Question (character)

The Question is a name used by several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the Question first appeared in Charlton Comics' Blue Beetle #1 (June 1967), and was acquired by DC Comics in the early 1980s and incorporated into the DC Universe.[2] The Question's secret identity was originally Vic Sage, later retconned as Charles Victor Szasz. However, after the events of the 2006–2007 miniseries 52, Sage's protégé Renee Montoya took up his mantle and became his successor. Following The New 52 relaunch, Question was reintroduced as an unknown mystical entity and Sage as a government agent, before being restored to his traditional detective persona and name after the events of DC Rebirth.

As conceived by Ditko, the Question was an adherent of Objectivism during his career as a Charlton hero, much like Ditko's earlier creation, Mr. A.[3] In the 1987–1990 solo series from DC, the character developed a Zen-like philosophy.[4] Since then, various writers have added their own philosophical stances to the Question.[5]

The Vic Sage incarnation of Question has appeared in various media outside comics, including television series and films. Jeffrey Combs, Nicholas Guest, and David Kaye have voiced the character in animation.

Publication history

In 1967, Steve Ditko created the character of Mr. A as an undiluted expression of his values, ethics and Objectivist philosophy.[3] Later that year, Ditko was hired by Charlton Comics to revive their superhero character Blue Beetle. Due to their below-average per-page payment rates to artists, Charlton gave more creative freedom to artists who pursued offbeat or idiosyncratic ideas.[6] Ditko created the Question as a less-radical version of Mr. A who could be acceptable to the Comics Code Authority.[7] The character was included as a back-pages feature in the new Blue Beetle comic book.[6]

However, Charlton discontinued its "action hero" line in December 1967 after only four issues of Blue Beetle had been published.

Fictional character biography

Powers and abilities

The Question is an almost superhuman vigilante armed with his iconic pseudoderm mask, fedora and trench coat. The pseudoderm mask gives the Question the appearance of someone without a face, which is useful for scaring people, has slight protection against damage, and is moldable enough for use in disguises.[26] The Question is also armed with a binary gas that he can summon from his belt, gloves, or calling cards, which can change the appearance of his hair and costume, be used as a smokescreen, and amplify his shamanistic powers.[26]

The Question is also a talented and intuitive detective, honed by years of experience as an investigative journalist. Though shown not to be on par with Batman,[27] the Question has solved mysteries, infiltrated enemy territory, and used his intellect to outwit master criminals like the Riddler.[26] Throughout the years, beginning with Dennis O'Neil and further explored by Rick Veitch, the Question has possessed mystical and supernatural abilities. He can mentally enhance the healing of injuries, sense danger, block pain, communicate with spirits, locate enemies and create astral projections.

Philosophies

The Question has become iconic in comic books for having a long history of being incorporated with various philosophical stances, courtesy of the various writers who wrote him.[28] When Steve Ditko created him in the 1960s, he used the Question to convey his objectivist beliefs, a philosophy from Ayn Rand that states that morality should be objective. This made the Question an uncompromising and merciless vigilante.[29] When Dennis O'Neil began writing the character in the 1980s, he rewrote the Question, mellowing him down and changing him from being a brutal superhero to one who followed Zen Buddhism. O'Neil was knowledgeable of Eastern philosophy from reading literature such as Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and he wrote the Question to be a more meditative and world-weary hero.[28][5][30]

Reception

Throughout his long history, the Question has been received well by both critics and consumers. Jamie Lovett from Comic Book ranked the character #3 in his "5 Greatest Detectives In Comics", stating, "Every mystery begins by asking the question, and no one knows that better than the Question himself."[34] Carl Hannigan from Vocal ranked the character and his comics at #1 in his "Top 5 Most Unique Superhero Comics You've Never Heard Of", stating that his varying philosophies is a "character trait [that] makes the Question so special when it comes to comic book history. Even with all the different philosophies and personalities the Question went through in his history, the one thing that remained consistent is his ability to mold himself into whatever the writers want him to be."[28]

Timothy Donohoo from Comic Book Resources considered the character to be the most underrated street-level character in DC Comics, stating that he was more grounded and realistic than others of his kind like Batman and Green Arrow, and that "Sage is also unique among comic book heroes in that he is meant to embody a certain mindset or philosophy."[35] Ewan Paterson from WhatCulture praised O'Neil's run, saying "[his] and Cowan's reappraisal of the classic Steve Ditko creation ranks among the finest DC works of all time, and one more than deserving of the kind of status more commonly associated with the likes of Frank Miller's Daredevil, O'Neil and Neal Adams

Homages

• Rorschach: Alan Moore's comic book series Watchmen was originally planned to use a number of Charlton Comics characters, including the Question. When DC, the owner of the characters, found out that he intended to kill the Question, along with a number of the other characters, he was asked to make new characters. The Question became Rorschach.
• In The Question #17, Vic picks up a copy of Watchmen to read on a trip and initially sees Rorschach as being quite cool. After Vic is beaten up trying to emulate Rorschach's brutal style of justice, he concludes that "Rorschach sucks".[36]
• The Question is featured in Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again as a libertarian, anti-government conspirator. Frank Miller's interpretation of Sage, as a nod to Ditko and Alan Moore, is Randian and preachy, at one point going on television for a series of humorous Crossfire-style exchanges with the Emerald Archer, Green Arrow, who is often portrayed as a liberal progressive. He is also shown as a technophobe, monitoring the dark conspiracy Batman and his allies must face, while writing on an old-fashioned typewriter.[37]

Other versions

• An alternate timeline version of the Question appears in Flashpoint as a member of the Resistance.[43]
• An alternate universe version of the Question appears in the DC Black Label limited series The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage, written by Jeff Lemire and penciled by Denys Cowen, with covers by Bill Sienkiewicz.[8]

In other media

Collected editions

The Steve Ditko series of The Question is featured in a hardback edition:

The Question's 1980s series has been collected into different editions:

Collections featuring the Renee Montoya Question:

• Action Heroes Archives, Vol. 2 (DC Archives Edition) by Steve Ditko (author, illustrator); hardcover: 384 pages; publisher: DC Comics, 2007 (ISBN 1401213464)

• The Question vol. 1: Zen and Violence (collects The Question #1–6, 176 pages, softcover, October 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1579-3)[49]
• The Question vol. 2: Poisoned Ground (collects The Question #7–12, 176 pages, softcover, May 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1693-5)[50]
• The Question vol. 3: Epitaph for a Hero (collects The Question #13–18, 176 pages, softcover, November 2008, ISBN 978-1-4012-1938-3)[51]

External links

• Question at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016
• International Catalog of Superheroes entry on the Question
• Article on the history/legacy of the Question from the Comics 101 article series by Scott Tipton.
• Alan Moore interview at TwoMorrows that discusses (among other things) the Question, Steve Ditko, and Charlton Comics.
• The Question's secret origin on dccomics.com