"The Question Should Be A Mans"
Here is an actual conversation I just had 15 minutes ago with a friend:
ringringring
Me: Hello?
Friend: I know I just called you 5 minutes ago, but I have just come across late breaking news that I think is relevant to your blog.
Me: Okay.
Friend: The Question is now Renee Montoya! And she's having a lesbian affair with Batwoman!
Me: As a long-time Ditko fan, that must really frost your s**t.
Friend: This is blasphemy!
Me: Now, is it blasphemy simply because you're a Ditko purist, or is the fact that it's a woman -- a lesbian, no less -- that really upsets you?
PAUSE!
Friend: No, no, no, it's nothing like that.
Me: You paused before you answered my question. That was a significant pause.
Friend: It's just that: The Question should be a mans!
Me: Wait, did you just say "mans?"
Friend: But it's also like a big conspiracy against Charlton Comics! DC is taking over the Charlton heroes one-by-one and changing them!
Me: Well, DC owns those characters. They can do whatever the hell they want with them.
Friend: It's just...too pat, that's all. It's too pat. The Question should be a mans.
***
You heard it here first: "The Question Should Be A Mans"
***
Postscript:
I personally have no problem if The Question is a womans. Is making Montoya The Question a bit too "pat," a bit too convenient, for my taste? On that point, I would have to agree with my friend. On the other hand, rebooting established superheroes using brand new characters that nobody has heard of is very risky -- whereas Montoya has a following. In the end, it all depends on how the book is written. But consider my friend's s**t frosted.
Ooooooooooookay....
ReplyDeleteI don't know about the Question being a mans, but I much prefered Charlie to Renee. I mean, she'll be a decent gumshoe. Always has been. But isn't what we want a CRAZY and/or philosophical gumshoe?
And no, saying "Who am I?" ad nauseum and staring at yourself if the SmileyBatcave does not count as asking hard philosophical questions.
The Question should appear sexless and genderless.
ReplyDeleteo_o
ReplyDeleteI like Renee being Renee XD Not everybody needs a costume to be a hero XD
But... mans...? XDDDD
I agree with you Ami.
ReplyDeletenot that i've ever given the phenomenon of non-costumed support cast members becoming heroes (or villains for that matter) more than a cursory glance, but it seems to happen a little too often for comfort for me...
Without normal people populating comics to contrast the outlandish activities of those in costume against, the whole exercise starts to feel a little Martial Law...
Renee Montoya has been an excellent supporting character in the Bat-Titles for a long time. She was created for the animated series about 15 years ago. But this transformation into a new version of the Question seems awkward and forced to me. I don't see it working out in the long run.
ReplyDeleteAs to the theory of a vendetta against the former Charlton characters, it does seem kind of odd that most of them are dead. But just because DC kills them off, that doesn't mean that the old stories are wiped out of existence. Plus, in my experience, "new" versions of existing characters usually don't last. There are exceptions, of course, but the originals often return.
I do prefer the original Charlton Ditko Question to Renee, albeit I think Renee is a perfectly fine character on her own. I'm having a problem with so many legacy characters. It's flooding the DC universe with so many legacy characters that didn't need a legacy character. And furthermore it doesn't feel like they're doing it for the sake of how much they love the character, but for the sake of increased diversity. IMHO, if they want new characters with diverse backgrounds, they already had a pantheon of heroes to choose from (remember the Planet DC Annuals?). And even if people weren't fond of THOSE characters, they could always create new, interesting characters.
ReplyDeletei JUST started reading DC about 2 years ago (have read Marvel for almost 20 years), so being an outsider to all of this:
ReplyDeleteI personally like the change, and like Renee as the new Question. It is a good way to get new readers into characters by carrying the Legacy, it also shows that time takes place in the DC universe vs Marvel where the X-men have aged only a few years.
ok, first off... did ANYONE else immediately imagine Austin Powers exclaiming the title of this post? ("The Question should be a MANS, Baby!")
ReplyDeleteI, myself, being a tad on the line as a Ditko purest have an issue with the change in the same way I have an issue with the change of Ted Kord being dead and no longer the Blue Beetle.
However, I DO like the character of Renee and (as I have with the new Atom, The new Blue Beetle, the new Firestorm, etc) will give the character a shot before decrying it as blasphemy. In the end, it will really depend on who will get a shot at writing the character.
As for the character being a woman or not... I say "Pfshaw". Who cares one way or the other? IF the character is written well, they will come.
Doesn't mean I won't miss Vic (Charlie) as I do Ted Kord or ROnnie Raymond.
Gee, seems a little like a Rorshach test, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteAsk your friend if he would prefer The Question to be a gay male. Or, if a real Ditko purist, how about if a bondage fetishist?
I did like that fairly recent issue of the Justice league Unlimited comic where The Question suspected that someone in the League was under hostile mind control and it turned out to be himself. Now _that's_ paranoia.
As stated above, I'm against this...not because of what it does for The Question, but it does to Renee. I thought Renee was one of the best characters in comics, with real depth that showed you didn't have to be a superhero in the DC universe to be compelling and interesting and heartbreaking. But that doesn't work anymore (for the same reason, I guess that Gotham Central doesn't get published anymore)...and so Renee becomes a boring superhero like the rest of them.
ReplyDeleteSo when it comes down to it, it's not that the Question is now a womans, it's that Renee is now a mans that bothers me.