What is DC Comics Planning with the Question?

According to Marc Guggenheim, showrunner of Arrow, the CW TV series is not allowed to use the DC Comics hero known as the Question… leading to its own question: what else does the company have planned for the character?

In most versions, the Question is a detective named Vic Sage, who fights corruption in the fictional Hub City. He wears a sort of mask made of a substance called Pseudoderm, which makes his face look completely blank without obstructing his ability to see, speak or breathe.

When asked about the character, Guggenheim said that he has brought him up numerous times, only for DC Comics to continually nix the idea. He says that presumably, they have other ideas of where to use him.

“I don’t know what their plans are, but clearly they do have plans—otherwise we’d be using him,” he explained.

This practice, sometimes called a “Bat-Embargo” from times that it has affected Batman characters, is common with DC Comics; the idea seems to be that it would confuse viewers if two versions of a character existed in separate continuities.

Arrow itself has been hit with this multiple times: they were forced to write out antagonists like Deadshot, Harley Quinn and Amanda Waller due to their inclusion in the DC Extended Universe’s Suicide Squad movie. Deathstroke, another major villain, was removed due to plans for him to appear in a Batman film, only to revert back to the show and now disappear again due to his Justice League appearance.

So, if the Question cannot appear in the Arrowverse, where does DC Comics want to use him?

Being a street-level detective, he would fit well in a Batman adaptation like the Gotham TV series, which is not part of the Arrowverse continuity. Another possibility is the upcoming Titans streaming series, though there is not much to indicate why he would appear there in particular.

Alternatively, he could appear in one of the upcoming DCEU films, whether The Batman or something else. Perhaps he could even get his own film, though that may be unlikely, since he is a lesser-known character and they may want to be more conservative after their recent poor box office performances.

For now, this character’s eventually whereabouts will have to remain…a question.