The Other History of the DC Universe (2020)

John Ridley

May 2021 · The Other History of the DC Universe (2020) Issue #4 · Sold by DC Black Label

About this ebook

Words can be tricky. Renee Montoya has known this for most of her life. Words taught her to feel ashamed of her gender, her sexuality, and her ethnicity. The people of Gotham City taught her to hide who she was to fit in to, be loved, and in doing so, they taught her to hate herself. But from that despair came something unexpected and powerful. Renee’s path from a closeted police officer in the 1990s to her time as the faceless vigilante known as the Question is one that is inextricably linked with queerness. It is one that is defiant of binaries, outmoded and hateful stereotypes, and the words that propagate them. As the Question, Renee stood in contrast to society’s rigid expectations of her, held a mirror up to the world’s face, and asked, “Who are you?” The long-awaited miniseries written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years a Slave, Let It Fall) and beautifully illustrated by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Andrea Cucchi continues to explore the mythology of the DC Universe, as seen through the prism of DC Super Heroes from historically disenfranchised groups.Words can be tricky. Renee Montoya has known this for most of her life. Words taught her to feel ashamed of her gender, her sexuality, and her ethnicity. The people of Gotham City taught her to hide who she was to fit in to, be loved, and in doing so, they taught her to hate herself. But from that despair came something unexpected and powerful. Renee’s path from a closeted police officer in the 1990s to her time as the faceless vigilante known as the Question is one that is inextricably linked with queerness. It is one that is defiant of binaries, outmoded and hateful stereotypes, and the words that propagate them. As the Question, Renee stood in contrast to society’s rigid expectations of her, held a mirror up to the world’s face, and asked, “Who are you?” The long-awaited miniseries written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years a Slave, Let It Fall) and beautifully illustrated by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Andrea Cucchi continues to explore the mythology of the DC Universe, as seen through the prism of DC Super Heroes from historically disenfranchised groups.

Ratings and reviews

Much of this is pretty good, but it's marred by a puzzling decision to almost entirely overhaul Renee's relationship with Kate in a way that removes potential thematic material that would've served the narrative. Worse, this change mischaracterizes both characters and doesn't replace the omitted content with anything but cliches. This is apparently the only substantial change from the canon material, and it actively makes the issue worse. One particular removal is something that would have tied into the issue's themes so strongly that it's stunning Ridley didn't use it. A largely enjoyable read marred by such a confusing and frustrating decision.