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Warning: contains spoilers for The Question: All Along the Watchtower #1!
The Question is one of DC’s most underrated characters, and their new book: The Question: All Along the Watchtower restores them to relevance once again. A cult favorite among DC fans, as well as the inspiration for Watchmen’s Rorschach, the Question is a character that can bring out the best in their creators, and All Along the Watchtower is no exception as it pushes the character to new heights.
The Question: All Along the Watchtower
writer Alex Segura has also written novels set in the
Star Wars
universe.
The Question: All Along the Watchtower #1 is written by Alex Segura and drawn by Cian Tormey. The Question, AKA Renee Montoya, has been ousted as Gotham’s Police Commissioner, but has landed with the newly reformed Justice League. The scene flashes back a week. Batman and Superman approach the Question with a problem: they believe the League is being targeted by a mysterious person, and they want her to find out who it is. Matters are complicated greatly when one of the Challengers of the Unknown turns up murdered.
The Question’s Return is Long Overdue
The Question Has Ties to One of the Silver Age’s Greatest Artists
The Question: All Along the Watchtower is a triumphant return to form for one of DC’s most intriguing characters. Two different people have held the title of the Question: Montoya and her predecessor, Vic Sage. The initial idea for the Question originated with Steve Ditko, who created the character for Charlton Comics. Charlton paid less than Marvel or DC, but afforded its creators a greater degree of artistic freedom, and Dikto took advantage of this, using the Question to champion the ideals of Ayn Rand. Ditko was a devout follower of Rand.
According to legend, Levitz bought the characters as a gift to DC’s Executive Editor, Dick Giordano, who had edited the Charlton heroes in the 1960s. DC then incorporated the Question and his friends into the mainstream DC Universe.
The Question only made a handful of appearances during the Silver Age of Comics before Charlton canceled its line of superhero comics. This would have doomed the character to obscurity, if not for DC executive Paul Levitz. Charlton was heading into bankruptcy in the early 1980s, and Levitz arranged for DC to buy the publisher’s stable of heroes, including the Question. According to legend, Levitz bought the characters as a gift to DC’s Executive Editor, Dick Giordano, who had edited the Charlton heroes in the 1960s. DC then incorporated the Question and his friends into the mainstream DC Universe.
Denny O’Neil and Denys Cowan Made the Question Great
Vic Sage’s Time as the Question Came to a Bittersweet End
After the Question joined the DC Universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths, he was significantly retooled by writer Denny O’Neil and artist Denys Cowan. O’Neil, who made a name for himself writing the famous Green Lantern/Green Arrow run, dispensed with the half-baked Randian ideas and moved the character towards a more nuanced view of the world. O’Neil regularly referenced Eastern thought and philosophy, and even went as far as to provide reading lists on each issue’s letters page. Cowan’s art went hand in hand with O’Neil’s scripts, and the two created a grim and bleak world for the Question.
While Renee Montoya’s first appearance is generally believed to have been in
Batman: The Animated Series
, she actually debuted in the comics a few months prior to the show’s premiere. Her first issue was
Batman #475.
52 saw the end of one Question’s story and the beginning of another. In the opening issues, it was revealed that Vic Sage was dying of cancer. Vic decided to pass the mantle to Renee Montoya. A former Gotham City cop, Renee had fallen into addiction and despair. Working with Vic, and training to be the new Question, gave Renee a renewed sense of purpose, and she was able to conquer her alcoholism. Vic would die in the pages of 52, and Renee took up the fight.
Renee Montoya Took Over The Name of the Question
Despite Being a Cult Icon, The Question Has Languished
Renee would prove that Vic’s beliefs about her were well-founded. Working with her former lover Batwoman, the Question takes down an evil crime cult operating in Gotham. She fought alongside the Birds of Prey as well. Being the Question revived the spark in Renee Montoya’s life. Previously, Renee had written herself off, fully believing she would die alone and drunk. Vic Sage had thrown her a lifeline, and she absolutely made the best of it. The Question’s adventures, particularly under the direction of writer Greg Rucka, were some of the character’s best.
Despite being a cult favorite, the Question has languished since the beginning of the New 52. Many DC characters received ill-advised makeovers during the New 52 era, and the Question was no different. Renee Montoya was seemingly out, and Vic Sage was back. However, rather than a street level vigilante, this new version was supernatural in nature. Part of the “Trinity of Sin,” this variant was revealed to have been the mythological figure Narcissus. This retooling proved controversial among fans, who felt it betrayed the spirit of Steve Ditko’s original creation. Furthermore, it was disrespectful to Renee.
The Question Almost Slipped Into Obscurity—Again
Brian Michael Bendis to the Rescue
Even though DC eventually backpedaled from a god-like Question, the damage was done, and the character once again fell off the radar. The Question was once again in danger of returning to obscurity, but was saved by writer Brian Michael Bendis. In 2021’s Event Leviathan, both Vic Sage and Renee Montoya returned as the Question, working with Lois Lane to bring down the titular spy agency. At the time, no reason was given for how Vic returned, but he has also been making occasional appearances in the DC Universe, and recently helped Renee fight the villain Zero.
Bendis proved that there was still life left in The Question, as well as the fact there could be two at one time. This opened up some exciting story possibilities, namely Vic and Renee working together.
Bendis proved that there was still life left in The Question, as well as the fact there could be two at one time. This opened up some exciting story possibilities, namely Vic and Renee working together. Yet this did not come to pass, at least not immediately. Instead, the two would make solo appearances. In one notable story, appearing in Batman: Urban Legends #14, Vic Sage orchestrated a meeting with Batman just to prove his secret identity. More recently, Renee appeared in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as she fought a mysterious villain called Zero.
The Question Losing Her Police Job Was the Best Thing to Happen to Her
The Question is a Huge Asset to the Justice League
That story, written by All Along the Watchtower’s Alex Segura, was a watershed moment for Renee Montoya. Not only did it finally give fans the chance to see her work with Vic, but it freed her from the constraints of being a police officer as well. The Question works best on the fringes of the law, and her position as Police Commissioner puts a damper on that. Segura tapped into this dichotomy in Brave and the Bold, and it gave Montoya no end of stress. While being ousted as Commissioner may seem a drawback, it proved to be a blessing.
Justice League’s Cruel Reaction to Green Lantern’s Death Gets Darker After DC’s Retcon
It was a heartbreaking turn when Hal Jordan became a villain — and even more tragic when his former Justice League friends refused to forgive him.
Plus, as seen in All Along the Watchtower, she landed on her feet rather quickly, becoming an investigator for the Justice League, which earned her a room in their new satellite headquarters. In this new role, Renee can operate as the Question more freely than she could as Commissioner. While Renee was a good Commissioner, she is even better as the Question, and the mystery she finds herself facing in All Along the Watchtower will stretch her detective skills to their limits.
The Question’s Fate Is in the Right Hands
Alex Segura and Cian Tormey Prove How Versatile a Character the Question Is
Alex Segura is perfect to tackle All Along the Watchtower. In addition to comics, Segura is a novelist. He wrote Secret Identity, a neo-noir set against the backdrop of the comics’ industry in the 1970s. Leaning into his mystery writer roots, Segura infuses Renee’s quest with a noir vibe as well. Segura builds suspense throughout the first issue, as Renee begins to realize something is amiss in the Watchtower. The book’s finale, of a blood-soaked, and very dead, Challenger, drives home the threat the Question is now facing.
Just as the Question works well in the noir genre, she goes hand in hand with Westerns as well.
All Along the Watchtower also riffs on the Western genre. Cian Tormey’s redesign of the Question, with her hat and rifle, invokes the era of cowboys and the American West. Just as the Question works well in the noir genre, she goes hand in hand with Westerns as well. The Question, in the course of her investigation, is acting as a sort of “sheriff” of the Watchtower, She is working frantically to root out whatever it is the League’s higher ups believe threatens them.
The Question Has a New Mission
Taken together, Segura and Tormey have made the Question a relevant character again, 36 years after their last book debuted. Denny O’Neil and Denys Cowan helped evolve an essentially one-note character into one of amazing depth and complexity. Now, Vic Sage’s successor is poised to start a new era of her own. Becoming the Question renewed Renee on the inside, and her new association with the Justice League has relit the spark that drove her in the first place. DC’sThe Question: All Along the Watchtower has made this cult icon relevant once again.
The Question: All Along the Watchtower #1 is on sale now from DC Comics!
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