Written by GL
There are no answers, just millions and millions of questions. What are UFOs? Do aliens exist? How do I find the Loch Ness Monster? Does Bigfoot really exist? Who are the people who frequently come to The House Of El? What is the answer to this week's trivia poll? Too many questions. When the DC Universe needs an answer, the best thing you can get in return is a Question.
Created by Steve Ditko, Question first appeared in comics in 1967. The character was originally created for Charlton Comics, but the group was taken in by DC comics and added to the Universe in 1980s. But take note of this, Question isn't about the powers and the heroism. Question is more about the philosophy and the ethical sides of the real world as shown in comics. The Question is complex.
Let's start at Charlton Comics.
Vic Sage was an investigative journalist with a flair for being totally persistent and really obnoxious. Based in Hub City, he began rising to fame until his persona became so noticable there was nowhere where he would not attract attention. Sage was investigating a fella named Dr. Twain. While investigating this case, Aristotle Rodor, Sage's former professor, approached and told him about a new artificial skin that Rodor had co-developed with the mentioned Dr. Twain. They called it Pseudoderm.
Pseudoderm is like a skin-like bandage that you can apply using a bonding gas (a kind of glue). But there was a problem with it. It seems that all the chemicals used in Psudoderm are a little unstable, and even fatal, when used on open wounds.
This Dr. Twain was planning on selling Psudoderm to 3rd World Countries, knowing full well about its unstable contents. Dr. Twain didn't care, but Rodor did, and he had decided to tell Sage about it. Of course, how could a celebrity like Sage tackle this problem without being noticed? Rodor gave him the answer: use Pseudoderm.
The Question is is born. Or should I ask, the Question is asked.
Needless to say, Question caught up with Dr. Twain and stopped this evil plan. Following this, Rodor and Question became good friends and carried on investigating and exposing evil plots
Charlton Comics went out of business in 1986. And DC brought Question over to the Universe.
The very first Question comic was released in 1987, written by Dennis O'Neil.
It opens on the Question being totally beaten and defeated by a villain named Lady Shiva and dumped in a river. Lady Shiva, for her own reasons, decides to save Question and leave him in hospital care. Lady Shiva also leaves him instructions on how to find a fella named Richard Dragon, after he recovers. With the man called Richard Dragon, Question learns martial arts and eastern philosophy. Question returns to Hub City to continue his superhero duties and his celebrity career.
Victor Sage (in the DC version) is still an investigative reporter for the KBEL news station in Hub City. He still uses the identity of the Question to get his answers, but his focus is more toward political corruption in his city than normal crimes like robbery and theft.
Question is also a very conflicted character. There are times when he almost crosses the point of murder to get what he wants. It is a temptation that he has not managed to control, but his relationship with Rodor (the same Rodor from Charlton Comics) keeps him grounded.
In 1989, the origins on the man known as Question was totally altered. It was revealed that Victor Sage was originally Charles Victor Szasz, an orphan who grew into a man with a journalism degree and violent tendancies. Funnily enough, Victor Szasz is also the name of a criminal being admitted into Arkham Asylum towards the beginning of the Batman Begins movie. In 2005, comic plots suggested that Question, through his mediation practices and experiences, has attained a new level of awareness that allows him to see people's life-forces and interpret coincidences. He was given (by comic writers) a new understanding of his surroundings and an ability to notice disturbances in a city's natural order.
Another version of Question that I've seen can be found in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon, where he is portrayed as a dark-humoured loner who is totally into conspiracy theories. Imagine the Justice League Unlimited version as a Fox Mulder, from the X-Files series, crossed with a Marlon Brando-ish voice. Watch it, you'll enjoy it.
That's the Question. Any questions?
Created by Steve Ditko, Question first appeared in comics in 1967. The character was originally created for Charlton Comics, but the group was taken in by DC comics and added to the Universe in 1980s. But take note of this, Question isn't about the powers and the heroism. Question is more about the philosophy and the ethical sides of the real world as shown in comics. The Question is complex.
Let's start at Charlton Comics.
Vic Sage was an investigative journalist with a flair for being totally persistent and really obnoxious. Based in Hub City, he began rising to fame until his persona became so noticable there was nowhere where he would not attract attention. Sage was investigating a fella named Dr. Twain. While investigating this case, Aristotle Rodor, Sage's former professor, approached and told him about a new artificial skin that Rodor had co-developed with the mentioned Dr. Twain. They called it Pseudoderm.
Pseudoderm is like a skin-like bandage that you can apply using a bonding gas (a kind of glue). But there was a problem with it. It seems that all the chemicals used in Psudoderm are a little unstable, and even fatal, when used on open wounds.
This Dr. Twain was planning on selling Psudoderm to 3rd World Countries, knowing full well about its unstable contents. Dr. Twain didn't care, but Rodor did, and he had decided to tell Sage about it. Of course, how could a celebrity like Sage tackle this problem without being noticed? Rodor gave him the answer: use Pseudoderm.
The Question is is born. Or should I ask, the Question is asked.
Needless to say, Question caught up with Dr. Twain and stopped this evil plan. Following this, Rodor and Question became good friends and carried on investigating and exposing evil plots
Charlton Comics went out of business in 1986. And DC brought Question over to the Universe.
The very first Question comic was released in 1987, written by Dennis O'Neil.
It opens on the Question being totally beaten and defeated by a villain named Lady Shiva and dumped in a river. Lady Shiva, for her own reasons, decides to save Question and leave him in hospital care. Lady Shiva also leaves him instructions on how to find a fella named Richard Dragon, after he recovers. With the man called Richard Dragon, Question learns martial arts and eastern philosophy. Question returns to Hub City to continue his superhero duties and his celebrity career.
Victor Sage (in the DC version) is still an investigative reporter for the KBEL news station in Hub City. He still uses the identity of the Question to get his answers, but his focus is more toward political corruption in his city than normal crimes like robbery and theft.
Question is also a very conflicted character. There are times when he almost crosses the point of murder to get what he wants. It is a temptation that he has not managed to control, but his relationship with Rodor (the same Rodor from Charlton Comics) keeps him grounded.
In 1989, the origins on the man known as Question was totally altered. It was revealed that Victor Sage was originally Charles Victor Szasz, an orphan who grew into a man with a journalism degree and violent tendancies. Funnily enough, Victor Szasz is also the name of a criminal being admitted into Arkham Asylum towards the beginning of the Batman Begins movie. In 2005, comic plots suggested that Question, through his mediation practices and experiences, has attained a new level of awareness that allows him to see people's life-forces and interpret coincidences. He was given (by comic writers) a new understanding of his surroundings and an ability to notice disturbances in a city's natural order.
Another version of Question that I've seen can be found in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon, where he is portrayed as a dark-humoured loner who is totally into conspiracy theories. Imagine the Justice League Unlimited version as a Fox Mulder, from the X-Files series, crossed with a Marlon Brando-ish voice. Watch it, you'll enjoy it.
That's the Question. Any questions?
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