Projects I want to see: The Question movie

Although I have love for a lot of the big comic book icons (Superman, Batman, X-Men, Spider-Man), my favorites have always been some of the... others. After all, if you like a big, popular character or story, you become... one of those people. You know, a Trekkie or a Star Wars geek or whatever. (Oh for the days when you could be interested in something without having a demographic labeled on your forehead.)

But it's the characters that you seek out despite the lack of popularity and availability that really become personal favorites. For me, one of those characters is The Question.

Created by Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man, as an Objectivist superhero, his philosophy has since been reappropriated by virtually every writer who has handled the character since. This image is from the 2005 Rick Veitch mini-series where the Question was something of a transcendental shaman, however the most famous and influential run on this character was Denny O'Neil's where the Question turns to Buddhism after a particularly disasterous defeat.

To me, the Question was always unique, particularly among DC superheroes, in that he always knew that he was a freak and was acting abnormally... he just didn't care. At heart, Superman and Spider-Man believe they are Clark Kent and Peter Parker acting as superheroes. The Question has no such pretext. He doesn't wear a mask or a cape. His identity is a lack of identity lacking the reassurance the more conventional superhero imparts.

Yet perhaps more interesting than his crimefighting alter ego is his secret identity as liberal pundit Vic Sage (AKA Charles Victor Szasz) who, unlike mild mannered Clark Kent, uses his show as a soap box to rail against the problems of society. So when I'm thinking of who should play the role, my mind naturally goes to my favorite modern soap box stander, James Spader.

I can see it clearly. Vic Sage is Keith Olbermann meets Network's Howard Beale with just a touch of Hunter S. Thompson. He's loud, obnoxious, and elitist, but that doesn't keep him from being right. As for everyone else, well he doesn't care what they think. James Spader pulls off these qualities every week on Boston Legal.

What might be more fun for this extremely talented actor is playing the vigilante role. Naturally, he won't get to do much facial acting, but the role of the Question has more to do with voice and body language. His dialog ranges from cryptic to esoteric, at times, Sage-like and at other times raving mad. The fun of the character is trying to figure out which is which. Justice League Unlimited portrayed him as a Fox Mulder-style conspiracy theorist and it worked out pretty well.

As for plot, I think I would juxtapose the Question's spiritual, philosophical madness against a representation of corporate commodification of philosophy and spirituality (i.e. Ayn Rand or The Secret). Maybe even begin the movie with The Question crashing a motivational seminar for yuppies. I think it would be fun all around.

As for villain, well, the Question has never had a rogues gallery or archnemesis, so I would steal the Terrible Trio. Originally introduced in Batman (but showing up all over the DC universe), the Terrible Trio consist of three extremely rich business men who dress up like animals (fox, shark, and vulture) and commit crimes to amuse themselves and bolster their already substantial wealth. They also have an elemental quality to their crimes (earth, water, and air) that could echo the aforementioned new age capitalism. Their theatrical animal masks would make a great counterpoint to the Question's facelessness.

For your own amusement (and a small idea of what such a movie might be like), here is the great Jeffrey Combs as The Question in Justice League Unlimited.