Wonder Woman #18
Wonder Woman (Vol. 5) #18 is the narrative birthplace of the Rebirth-era Doctor Cyber: Veronica Cale completes an artificial-intelligence reconstruction of her dead friend Adrianna Anderson, and the AI christens itself Dr. Cyber, reinventing a Silver Age villain as a sympathetic, tragically self-aware digital consciousness. The issue simultaneously delivers the in-continuity origin of Barbara Ann Minerva's first Cheetah transformation, placing it in deliberate, emotionally devastating symmetry with her re-transformation in the preceding odd-numbered issue — a structural coup that demonstrates how Greg Rucka's dual-timeline Rebirth run used its alternating format as a storytelling instrument rather than a mere gimmick. As 'Godwatch, Part 2,' it deepens the portrait of Veronica Cale as Wonder Woman's most psychologically complex modern antagonist, a villain whose hatred of Diana is inseparable from her grief and guilt.
In "Godwatch Part 2," Veronica's grief over Adrianna's death takes a chilling turn as she channels her friend’s consciousness into an AI named Doctor Cyber, housed within the Cyberwalker system. With Phobos and Deimos still holding Izzy’s soul captive, Veronica is pushed to the brink as she’s forced to sabotage Barbara Ann’s expedition—setting off a transformation that will mark Barbara Ann’s first emergence as the Cheetah. Written by Greg Rucka and brought to life by Bilquis Evely’s striking interior art, with Scott Hanna’s inks, Romulo Fajardo Jr.’s colors, and Jodi Wynne’s lettering, this issue’s cover by Bilquis Evely captures the tension in stark, haunting detail.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue sits inside Greg Rucka's second run on the character, which DC launched under the 2016 Rebirth initiative. Rucka structured the entire run in two interleaved timelines: odd-numbered issues (penciled by Liam Sharp) told a present-day mystery called 'The Lies' and 'The Truth,' while even-numbered issues (penciled by Bilquis Evely with colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr.) told the parallel past-set stories 'Year One' and 'Godwatch.' Issue #18 falls in the Evely/Fajardo half of that design, with Scott Hanna, Mark Morales, Andrew Hennessy, and Raúl Fernández sharing inking duties; Jodi Wynne lettered, and the book was edited by Mark Doyle, Chris Conroy, Rebecca Taylor, Dave Wielgosz, and Jeb Woodard. Rucka had originally created Veronica Cale during his early-2000s run, and the Rebirth arc gave him room to substantially retool both Cale and the Doctor Cyber concept, folding them together into a single tragic origin.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published March 8, 2017 (cover date May 2017); Wonder Woman Vol. 5 #18, part of the DC Rebirth line.
- Serves as 'Godwatch, Part 2' — the second chapter of the five-part even-numbered arc that runs through issues #16, #18, #20, #22, and #24.
- First full appearance and naming of the Rebirth-era Doctor Cyber: Veronica Cale's AI reconstruction of Adrianna Anderson's neural imprint takes the name Dr. Cyber within this issue.
- Depicts the in-continuity, past-set origin of Barbara Ann Minerva's first transformation into the Cheetah, directly paralleling her present-day re-transformation shown in Wonder Woman #17.
- Written by Greg Rucka; pencils by Bilquis Evely; colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr.; lettering by Jodi Wynne — the creative team responsible for all even-numbered 'Godwatch'/'Year One' chapters.
- The issue received an aggregated critical score of 8.7 out of 10 across ten reviews on Comic Book Roundup, reflecting the broader critical acclaim the Godwatch arc earned.
- Collected in Wonder Woman Vol. 4: Godwatch (November 2017, ISBN 978-1401274603) and in the Wonder Woman: Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book 2, both of which gather issues #15–25 and Wonder Woman Annual #1.
- The Godwatch arc — including this issue — concludes Greg Rucka's celebrated Rebirth run, which is widely considered among the strongest modern takes on the character.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Wonder Woman #2 (2017), Mulher-Maravilha #10 (2018), Wonder Woman #4 (2018), Wonder Woman Rebirth #3 (2018), Wonder Woman Rebirth #4 (2018), Wonder Woman: Rebirth Deluxe Edition #2 (2018)
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