The Only Superhero Who Can Save The DCU 

Audiences have indicated they want to see more grounded heroes with more realistic stakes, and we think it’s time for a TV series featuring The Question, a character who might just save the DCU.

If the name of this hero doesn’t ring a bell, it’s because he remains one of the more obscure DC characters despite the legion of fans dedicated to this niche character.

Originally, he wasn’t even a DC character: he was created by Steve Ditko for Charlton Comics back in 1967. But after being acquired by DC, he appeared in Crisis On Infinite Earths in 1985.

The character began headlining his own comics in 1987, and it’s this incarnation of The Question that we’d love to see in the DCU.

As heroes go, The Question is pretty simple. He is a journalist without any superpowers who dons a simple blank mask to fight the very crime he reports on.

After nearly getting killed, he is taught the secrets of both Eastern philosophy and martial arts. He utilizes both to become an unconventional kind of Zen warrior.

And we think this is the kind of character that could sustain the DCU, especially if big films like Superman: Legacy end up flopping.

One of the reasons for this is that the character’s stories are like a mash-up of Netflix’s popular Daredevil and Jessica Jones stories. He’s one part investigator and one part martial arts master.

A big part of what made those Netflix MCU shows so popular is that they featured grounded stories with characters that audiences could relate to like they couldn’t relate to the Avengers (a team that originally included a god, a monster, and a super-soldier).

With The Question, the DCU could have its own “boots on the ground” character who handles the kinds of problems that characters like Superman can’t solve with super-punches or laser eyes.

If nothing else, we’re convinced The Question could become a fan-favorite DCU character because another character shamelessly based on this hero has become one of the most popular characters in comics history.

When Alan Moore was writing Watchmen, he wanted to use The Question as a key character, but when DC discovered he planned for the character to die, Moore was told to develop an original character instead. 

That’s how we got Rorschach (whose design is basically The Question with ink blots on his face), and since audiences instantly fell in love with Rorschach on the printed page and the big screen, we think they’ll love the character he is based on just as much.

Incidentally, The Question’s original solo run has a hilarious moment in issue #17 when he reads Watchmen and tries to imitate Rorschach. After getting his butt handed to him, The Question comes to a simple conclusion: “Rorschach sucks.”

With any luck, the DCU will be a rousing success from the beginning, and we’re looking forward to seeing how James Gun tackles the Man of Steel in Superman: Legacy.

But the longevity of the upcoming cinematic universe will likely come down to how well Gunn can adapt some of the comic characters we’ve never seen in live-action before.

A successful DCU is the answer he and Warner Bros. are looking for, but tell us: what’s an answer without The Question?