Renee Montoya

Renee Montoya as the Question from Final Crisis: Revelation v1 #2.

Renee Montoya is a female comic character who features in DC Comics.

Biography

Origins

Renee Montoya

One of the first Arkham inmates to attack was Mr. Zsasz. He broke into a school and held some of the students hostage. Renee played a vital role on Zsasz's capture as she stalled the killer long enough until Batman arrived. After Batman defeated Zsasz, Renee was forced to stop Batman from brutalizing the maniac. (Batman v1 #493) Later, with several inmates still roaming free, Renee investigated Firefly's past in order to locate him. (Detective Comics v1 #661) She was among the first officers who responded to The Riddler's threat and after Robin defused the situation, Renee arrested Riddler and carried him away to be taken to prison. (Detective Comics v1 #662) A few hours later, the abduction of Mayor Krol was revealed and Montoya, along with Bullock, went to the man's home looking for clues. There, they learned that Krol had been taken to the Gotham River Tunnel, but they were unable to enter, as the tunnel had been blocked. (Batman v1 #496) Moments later, Montoya located Krol near the edge of the river and she informed Gordon and called for paramedics to get the man some medical attention. (Detective Comics v1 #663)

Hours later, Montoya witnessed Bane tossing a seriously injured Batman onto the streets. She tried to help, but an ambulance from Gotham's Mercy Hospital arrived and took Batman away. Montoya was blamed by Gordon for letting strangers take Batman, but the Commissioner apologized after Bullock's intervention. Later, under Gordon's instructions, Bullock and Montoya retrieved a medication and delivered it to Batman's allies. (Detective Comics v1 #664) Shortly after, Bullock and Montoya investigated the crime scene at the Gotham University, where Scarecrow had killed and kidnapped several students. They played a tape that was addressed to Batman and they had to be saved by the Dark Knight when the tape was revealed to be an explosive. (Batman: Shadow of the Bat v1 #17)

Montoya was soon promoted to detective of the Major Crime Units, where she remained as Harvey Bullock's partner. As a rookie detective, she was in charge of reviewing cold cases, but she was soon summoned to the Gotham Morgue, where she managed to capture Mister Freeze with Batman's help. Although this helped her gain a reputation with her peers, the experience caused her to doubt Batman's identity as the man she used to know. (Detective Comics v1 #670)

Question

Searching for clues in 52 v1 #4.

Aristotle Rodor and Renee Montoya came to learn that the dead were rising as the Black Lantern Corps. Rodor wondered if it was possible Vic Sage could come back from the dead and plucked some hairs from Question’s old hat. Lady Shiva arrived at Rodor’s lighthouse saying she’d come to test Renee in her prowess of the martial arts as she’d challenged her predecessor as the Question. Aristotle asked them to fight outside, and although Renee wasn’t thrilled with the idea Lady Shiva said she’d kill her if she didn’t fight. They found themselves evenly matched, and while they were fighting a Black Lantern ring appeared, raising Question from the dead as a Black Lantern. Question attacked Renee and Shiva, both of whom realized that although he looked like their friend there was nothing of Vic Sage inside him. Question intended to kill them, but Rodor interrupted the fight by shooting Shiva in the arm. Rodor desperately wanted Question to tell him the mysteries of life and death, seeing it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to understand the meaning of life. Question told him to beg, and Rodor realized Question meant to kill him as well. Shiva realized the Black Lantern Question saw through the emotional spectrum, so she allowed herself to feel nothing, making her invisible to him. After some prompting from Shiva Rodor and Renee were able to do the same, and the Question, frustrated, left. Renee changed into the Question, saying she could not let him remain on the loose. (Question v1 #37)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.

Afterwards, Gotham suffered from the events of A-Day that saw a massive Joker Toxin attack on Arkham Asylum. Renee came to re-join the GCPD as a detective where she met with Mayor Christopher Nakano. He asked her to replace the resigned Harvey Bullock as the new Police Commissioner. (The Next Batman: Second Son v1 #3)

Overview

Personality and attributes

She later came to be vigilante and took on the name of the Question. (52 v1 #48)

Notes

• Renee Montoya was created by Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Mitch Brian who created her in Batman: The Animated Series.

Alternate Versions

• In Teen Titans v3 #17 (2004), an alternate version of Renee Montoya appeared in the dark timeline ten years in the future that was known as Titans Tomorrow. The Teen Titans a adopted a more ruthless authoritarian streak in eliminating villains from the world. On this Earth, Renee Montoya was the commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department and received advice from the retired James Gordon. The pair were at odds with the new Batman who was actually Tim Drake that began eliminating criminals instead of capturing them.
• In Justice League v2 #23.4 (2013), an alternate version of Renee Montoya appeared in the world of Earth-3.

In other media

Television

Renee Montoya in Gotham.

• In Gotham, Renee Monoya appeared in the setting of the live-action television series first season where she was portrayed by actress Victoria Cartagena. She was shown as a detective in Major Crimes in the Gotham City Police Department where she was partnered with Detective Crispus Allen. It was revealed that as part of her backstory that she was involved romantically Barbara Kean though the two had broken up with Barbara now being Jim Gordan's fiancée. Detective Montoya and Allen attempted to investigate the death of Thomas as well as Martha Wayne. The socialites were shot in Crime Alley though the case passed to Detective Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock with the two believing Mario Pepper was responsible for the murder who was shot. Through Oswald Cobblepot, they learnt that Pepper was framed and she warned Barbara Kean as she still had feelings for her.
• In Batwoman, Renee Montoya appeared in the setting of the live-action television series set in the Arrowverse where she was portrayed again by actress Victoria Cartagena.

Films

• In Batman: Bad Blood, Renee Montoya made an appearance in the animated film where she was voiced by actress Vanessa Marshall. She was shown as a Detective in the Gotham City Police Department and when she was off-duty she met Katherine Kane at a bar. The pair developed a mutual attraction to one another with Montoya agreeing to go on a date with her.
• In Birds of Prey, Renee Montoya appeared in the setting of the live-action film where she was portrayed by actress Rosie Perez. This version was a skilled Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) Detective and fan of 1980s police films, which she is prone to quoting while conducting police work, whose career has stalled due to her former partner and current captain Patrick Erickson taking credit for solving a past case sometime prior. In the present, she develops a fixation towards Roman Sionis while investigating his criminal activities, but is suspended for failing to provide evidence. After she joins forces with Harley Quinn, Dinah Lance, and Helena Bertinelli to rescue Cassandra Cain from Sionis, Erickson takes credit for doing so, leading to Montoya resigning from the GCPD and joining Lance and Bertinelli in forming the Birds of Prey.

Video games

• In Batman: Dark Tomorrow, Renee Montoya appeared briefly in a cutscene in the setting of the video game where she was voiced by actress Erin Quinn Purcell.
• In DC Universe Online, Renee Montoya appeared as the Question where she was voiced by Angela Harger. She was shown in Gotham City where she and Batwoman served as the experts on the Religion of Crime as well as task player heroes in combating the Intergang Cult of Crime. When Kate Kane was captured for sacrifice, Montoya directed players to the Temple of Crime and sought to free Batwoman.
• In Batman: Arkham Knight, Renee Montoya was referenced in the video game on a board listing Detective shifts at GCPD Headquarters with her name being present on it.
• In Batman: The Telltale Series, Renee Montoya appeared in the video game series where she was voiced by actor Krizia Bajos. She was a Detective in the GCPD who admired the efforts of Bruce Wayne for Gotham City. Renee was later drugged causing her to lose her impulse control leading to her shooting Carmine Falcone in the head when he was detained at GCPD Headquarters.

Appearances

• Batman v1: (1992)
• Detective Comics v1:
• Gotham Central v1:
• 52 v1: (2007)
• Final Crisis: Revelation v1:
• Lois Lane v2: (2020)
• The Next Batman: Second Son v1:
• Batman v3: (2021)

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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