I am aware that the Question has become more of a high-profile character since the wonderful series 52 and Renee Montoya took the mantle, but I'm here to talk about Charles Victor Szasz or Vic Sage, the first Question.
The Question was created by Steve Ditko as a part of Charlton Comics Blue Beetle series and first appeared in Blue Beetle # 1 in 1967 and was acquired by DC in 1980. The Question operates mainly out of Hub City (also a Ditko creation) and was originally a mouth-piece to Ditko's belief in Objectivism during his run in Charlton Comics. This gave the character a very right-wing bent and staunch sense of morality, a trait that would carry over to a character who he would inspire but we'll approach that later. His philosophy became more Zen-like post-Crisis.
Charlie Szasz nursed a healthy crush on Lois Lane during his college years and went on to become the most hard-hitting journalist in Hub City, known mainly for being obnoxious. This career lead to his investigation Dr. Arby Twain, and the ultimate creation of his identity as The Question. He was approached by his old science professor Aristotle Rodor who co-developed the synthetic skin that later became the face-less mask associated with the character with Twain. This synthetic skin bonded to regular skin with the use of a gas, but was toxic if applied to an open wound.
The Question's career began smoothly, taking down Twain's illegal operations in selling the potentially deadly synth-skin to third world countries and lead to team-ups with Batman and Blue Beetle II. Even though his early career was quite successful early crimefighting career was somewhat successful, his black-and-white moral viewpoint and lack of commitment would soon lead to a turning point for both Szasz and his alter ego.
After a near-death experience at the hands of Lady Shiva and her employer's goons, The Question gained advanced martial arts training and a broader world-view, more able than ever to do his job. It should be noted here that in terms of violent crime, Hub City outranked Gotham City.
The Question had a long, interesting career within Hub city (even a short-term affair with Huntress) before his death in 52 # 38. He died of Lung Cancer, but passed his mantle on to Renee Montoya before the very end. He made an appearance as a Black Lantern later on and I'm holding out for an appearance during Brightest Day, but who knows.
An interesting thing of note here is that the Charlton Era character was the inspiration for Watchmen character Rorschach (who would become almost more well known than the Question himself). The Question actually reads Watchmen in his own comic and tries Rorschach's tactics, getting horribly beaten for his trouble, and coming to the conclusion that "Rorschach sucks".
The Question is the second greatest detective in the DC universe, second only to Batman, and is the MacGuyver of fighting half the time. This is also a character who threatened a killer with a chainsaw, not as common a practice for the DC heroes.
He was also voiced by Jeffery Combs in the DCAU, which immediately adds 50 awesome points. The character was also more of a conspiracy nut in the DCAU, connecting the Girl Scouts to Crop Circles.
So now that I've been rambling on, you obviously have guessed that I love the Question and that I may have a little too much time on my hands. Well, you'd be right on both counts, but let's face it, The Question is cool. The character is still a bit of a carry over from the great detective stories of the Dick Tracy/Noir era, where the drama came from the mystery and the solving of such. With characters like this you need creative writers to push him along.
The character was treated as an investigator first and a hero second, on the search for the truth. Some characters write themselves, The Question is a character who works better the more the writer can think ahead of him and that makes for a great story. He's always fun and enjoyable to read about or watch and because of that you always want to read or see more of him.
I highly recommend the Post-Crisis Question books, and even the beginning Pre-Crisis ones, if only to see where his roots come from. I, personally, have a deep hatred for anything Ayn Rand related and as such, have issues with some of Ditko's work as a whole, but getting on my high horse about how Objectivism is a self defeating philosophy and that the needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few and...Where was I? Ah right.
To sum up, if you don't know much about the character pre-52 continuity, check him out and give the DCAU interpretation a look too.
Remember everyone, fluoridated toothpaste doesn't prevent tooth decay, but renders the user's teeth detectable to spy satellites.
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