ASK... THE QUESTION! Column Submission Thread

“When did Lex Luthor first discover Supergirl?”

“Has DC ever adapted The Fugitive?”

“What’s the story with that giant penny in the Batcave?”

Hello. I’m HubCityQuestion, and these are all cases brought to me in the past by this very community. My mission is to take on any question you have about the DC Universe, no matter how granular, obscure, or strange, and present you with an answer.

Drop your inquiries here at any time. Every Tuesday afternoon, I will return to this thread to address every case brought to my attention to the best of my ability.

All YOU need to do… is ask The Question.


Ask... The Question Archive
  1. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-where-world-justice-league-china/ (June 6, 2019)
  2. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-where-start-vandal-savage/ (June 12, 2019)
  3. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-are-there-male-star-sapphires/ (June 20, 2019)
  4. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-where-does-creeper-creep/ (June 25, 2019)
  5. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-how-badass-lady-shiva/ (July 3, 2019)
  6. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-whatever-happened-rose-thorn/ (July 11, 2019)
  7. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-where-has-nazi-baroness-von-gunther-been/ (July 19, 2019)
  8. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-whats-aquamans-sign/ (July 24, 2019)
  9. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-are-super-pets-still-action/ (August 1, 2019)
  10. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-when-was-first-batman-vs-superman-fight/ (August 8, 2019)
  11. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-whats-deal-blue-beetles-scarab/ (August 16, 2019)
  12. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-when-did-poison-ivy-go-green/ (August 22, 2019)
  13. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-which-writer-mvp-legion-super-heroes/ (August 28, 2019)
  14. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-how-many-times-has-alfred-died/ (September 4, 2019)
  15. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-when-did-green-arrow-grow-his-goatee/ (September 12, 2019)
  16. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-has-batman-always-used-batarangs/ (September 18, 2019)
  17. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-whats-deal-condiment-king/ (September 25, 2019)
  18. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-whats-nightshades-look/ (October 8, 2019)
  19. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-whats-origin-nabu-dr-fates-helmet/ (October 10, 2019)
  20. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-what-ras-al-ghuls-origin-story/ (October 16, 2019)
  21. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-where-world-gotham-city/ (October 23, 2019)
  22. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-how-many-different-monarchs-have-there-been/ (October 30, 2019)
  23. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-how-do-jerichos-powers-work/ (November 6, 2019)
  24. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-did-gloria-steinem-inspire-creation-nubia/ (November 14, 2019)
  25. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-where-did-nightwing-get-his-name/ (November 21, 2019)
  26. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-sgt-rock-still-service/ (November 27, 2019)
  27. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-whatever-happened-zatara/ (December 5, 2019)
  28. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-how-did-lobo-get-banned-afterlife/ (December 12, 2019)
  29. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-how-many-characters-are-crisis-infinite-earths/ (December 18, 2019)
  30. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-has-anyone-ever-resisted-wonder-womans-lasso-truth/ (January 9, 2020)
  31. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-when-was-aquamans-first-cover-appearance/ (January 17, 2020)
  32. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-which-character-had-biggest-time-gap-between-solo-t/ (January 23, 2020)
  33. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-how-many-starmans-have-there-been/ (January 29, 2020)
  34. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-are-there-stories-jon-kent-growing/ (February 6, 2020)
  35. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-when-did-dc-trinity-become-thing/ (February 13, 2020)
  36. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-why-didnt-bruce-waynes-extended-family-raise-him/ (February 20, 2020)
  37. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-where-did-name-fourth-world-come/ (February 26, 2020)
  38. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-what-heck-does-poozer-mean/ (March 5, 2020)
  39. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-special-green-lantern-corps-edition/ (March 12, 2020)
  40. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-what-should-i-read-after-secret-six/ (March 19, 2020)
  41. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-who-has-written-flash-longest/ (March 26, 2020)
  42. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-when-did-cyborg-start-flying/ (April 2, 2020)
  43. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-where-has-firestorm-been-lately/ (April 9, 2020)
  44. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-who-are-most-popular-b-list-characters/ (April 16, 2020)
  45. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-who-dcs-fastest-speedster/ (April 22, 2020)
  46. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-how-does-supergirl-cut-her-hair/ (April 30, 2020)
  47. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-where-were-gods-during-crisis-infinite-earths/ (May 6, 2020)
  48. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-why-dont-super-villains-get-death-penalty/ (May 13, 2020)
  49. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-who-better-escape-artist-mister-miracle-or-batman/ (May 21, 2020)
  50. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-what-was-dcs-first-retcon/ (May 27, 2020)
  51. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-where-did-batman-get-all-his-wonderful-toys/ (June 3, 2020)
  52. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-52nd-column-special-can-you-stump-question/ (June 10, 2020)
  53. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-how-can-mr-terrific-be-atheist-if-hes-met-spectre/ (June 17, 2020)
  54. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-what-did-lois-lane-win-her-pulitzer-prize/ (June 24, 2020)
  55. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-are-transwomen-allowed-themyscira/ (July 2, 2020)
  56. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-how-long-would-it-take-read-every-dc-comic-ever-pub/ (July 8, 2020)
  57. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-when-did-shazam-first-use-his-lightning-weapon/ (July 15, 2020)
  58. https://www.dcuniverse.com/news/ask-question-which-characters-bathed-ras-al-ghuls-lazarus-pits/ (July 24, 2020)
  59. (to be continued)

Thanks to @ajm08g for compiling! :superman_hv_4:

78 Likes

Weird one but I always watch the movies, not ready comics. I’ve only read one, and aside from that only looked at characters origins and seen little bits of comic pages for the origins. But what race is bane. All movies have him white and so does his origins. But I’ve heard her could also be latino. It doesn’t really affect me either way but I would like to know

9 Likes

And even though he speaks spanish and has that accent, those are acquired traits (traits that you pick up as you live) not inherited traits (ones you get from birth)

3 Likes

Can you break down the origin of The Question? I’m still new to comics (started reading them last summer) so there are some characters that I just don’t know a lot about yet. Thanks :slight_smile:

12 Likes

When in relation to other stories did Damian get resurrected by Batman if Damian didn’t appear in Endgame when Batman “died” but was alive before Bruce Wayne returned in Superheavy?

6 Likes

Also, how exactly does scarecrow work in injustice 2? Does he turn into the scarebeast or is it a hallucination or a hallucination of the scarebeast and they are rolling on the floor in fear and the gas is toxic and is killing them… Like what all is going on here

5 Likes

Does Injustice take place in a separate multiverse? Convergence seems to imply that Injustice is (or at least used to be) a universe in the main DC multiverse. Kalibak is killed by Superman in Year One, but, as far as I am aware, he is still alive in the main DC multiverse. I know he was at least alive a few years after Injustice: Year One finishes. Isn’t there only supposed to be one of him? How can he still be alive?

Does Injustice take place in a separate multiverse? Or was the universe Injustice takes place in destroyed before Kalibak’s death came to pass? Or do the events of the Injustice series of comics take place in the future of the universe Injustice takes place in relative to the time the current comics are taking place in? Am I just wrong about this entire situation? (probably)

6 Likes

After Convergence, there was an infinite number of worlds in the multiverse, right? If so, the how come the new universe created in Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt #1 is the 53rd one that supposedly shouldn’t exist?

And entirely unrelated… In Identity Crisis there is a flashback of some criminals taking pictures of the Justice League’s identities after swapping bodies with them. Is this a reference to a specific Justice League story? If so, what issue(s)?

6 Likes

OK! Here we go! Welcome to Week 1 of ASK… THE QUESTION! I’ve spent the last week researching and fact checking all the questions asked in this thread, and I hope that my results prove both entertaining and informative.

3 Likes

TheBackbreaker asks:

“What race is Bane? All movies have him white and so does his origins. But I’ve heard he could also be latino.”

Like many characters, Bane’s background is one that varies between interpretations.

In the film Batman & Robin, he was an incarcerated killer named Antonio Diego, who’s turned into a henchman by Poison Ivy. The name given to him is latino in origin, but apart from that he is played by Robert “Jeep” Swenson, a caucasian American wrestler, and his background is actually more similar to a character named Ivor, a man who henched for Poison Ivy in one of her early appearances.

In The Dark Knight Rises, Bane is played by another caucasian man, Tom Hardy, and whose background is as an international mercenary — a background more similar to Robin villain Edmund Dorrance, aka King Snake. (More on him later.)

In short, both of Bane’s live action film appearances could be argued to not REALLY be Bane as we know him from the comics, but an even more obscure character bearing his name.

However, Bane has not always been played by a white actor. In Bruce Timm and Paul Dini’s DC Animated Universe, Bane’s origin is as an inmate of a Cuban prison, and latino actors were always cast to play him. He was portrayed in Batman: The Animated Series by Henry Silva, a Sicilian-Portuguese actor with a long, prolific career. And in Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, Bane is played by Hector Elizondo, a Spanish-American actor.

In the animated series “The Batman,” Bane is explicitly a South American mercenary, and in his first appearance he is played by Portuguese actor Joaquim de Almeida.

In DCU’s own “Young Justice,” Bane’s origins have not been explicitly explored, but he is played by Mexican-American actor Danny Trejo.

Carlos Alzaraqui, an Argentine-American, plays Bane in the animated films Justice League: Doom, Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants, and his most recent animated appearance, Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

And in Season 5 of “Gotham,” Bane is introduced with the real name of Eduardo Dorrance, with a background that combines his history in the comics with his role in The Dark Knight Rises. There he is played by Shane West, a multi-ethnic actor with a Cajun French mother and a British-Portuguese father.

AND NOW, LET’S TALK ABOUT THE COMICS:

Bane’s father was a man named Sir Edmund Dorrance, a British native military officer who defects from his homeland become an international mercenary, working with revolutionary cells throughout the world for profit.

Dorrance’s fate changed forever when he joined up with an anti-communist rebel cell in the small (fictional) nation of Santa Prisca, a Spanish colonized island in the north Caribbean. There, he strikes up a brief romance with one of the local native rebels, leaving her with child before abandoning them both when the rebellion fails. Unable to persecute Dorrance for his role in the rebellion, the Santa Priscan government holds his son responsible for carrying out his father’s life sentence.

So… is Bane white, or is he latino? By heritage, Bane is mixed race in origin. He has a white father, and a latina mother. But as someone who never knew his father until he was an adult, who was born and spent his formative years in Pena Duro, the prison colony of Santa Prisca, and now a man who still considers Santa Prisca his home, Bane is latino by nationality as well.

To read Bane’s true origin for yourself, see Batman: Gotham Knights (2000-) #47-49, “Veritas Liberat,” by Judd Winick.

12 Likes

YoYoFroYo asks:

“Can you break down the origin of The Question?”

Even as a boy growing up in a Catholic orphanage, Charles Victor Szasz lived for one cause above all else: to expose the objective truth buried beneath the thick mire of lies upon which we have built our society. As Vic Sage, he became a reporter in his native Hub City, the most corrupt town in America. But in order to dive first hand into the political and criminal underbellies of his city to expose them for what they are, he had to hide his identity.

Luckily, an old friend of Vic’s, a scientist named Tot Rodor, had invented a synthetic substance meant for skin grafting that Sage could also use as a mask to hide his own features. And so, The Question debuted on the streets of Hub City, to ask what no one else would dare.

But don’t take my word for it — read the backmatter of 52 (2006-) #18, where Mark Waid and Joe Bennett brilliantly summarize the early days of The Question. In fact, check the whole series out for its wonderful two page bios… and one of the greatest Question stories ever told!

9 Likes

Awesome_Squid asks:

“When in relation to other stories did Damian get resurrected by Batman if Damian didn’t appear in Endgame when Batman “died” but was alive before Bruce Wayne returned in Superheavy?”

The exact sequence of events when it comes to comic book continuity can be difficult to parse, especially when it comes to the lives of characters as prolific as the Bat-Family. Batman can be on as many as five or six completely different adventures on any given month of publication, and it’s often up to the reader’s best logic or suspension of disbelief to sort them out.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at what was going on in Batman’s world during the month that Damian was resurrected.

Damian’s resurrection occurs in Robin Rises: Alpha, a special finale issue of the “Robin Rises” story arc which returned Damian to life. The issue was published in December, 2014.

During that month, we also saw Batman #37 (the second issue of the Endgame story arc), the ongoing publication of Batman Eternal, as well as its spinoff miniseries, Arkham Manor. Batman Eternal and Arkham Manor both contain storylines which feature the character of Eric Border, Joker’s secret persona as an Arkham orderly. Joker reveals himself to have been Border all along during the events of Endgame, so it stands to reason that both of those stories take place before Endgame begins. Catwoman, too, was tied into Eternal at the time, placing it before Endgame. As the flagship title of the line which served to dictate the future of its characters, it’s reasonable to figure that Batman itself took place slightly ahead of time in relation to the other Batman adjacent books — including Batman & Robin, where the story of Damian’s resurrection and its aftermath was being told as Joker plagued Gotham in Endgame.

If this is true, then within your question, there’s another valid one. Where WAS Damian during Endgame?

The answer to that comes a few months after Endgame’s publication, with the launch of Patrick Gleason’s Robin: Son of Batman. This series picks up narratively where Gleason and Tomasi’s Batman & Robin left off, with a newly resurrected Damian trying to figure out his own place in the world while reconciling with the baggage of his past. The first issue of Robin: Son of Batman begins in media res, where we find Damian in Bialya with his colossal dragon-bat, Goliath. It’s clear, then, that Damian’s quest did not BEGIN when Son of Batman #1 was published, but some time before.

I therefore would posit that Damian’s resurrection arc occurs right before Endgame, with Endgame itself taking place while Damian was beginning to strike out on his own.

For more context on this time in Damian’s (second) life, read Robin Rises: Omega, Batman and Robin (2011-) #33-37, Robin Rises: Alpha, Batman and Robin (2011-) #38-40, and Robin: Son of Batman.

6 Likes

TheBackbreaker asks:

“Also, how exactly does scarecrow work in injustice 2? Does he turn into the scarebeast or is it a hallucination or a hallucination of the scarebeast and they are rolling on the floor in fear and the gas is toxic and is killing them… Like what all is going on here”

The truth, is believe, is somewhere in between. While open to a degree of interpretation, it seems to me that in the game itself, opponents are in fact fighting Scarecrow, as opposed to wrestling with some image of him Arkham Asylum style. But he’s not physically transforming either. Rather, his appearance is distorted into a beastly form from the perspective of all onlookers upon the release of his fear toxin before each fight. No, he doesn’t REALLY look like that. And the more supernatural moves he uses aren’t REALLY happening. But if everyone THINKS they are, does the distinction really matter?

Though Scarecrow’s Fear Toxin is shown in the game and tie-in comics alike to be capable of more than illusory buffs, when fighting Scarecrow himself in Injustice 2, this toxin-enhanced visual effect is generally what’s going on.

To see this effect in action, refer back to Scarecrow’s battle with Harley Quinn in the story mode.

6 Likes

Awesome_Squid asks:

“Does Injustice take place in a separate multiverse? Convergence seems to imply that Injustice is (or at least used to be) a universe in the main DC multiverse. Kalibak is killed by Superman in Year One, but, as far as I am aware, he is still alive in the main DC multiverse. I know he was at least alive a few years after Injustice: Year One finishes. Isn’t there only supposed to be one of him? How can he still be alive?

Or was the universe Injustice takes place in destroyed before Kalibak’s death came to pass? Or do the events of the Injustice series of comics take place in the future of the universe Injustice takes place in relative to the time the current comics are taking place in? Am I just wrong about this entire situation?

After Convergence, there was an infinite number of worlds in the multiverse, right? If so, the how come the new universe created in Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt #1 is the 53rd one that supposedly shouldn’t exist?”

The secret of the DC Multiverse is that there are not just 52 worlds. In fact, the very point of Convergence, and Dark Nights: Metal after it, is to illustrate that the multiverse is infinite. Our “local multiverse” contains 52 versions of Earth, but beyond the walls of the map we see in Multiversity lies every version of the DC Universe we’ve ever seen or dreamed of. The appearance of “Earth-53” when the Source Wall is broken is part of that revelation. The Earths have always been Infinite.

As for Kalibak, I believe you’re referring to the idea sometimes stated during the early years of The New 52 that though the Multiverse contains many worlds, there is only one version of each of the New Gods. However, this is simply not true. (In fact, it wouldn’t be out of character to suggest this idea itself is New God propaganda.)

The facts are, it would be impossible to account for an infinite multiverse if all stories that contained New Gods had to coexist with each other. Grant Morrison attempts to reconcile this in Multiversity by implying that while there is only one TRUE version of each of the New Gods, each of them have aspects of themselves which exist throughout the Multiverse. So by Multiversity’s proposal, the Kalibak you see killed in Injustice is merely an aspect of the “True” Kalibak.

For more on the nature of The Multiverse, try your best to parse Convergence, Multiversity, Dark Nights: Metal, and the ongoing Justice League (2018-).

Or, just repeat to yourself the guiding ethos of Morrison’s approach to canon, and the mission statement of Convergence itself: “Every story counts.”

5 Likes

Awesome_Squid asks:

“In Identity Crisis there is a flashback of some criminals taking pictures of the Justice League’s identities after swapping bodies with them. Is this a reference to a specific Justice League story? If so, what issue(s)?”

It certainly is! That flashback is a recap of a classic Justice League of America storyline from 1979, “The League That Defeated Itself.” Using an ancient magical statue, the Secret Society of Super-Villains swaps bodies with five members of the JLA, thereby turning its members against each other.

You can read the arc for yourself in Secret Society of Super-Villains #15, and Justice League of America (1960-) #166-168.

9 Likes

And that’s it for this week! I’ll be back around 6:00 PM EST next Tuesday for more. And until then, no matter how big, small, strange or obscure your case may be, never hesitate to ASK… THE QUESTION!

5 Likes

@HubCityQuestion Thanks for the answers! They were very informative.

5 Likes

What are the thoughts on the release of the Snyder cut of Justice League at DC Comics?

7 Likes

Whatever happened to the Earth-1 Wildcat that appeared in the Brave and the Bold issues during the '70s?

1 Like

What comic book issues have Clark Kent playing baseball with Bruce Wayne?

1 Like