Warning: contains spoilers forThe Question: All Along the Watchtower#1, as well as recent issues ofAction Comics!
The Question, one of Gotham’s quietest heroes, just got a Kryptonian upgrade thanks to theJustice League, but it might come at a terrible cost. In the newThe Question: All Along the Watchtower#1, the titular heroine joins forces with the League to solve a murder mystery aboard the team’s new headquarters. TheLeague gives the Question a major new weapon, with ties to one of the worst places in the DC Universe.
The Question: All Along the Watchtower#1 is written by Alex Segura and drawn by Cian Tormey. Superman and Batman come to Renee Montoya,asking for the Question’s helpin solving a mystery. The two heroes believe someone is targeting the Watchtower, and they wish for her to find out who. To help in her mission, she is given a rifle that fires special bullets. When the bullets connect, the victim, instead of dying, is paralyzed. Then,they can be shunted off to a holding cell, which is revealed to be in the Phantom Zone.
Even Superman Vouches for the Question
The first Question, Vic Sage, was created by Steve Ditko
While there are currently two people going by the Question moniker in the DC Universe,All Along the Watchtowerfocuses on the second to bear the name: Renee Montoya. A police officer in Gotham City, Renee took up the mantle of the Question during 2006-2007’s52, after her predecessor, Vic Sage, died of cancer. Renee proved herself worthy, and it reignited something in her, setting her on a path that led her all the way to the position of Police Commissioner of Gotham. This created an intriguing dichotomy of the personification of law and order working outside the law.
The Question: All Along the Watchtower #1 Makes an Underrated Character Relevant Again
DC’s new The Question: All Along the Watchtower has given the character a new mission, one that makes them relevant for the first time in many years.
Yet it was not to last, as Renee’s double life eventually caught up with her. Most recently, in the pages ofBatman: The Brave and the Bold, Montoya’s secret was exposed, forcing her to step down as Commissioner. Now, as a member (of sorts) of the Justice League, Renee has a new purpose once again: to find out whoever is targeting the League, and stop them. Both Batman and Superman have put their faith in the Question, and this new mission is sure to push Renee to her limit.
The Question’s New Weapon Has a Sketchy Origin
The Phantom Zone is a Dimension of Horrors
Theweapon the League designs for Renee seems harmless at first, but in reality puts its victim in a terrible situation.The Phantom Zone, used by Superman to imprison some of Krypton’s worst criminals, is acknowledged as a “living hell.” Prisoners in the Phantom Zone can see the world around them, but cannot interact with it. Those in the Phantom Zone are essentially in a formless limbo where time does not flow, which prolongs the victims' agony and suffering. The merits of Superman’s use of the Phantom Zone has often been debated, but he persists in using it.
Stories set in the Phantom Zonenever fail to show its horrors, and nowhere is this more apparent than in current issues ofAction Comics.The most recent storyline, “Phantoms,” sees Superman trapped in the Zone with Mon-El. They must work together to not only fight the criminals trapped there, but a hideous and frightful entity named Aethyr. Aethyr, for reasons still unknown, is planning to attack Earth as a way of striking at Superman. Thestoryline reminds fans the Phantom Zone is still a dangerous place, one where death lurks around every rock.
Will the Justice League Ever Learn Their Lesson About the Phantom Zone?
Is The Question In Over Her Head?
Time and again, fans have watched as plans involving the Phantom Zone backfire spectacularly, leading them to wonder why the League is using a gun that can send people there.
The events of “Phantoms,” along with the myriad other Phantom Zone stories, prove theJustice Leagueneeds to stop using the location for their own purposes. Time and again, fans have watched as plans involving the Phantom Zone backfire spectacularly, leading them to wonder why the League is using a gun that can send people there. While the effect is supposedly temporary, something will eventually go wrong, creating enormous messes for the heroes to clean up. The Question is now playing in a far bigger arena than Gotham City, but her first upgrade may cost her.
The Question: All Along the Watchtower#1 is on sale now from DC Comics!
