Renee Montoya exists in the new DCU, might not be Question

[espanolbot]

Allegedly someone asked Dan Didio as to whether Renee is in the new DCU, and apparently she's in the GCPD, but no word as to whether she's the Question or not.
http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/9874498742/renee

Hm, seeing the "logic" behind some of the changes, I guess that they're going to say that Renee being a lesbian recovering alcholic makes her seem too old or something'. I'd be nice to see her around though, whatever form it may be in.

For legality, a funny/sad moment from Gotham Central.

A teenage boy dressed as Robin has been found dead in an alley, and the GCPD have to check in case it's the real one. Maggie Sawyer manages to pull some strings, ie she rings Lois Lane and asks her to ask Superman, and manages to get the Teen Titans in to confirm whether the dead Robin was their friend or not.

This leads to two pages that are both bizarre (the Titans costumes don't exactly merge well with the Gotham Central setting), sad (they make a reference to how Tim had been having a horrible time at the time of the comic, ie the deaths of his father and Steph) and a funny moment, which is at the end.

Comments

[darkblade]

I'm okay with her not being The Question I wasn't too happy with her being forced into a legacy character roll when I thought she had more potential as a cop used to dealing with the weirdness of Gotham.

If they retcon her into being straight though I will Rage hard.

[q99]

Oh no way, not with Batwoman being around and likely one of the most untouched characters due to having such a new origin.

[kirke_novak]

I don't think they'll do that, they would not ~~~~~~dare.

[espanolbot]

I think that if they'd kept her as a PI, acting kind of like a DC version of Jessica Jones, I think that it might have been interesting. Though as it stands what they did with her as the Question was actually pretty interesting, even if it went a little strange towards the end, what with the cross-shaped scars on her face and stuff.

[darkknightjrk]

Renee as a PI would definitely be cool! :D

[darkknightjrk]

"If they retcon her into being straight though I will Rage hard."

I'm sure I'm probably one of the few that believes this, but...they're not that stupid to do that.

[anothermoviegeek]

Well, she was retconned into being a lesbian in the first place.

[greenmask]

Was she confirmed straight before she was ever confirmed as a lesbian?

Cos if not, that ain't no retcon.

[greenmask]

That's still not THIS IS NOT A LESBIAN, though. Plenty of ladies who dig ladies date men before/during/after coming out, you know?

Less a retcon, more a reveal.

[anothermoviegeek]

Except that later works showed her always being a lesbian and seemed to just ignore this happening. Thus, full retcon for me.

(I deleted the previous comment because I mis-named the story in question)

[kirke_novak]

It's a Suddenly Sexuality trope I really dislike and it often ignores bisexuality.

[anothermoviegeek]

Agreed. If she is however retconned into being straight again it won't be without merit.

[espanolbot]

Actually in Gotham Central they do refer to it, with Renee's brother providing the exposition that they knew about Renee's orientation, they were just pretending to be a couple of appearances sake as Renee's parents, the GCPD and the neighbour she grew up in were crazy homophobic.

Basically her brother said she came out to him when she was like 15, but as pretended to date guys so not to upset her parents (who end up disowning her when she is forced out to the closet by Two-Face, so this wasn't exactly Renee being maliciously deceitful before anyone says).

[anothermoviegeek]

Can you remind me where in Gotham Central the previous boyfriend(s) were mentioned because I don't actually remember that.

[espanolbot]

During Half a Life I'm sure it was. I'll try and find the scans, because I've sure I read it there.

[anothermoviegeek]

She dated a guy from the Coast Guard during the 'Contagion' cross bat-series in 96. As far as I know (icon_uk please correct me on this) this was the first time Renee ever was shown having a personal/love life.

[turtlefu]

I don't remember it ever saying Renee ALWAYS knew she was a lesbian, she could have come-out after dating the guy, for one.

Rucka says he placed the seeds for Renee's coming out since No Man's Land, which takes place a little after Contagion.

[anothermoviegeek]

It's been a while since I read it, but the whole No Man's Land setup followed by Two Face outing her in Gotham Central lead me to believe that they retconned her into always being a lesbian albeit in her own closet. I seem to recall that her brother knew and it was said that he knew for a very long time. Now granted, that doesn't rule out her dating the Coast Guard guy and potential bi-sexuality but to me its clear.

[auggie18]

I've had friends who slept with a lot of dudes before coming out of the closet. Apparently it was a compensation thing.


*shrug*

[cuntfucius]

... Do you even know any non-hetero people and their dating history?

Because that's... sort of normal. She could have always been a lesbian, but not always had a same-sex execution in her dating practice for various reasons (denial, fear, homophobia, wanting to try out/convince herself/make sure about her preferences).

There's nothing that says retcon because it was never stated before that she was hetero. In fact, she even was looking for a way out of a date with a guy and had Harvey (her partner, not Dent) get her out of it before.

Sure, bi erasure is annoying and exists but this is about identity and if Renee IDs as a lesbian and has been canonly established, by the guy that's given her the most development and exposure outside of the DCAU, to be a lesbian, then I fail to see anything that supports this false equivalency.

[aaron_bourque]

If they retcon her into being straight though I will Rage hard.

You mean stetcon. She was originally straight, in fact, the B:TAS series bible, her motivation for becoming a cop was due to her husband being killed.

Aaron "The Mad Whitaker" Bourque; all in all, as coming out stories go, Half A Life had its failings and could have been much better handled.

[anothermoviegeek]

I had forgotten about the Husband thing from TAS. However, I would like to think her character history could be a little more flexible when she made the jump from TAS to the comics (see Harley)

[espanolbot]

In all fairness, her public outing was meant to be handled poorly in story, as Two-Face was trying to destroy her life by making her parents disown her, making her ridiculed at work, making it appear she murdered the PI that took the photos etc.

If she came out on her own, it would probably have been done a bit more delicately than someone mailing photos of her kissing her girlfriend to her parents and pinning the photos to the messageboard in the GCPD headquarters.

Rucka said he anyways wrote her with the reveal of her sexuality in mind, with hints all over the place. As said above, women who are attracted to women, especially ones from her religious and professonial background would probably date guys to at least appear to be straight so not to cause the backlash that DID eventually happen.

Plus, she came out to her brother as a teenager, so it's not she, in-universe, decided she liked girls now all of a sudden.

[aaron_bourque]

Yeah, but reading along at the time, it was kind of abrupt. Like following a trail in a forest and realizing the trail sort of leads into a thin branch you didn't notice. Leaves in your mouth, that woody, earthy taste.

. . . I think I lost track of my thought somewhere.

[jaybee3]

I agree. I think she worked as The Question but then I never saw the need to turn her into a costumed super-hero - or to kill off Vic Sage to begin with - anyway. And then makes her ex-partner Crispus Allen the Spectre as well seemed a bit over the top. I liked them both better as just cops.

[jlbarnett]

well, the Spectre is originally a JSA character so he may be shuffled off to Earth-2 removing the reason for Crispus to be killed

But overall the reason is DC books are about superheroes. By making them heroes they get to tell more stories about them.

[salinea]

I am so DDD: about Renée not being the Question (probably!) *sighs*

Loved that passage in Gotham Central ♥

[shadowpsykie]

yeah that is one of my favorite moments in Gotham Central, you can pracitally hear both of them going "Preeeetty...."

[espanolbot]

Apparently Kori literally glows. *shrug*

[an_idol_mind]

Dunno how I feel about that. I really liked Renee as the Question. At the same time, I wouldn't mind seeing Vic running around again. As long as there is a Question, I think I'd be happy.

If Renee isn't the Question and Vic is alive, though, I really hope some writer has them buddy up at some point. Their relationship in 52 was awesome and I'd hate to see that ignored.

[shadowpsykie]

i LOVE her as the Question. Though at this point i would be happy if she was still around at all... with her being essentially part of the batbooks, and the batbooks going through minimal change, i HOPE she is still the Question, or at least WAS the question...

[darkknightjrk]

Well, I guess things makes me wonder this--does this mean Vic Sage is alive in the DCnU? If that's the case, I think I'm kinda fine with that. I loved Renee as The Question, and I thought Vic's death in 52 was solid, but I also thought he had more story potential than that, so hopefully they use him.

[featheredserpent]

I wouldn't want to invalidate the Charlie & Renee Show, i.e., the only really great thing about "52".

[golden_orange]

To be entirely honest outside of 52 what I saw with Renee as the Question didn't set my world on fire that much, so I can't claim to be too upset with this news. Just happy she's still around, really.

[bewareofgeek]

It occurs to me that this would be the perfect way to introduce the JLU-style Question into the DCnU. No offense to Messrs O'Neill & Cowan, but we can certainly thank that show (and the esteemed Mr. Combs) for reviving the character.

[filthysize]

All I want is an ongoing starring Renee Montoya where the GCPD transfers her to the Hub City police department and she becomes the Gordon to Vic's Question.

[an_idol_mind]

That would be awesome.

[leikomgwtfbbq]

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY.

*so much want*

[jeyl]

Yes, because if there's one thing I want from one of my favorite DC characters is to take her reduce her to a mere sidekick who can only observe and maybe make an arrest with the help of the real true hero of the story.

Seriously, you're taking Renee Montoya, a character who became a The Question in her own right, and now you want to throw her down as a side character?

[turtlefu]

Mot-to the fucking-to

[gargoylekitty]

Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis!

FFS, anything less than her role as the Question is a demotion, plain and simple. Not even getting into throwing out one of the better storylines the DCU had to offer in the past, give or take, decade.

[filthysize]

My opinion of Gordon is not that low.

[jeyl]

And my opinion of Renee is much higher.

[milleniumrex]

She was always a more interesting character as a Detective, to me. And I felt that Vic Sage had a more unique personality as the Question. So as long as Renee's around in a significant capacity out of costume, I'm fine with this.

[leikomgwtfbbq]

As long as Renee is still around in some capacity, and still retains her personality and sexuality, I'll be happy.

[turtlefu]

Right now the only DC book I'm buying is Batwoman, but if Renee isn't question, then I will never buy a DC book again. ever.

Renee is my favorite character in the DCU, and Rucka's work with her has been amazing. Everything he's done with her has been a complete cohesive character arc. If you've read almost every appearence of Renee like I have, then you would know that her role as Question was perfect evolution of her character. It was completely natural, and completely perfect. Taking away the role from her to revert back to Vic would be one of the greatest disservices to BOTH characters.

Not to mention they would just be giving the Mask from the Latina Lesbian back to the Straight White Guy.

[fifthie]

Maggie and Renee are all, DAYUM

[shanejayell]

There's also a pic from Batgirl that looks like Renee. If it is, Gail Simone has said she wants to write her...

Renee/Babs?

[anothermoviegeek]

Not Montoya. It does look like her but the male cop calls her "McKenna"

Unless Renee is married now...

[likeaminx]

This. This really pisses me off. Renee was brought down to her lowest point and clawed her way back up into a better person. And DC is taking that away. Why? To get Vic back? I loved Vic but he had his swan song and then went gently into that good night. It was heartbreaking but a beautiful send off.

You know, one of the things I liked about DC over Marvel was that DC had so many great legacy characters and now they're all gone. Except for the Robins of course.

[blackruzsa]

Oh that face <3

On that note, I'd have been shocked if she wasn't kept.

[runespoor]

My life as a reader: spent the last few years being :/ about Renee being Question, "dammit I loved Gotham Central!" Three weeks ago: bought Renee's Question trades, cuz DCnU and all, I should get up-to-date with her history, as Batwoman is the only title I am considering buying. Loved it.

Today: DC trolling.

I have the best timing.

[salinea]

in a way it is great timing to celebrate Renée by reading stuff in which she was awesome especially as DC may be downgrading her. :p

[runespoor]

I'm considering building a fort with the trades and back-issues of all the canon I love and pretending the 52 armies of DC are trying to smash it down. There would be the Cass Cain tower, which would have a tiny Robin!Steph roof, and the Gotham Knights castle, and I think the Rucka stuff could provide much of the outer walls.

[cypherfdp]

If they make Vic similar to his DCAU version, I think I may, *gasp*, consider giving DC money again!

[jlbarnett]

didn't she play a role as the Question in some of Morrison's stories?

[jlbarnett]

would not Question Renee know that Kate Kane is Batwoman?