Many supporting characters dream of the day they can become full-fledged protagonists, but rarely do they achieve that level of stardom. While I may be speaking in a very strange metaphor, few comic characters have started from such humble beginnings as former Gotham Police Officer and current bearer of The Question mantle, Renee Montoya.
Renee Montoya was originally created for the gem of my childhood, The Batman Animated Series. I’m somewhat ashamed to say that at the time I paid almost no attention to the character that would eventually become one of my favorites; I simply wanted to see Batman fight some cool bad guys. At the same time she appeared in the DC Universe, first making her entrance in Batman #475 as an assistant to Commissioner Gordon. After a while on the job, Renee was partnered with everyone’s favorite gruff cop, Harvey Bullock. The two appeared in many stories as backup characters, and were generally portrayed as the most competent of Gordon’s officers. However, little was done to develop Montoya as a character.
Then No Man’s Land happened.
Actually, I should say Gre
g Rucka happened. Anyone who has been reading comics for a while should know that almost nobody knows how to write a strong female character like Rucka. Once Chuck Dixon left Detective Comics, Rucka took his place and used the status quo altering events of No Man’s Land to shape Gotham into a living city, filled with non-superhero characters the reader could relate to. Renee was definitely a shining example of this kind of character, as we saw how the cataclysmic earthquake affected her family, as well as how it thrusted her into a one-sided relationship with Two-Face. Even after the return of Batman to the book, Renee still played an essential part in the rest of Rucka’s first run on Detective Comics. Her more aggressive, vengeful side was particularly given focus by the end of Officer Down.
In 2003, Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker started Gotham Central, a series that has often been compared to crime shows such as The Wire. This great read focused on the Special Crimes Unit of Gotham City, with Renee Montoya and her newest partner, Crispus Allen, as the main protagonists. Since Batman was reduced to a very minor role in this series, Rucka could focus solely on the development of Renee and the other members of Gotham’s police force. The most notable story of this series was the award winning Half a Life, in which Renee was revealed to be a lesbian (much to the dismay of the enamored Two-Face). Renee became even more of a loaded gun, almost going so far as to take the law into her own hands on more than one occasion. The series ended with Montoya leaving the police force after nearly killing a corrupt cop in retribution for the death of her partner, Crispus.
When DC created the weekly series 52 to bring C-List characters
to the attention of newer fans, cowriter Greg Rucka (surprise, surprise!) decided to use this series to bring Renee out of the shadow of the bat into the DC Universe as a whole. The now alcoholic Montoya is pulled into a global conspiracy involving the Metropolis-based Intergang by the conspiracy-loving Charles Victor Szasz, better known as The Question. Along with former lover Kate Kane, otherwise known as Batwoman, the three became entangled in a plot involving a “religion of crime,” based on the teachings of Cain. Eventually Charlie’s age and former smoking habit catch up with him, and he dies of cancer outside of the mythical Nanda Parbat. After days of meditation and introspection, Renee decides to take her friend’s place as The Question. Renee’s conflict with the religion of crime spun out of 52 into the miniseries Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood and the Final Crisis tie-in Revelations (both, unsurprisingly, were penned by Rucka). Revelations also deals with her reunion with Crispus Allen, who had since become the new host for the Spectre. In the course of 5 years, Montoya had gone from a cop grounded in reality to being a superhero heavily involved in religious mythology and the occult, all thanks to one man.
