitioned the god that empowered Barbara Ann Minerva, insisting that a male host would be more powerful and effective. It was a decidedly mysogynistic idea, but he was a villain in a comic starring a female hero, so in a way it worked. If anything, the problem was that he had actually usurped the power of a known female character, which just seemed like a weird choice. We're going to use him, however, if for no other reason than it's fun to watch the REAL Cheetah take her power back.
Our Sebastian StoryMake no mistake, this is not meant to be any sort of changing of the guard or anything like that; Cheetah is a classic Wonder Woman Villain and League of Doom member. She's one of the core ingredients in DC's pantheon of villains, and there is no way Sebastian can fill that role the way Barbara can.
So why include him at all? The answer is very simple; because it gives is a chance to watch Barbara defeat him, kill him, and drink his blood to regain her powers. This isn't something a heroic character would ever do, but Cheetah is far from heroic. Sebastian might have caught her off guard and weilded her power for a time but make no mistake, those powers are Barbara's alone. Seeing exactly what she's willing to do to retain them will cement her place as one of the scarriest villains in DC. |