Question

The

Charlton History

The Question started out with no real origin. He was Vic Sage, a hard-hitting TV newscaster for World Wide Broadcasting Co. (WWB).  At WWB Sage worked alongside his loyal staff of Fred Pine, Al Kert, Bob Hasel and the lovely Nora Lace. The President of the company was Sam Star and usually near him were his children, Syd Star and Cecelia Star. Syd Star would be a foil for Sage throughout his time with WWB.   

Sage’s most important friend was Professor Rodor. He helped Sage create his new identity as the Question. Rodor had developed a special mask through which Sage would be able to see, breathe, and speak, while maintaining a featureless exterior. Sage carried the mask in his belt buckle. A special gas that Rodor developed and contained in capsule form reacted with a chemical solution pre-sprayed on Sage’s hair and suit to change their color. This gas would also cement the mask to Sage’s face.

The Question would fight crime in with his own brand of black and white justice, letting wrongdoers know that crime would no longer be tolerated in “his” city. Their actions would be dealt with by an objective standard of ethics. Sage would often times elicit information from criminals by threatening to expose them to the same gas that changes him into the Question. They assume the exposure is fatal, though its effects are most likely harmless. Another form of intimidation by Sage would be the calling card he’d leave baring a question mark, which releases that same special gas.

DC History - Vic Sage

Sage and Prof. Rodor

Origin

The Question

Hub City

When Vic returned to Hub City he decided that he would utilize his need for justice by becoming a news anchor who highlighted the danger and corruption of the city. During one of his first cases to show how corrupt the mayor had become, he revealed tapes showing misdeeds done by the city's official which brought him into enemy sights. He was beaten by Lady Shiva who then saved his life. When he awoke he experienced severe amnesia, to the point where he could no longer remember his own name. Lady Shiva had given Aristotle direction to where Vic needed to go. When he got there he met Richard Dragon who helped him to conquer his injuries and taught him martial arts and meditative techniques. When he was leaving Richard he was challenged by Lady Shiva again, but this time she said if she defeated him she would kill him. He won and returned to Hub City. Returning to the mission that had nearly killed him, some of the people who had witnessed his "death" believed him to be a ghost. He discovered that the mayor was not behind the corruption, but instead a minister was taking advantage of the mayor's alcoholism to change the city, and that during Vic's "death" he had forced Vic's girlfriend, Myra, to marry him by blackmailing her daughter, whom Vic did not know existed. Eventually Vic, as the Question, was able to put together the missing links right as the minister abducted Myra's daughter as a sacrifice to God. The minister claimed that God had been telling him to do this and, as in the story of Abraham and Isaac, God would send an angel to stop him. The Question appeared moments before the child was slain and the minister believed him to be an angel because he witnessed him dying. The Question saved the girl and spared the minister, but Myra ended up killing him anyway. The Question tried to justify her actions and left as quickly as he had appeared.
 

Great Friends

Passing On, Beginning Anew

Vic came to realize he was dying of lung cancer, and there was no way around it. In light of this, he made a decision that the Question would not die. He came to Gotham City and found a former GCPD detective named Renee Montoya, in a spiral of depression and self-destruction. In his mind, she was perfect material for a successor. He hired her as a private detective, instructing her to look into Intergang and the Crime Bible. He was unrelenting, despite her demands to be left the hell alone. He told her to call him Charlie.
 

To the End

During their worldwide investigation of Intergang, he never informed Renee of what he was really doing. He did not tell her how he was training her to carry on his fight. He simply did it. He gave her something new to focus on to pull her out of her depression. He brought her to Nanda Parbat and presented her to Richard Dragon to be taught. He introduced her to his longtime friend, Aristotle Rodor. He made her his friend, whether she wanted to be or not.
 

It's a trick Question

Then, finally, his body began to fail him, and Renee became his caretaker. The cancer made its way into his bones and into his brain, putting him in such agony he needed a morphine drip just to stay quiet. Renee tried to do the only thing she could to save his life. She hiked up the Himalayas with his dying body, desperately trying to get him to Nanda Parbat before it was too late. Exhaustion finally overtook her, and he told her she needed to accept that he was going to die. He told her the trick question was not who she was but who she was going to become. She was like a butterfly. And then, he died in her arms, in the snow just outside of Nanda Parbat.

Skills and Abilities

Equipment

DC History - Renee Montoya

Carrying On

DC Animated Universe

Animated Question

In the DC Animated Universe the Question is a member of the Justice League in the relaunch  Justice League Unlimited, voiced by Jeffrey Combs. This version of the character is considered one of Bruce Timm's greatest achievements and blasted the character back into his 80s fame. Bruce Timm used the visualization of O'Neil's Question but used a personality much closer to Rorschach of Watchmen fame. This included the character being paranoid and claiming to see a connection between useless bits of information, as well as displaying some of Rorschach's personality traits while working on his computer. Also, Huntress  remarked that he must have been the ugliest man on Earth to wear a faceless mask, an insult frequently leveled at Rorschach. 

Question appeared in:

Batman: The Brave and the Bold Episode  #14: Mystery In Space.