2007 The Huntress/The Question: Conquest '52 Fan Music Video

I discovered Patti Page's 1952 hit "Conquest" in a collection back in 2006, and wanted to share it, but I couldn't find an actual video. The line about "the huntress" also ate at the comic geek in me, so I finally caved and decided to make my first fan video(s.) I've liked the Huntress since the first time I read her as a back-up in an issue of Wonder Woman, and I've dug the Question since the Denny O'Neil series. I thought it was great when the Justice League Unlimited cartoon made them a couple, and that's the focus of this video. However, I had so much material left over, I decided to make a more action-packed video for the White Stripes' cover of "Conquest." This also doesn't count my first attempt, which was much different (and sadly, better timed overall, but lacking pizzazz.) I hope you'll check out and enjoy both. This was a real learning experience for me in working with old programs in new ways, so if these go over, I'd like to try making more (and better, and please God faster!)

This is a non-profit fan production that is in no way intended to infringe on the various copyright holders for video, characters, and music. Please don't hurt me Warner Brothers/DC Comics!

2007 The Question convention sketch by Whilce Portacio

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Image Style

• 1985 Captain Atom, Blue Beetle and The Question art by Rob Liefeld @ Power of the Atom
• 1990 Martian Manhunter art by Jim Lee @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• 2005 Wonder Woman San Diego Comic-Con sketch by Whilce Portacio @ Diana Prince
• 1986 Vixen fan art by Rob Liefeld @ Justice League Detroit
• 2010 Zatanna Commission by Rob Liefeld @ Justice League Detroit

2010 DC Universe Vol.4: Going Solo The Question art by alexmax

Click To Enlarge and Expand


I haven't posted a lot of Question material here, but I fully intend to as able, and this multi-character showcases' Huntress just wasn't up to par.

"Here are a few characters that, while they may have been part of a team at some point or another (because after all, what hero hasn't been a member of the Justice League?), I think they are mostly considered as loners....

Anyways, here is a rundown on what I was thinking when I was making them...

Question: A character I'm not very familiar with. Tried to make him look like his early post-Crisis (1986) appearance."

alexmax

• Hawkman @ Power of the Atom
• Lobo @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Wonder Girl Cassie Sandsmark @ Diana Prince
• Zatanna @ Justice League Detroit

2006 The Question Mo-Kan Comics Conspiracy Commission by Phil Hester

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"Phil Hester's eyes lit up when I asked him to draw the Question. When I mentioned that it was part of my Question sketchbook, he complimented me on my taste. And after I received the sketch back, all I can say is that I hope someone at DC wises up and gets someone to write a Question ongoing so that Hester can pencil it!"

Sunday With Hester
2007 Wizard World Texas Convention Sketch by Phil Hester @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
2009 Red Tornado & the Atom Planet Comicon Sketch @ Power of the Atom
2005 Wonder Woman Meets Swamp Thing Commission @ Diana Prince
Zatanna @ Justice League Detroit

IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time: 100-81

In 2009 or so, the comics department of the popular video game website IGN.com put together a list of their Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time, and have finally followed up with the vastly less well considered Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time. There is much here to mock and debate (in that order,) so I'll have to do it on an installment plan. Watch the video if you like, but expect a poverty of speech content...

More IGN Videos

100) Groo

I've never been that big on Groo, having read him in short burst here and there, but he's long-lived and somewhat iconic.

99) Wasp

I've always found Janet Van Dyne to be one of the least impressive or progressive super-heroines around. She shops, she sidekicks, she gets slapped, and she virtually never works solo.

98) Nova

This puts the "no" in "Nova." A Bronze Age Green Lantern knock-off who has not been redeemed to the point of inclusion.

97) Adam Strange

This also puts the "no" in "Nova," as the model for '50s sci-fi heroes should never be close enough to Richard Rider to smell his stink.

96) The Falcon

Despite my love for Cap, I have never been a fan of Sam Wilson. The guy is the official "safe, clean, well-spoken" token black sidekick of your Uncle Tom. Weak powers, skeevy backstory, bland animal-themed name, and utterly dependent on the contributions of other heroes. With heroes like the Falcon, African-American youths aspire to be Spider-Man.

95) The Savage Dragon
Surely a controversial choice, but he's an entirely solo-creator-generated hero with nearly twenty years of continuous publication and a universe of characters built around him. Also, stuff happens in his book, and his son may well become one of the great black heroes the Falcon will never be.

94) Supergirl

This strikes me as a major snub. Supergirl is a world recognized brand with strong multimedia penetration. Her identity may be vague within comics, due to massively contradictory interpretations, but this low ranking is horsepucky.

93) Donna Troy

Placing Donna Troy ahead of Supergirl is such a colossal blunder that it derails any credibility the list could have ever had. Every flaw Supergirl has is compounded by a factor of ten by Donna Troy, with infinitesimal relative recognition. She's such a dire Jean Grey clone, she even wants for a proper codename. Try asking for a Donna Troy Halloween costume. Name five Donna Troy villains. She literally has the single most convoluted origin in the history of comics, and one of her greatest claims to fame was marrying among the sleaziest supporting characters in the medium and battling their infant offspring. I personally kind of like Troy, but she could be nominated as one of our worst heroes ever... and yet, still better than Nova.

92) Usagi Yojimbo

I'm not into anthropomorphics, but I respect the longevity and regard afforded to Stan Sakai's creation.

91) Cerebus

Usagi Yojimbo is to Cerebus as Captain Marvel is to Superman. Afford respect to both, but Cerebus is one of the titans of independent comics.

90) Ghost Rider

The cool biker icon, and central figure of one of Marvel's best-selling '90s franchises. Still, his best comics are kind of embarrassing to actually read, and he's no Supergirl.

89) Moon Knight

Screw to the U. I have an inexplicable fondness for Marc Specter for the exact same reason everyone else does: he has a cool costume. Ghost Rider looks cooler, and has a far more substantial mythology (re: any.) Moon Knight is a couple or three tiers below being the poor man's Batman. He never rocked a mullet like Nova to the best of my recollection, but he's no Wasp, either.

88) She-Hulk

Shulkie is actually pretty great-- one of the most successful and distinctive "girl versions" of a name brand super-hero. I don't complain about her rank in general, but the order of super-heroines on this thing is wack.

87) Renee Montoya

She's a lesbian and a Latina, both rarities in mainstream comics, and about the only example to appear in cartoons. Still, I resent the hell out of her for taking over the role of the Question, and she's never carried more than a mini-series.

86) Michonne

At this point, Michonne is probably my favorite The Walking Dead character, and the closest thing to a hero (or rather, anti-hero) the book has. Still, it's an ensemble cast, and in any other context, Michonne would reek of cliche.

85) Black Lightning

What is it with bunching up like characters? Space dudes, kewl doods, heroines, unfunny animals, and now the negro couple. While he will never live down the Afro-mask or being replaced by Black Vulcan, Jefferson Pierce will always be DC's first (and still the go-to) lackluster bid at multicultural sensitivity. Watch the video commentary on IGN, and the two white guys acknowledge by omission that even they only threw him in out of guilt.

84) Ka-Zar

This one is Carrot Top plastic surgery level cringe-inducing. A sorry Tarzan rip-off from the the Golden Age (swing a dead cat...) who has had several cult favorite welcomed series that died early deaths, and a lot of unwanted guest appearances. A good guy to help cheer the Falcon up.

83) Superboy

This would be okay if they were acknowledging the whole Superboy legacy, but applied specifically to "Connor Kent," it stings. Thanks undeservedly good creative teams and close ties to the Superman family of comics when they mattered, the Vanilla Ice of comics managed a 100 issue run before Geoff Johns finally managed to do something with the character that didn't elicit a response of "ew."

82) Eric O'Grady (Ant-Man)

The Irredeemable Ant-Man was awesome, but also short-lived with negligible impact.

81) Black Canary

Respect. One of DC's earliest and undeniably their best Golden Age heroine, Dinah Lance managed to kick the star of the strip she debuted in out and take over from Johnny "Footnote" Thunder. The Silver and Bronze Ages were far less kind, turning her into a victim and accessory for Green Arrow. However, she now stars in the longest lasting super-heroine franchise comic of all time not called Wonder Woman.

The Question #1 (February, 1987)

Hub City, Friday, November 21, 10:45 P.M.:
Charles Victor Szasz has exactly 25 hours and 15 minutes to live.

A nearly silhouetted figure stood in the pouring rain outside a run down urban shack. Fedora. Trench coat. Tie. Gloves. No face. The figure kicked down a wooden door, demanding a tape cassette. Thugs were playing cards inside. They put up resistance. They took a beating. In a corner of the single room, a well dressed Asian woman stood. "You're staying out of it, lady. That's smart." She replied, "I despise violence!" No-Face was knocked down from behind and double-teamed. The goons tried to remove his fleshy, featureless mask, but "It ain't comin' off. It's his face!" No-Face freed himself, and battered his captors. "Barbaric," said the woman. A black thug, Donny, gave up the tape-- but asked who No-Face was. Donny was given a blank card, upon which a symbol slowly appeared. "Question mark?" The woman replied, "You are half right."

The Question drove away from the shack in his red Volkswagen Beetle, releasing gas from a compartment on his belt that dissolved the special adhesive of his mask. KBEL investigative reporter "Vic Sage" was underneath. The Bug was doing sixty when some bored cops tried to pull it over, but they gave up when it suddenly surged to over 100 mph. Sage had just under twenty-five hours left to live.

Vic Sage was due to appear on the television news for a report in six minutes before showing up at the station, all arrogance and orders. Sage would ab-lib without make-up. "I'm beautiful just the way I am..." Sage lambasted local politicians, and ran the tape he had acquired of the school commissioner snorting coke, which had been used to extort a huge building contract out of him. "Like I said, it stinks. The decent people in this town are paying for services that don't exist while the political slugs get fat. Why doesn't Mayor Wesley Fermin do anything about it? Is he lazy, stupid... or worse?"

The mayor didn't care to turn the television off, as he was enamored with the anchorwoman, Myra. "She's... quite attractive. I wonder if I could meet her." Middle-aged, graying, balding, with a pot belly and sad mustache, Myra was well out of his meager league. "Ask and ye shall receive," said the lean gray reverend, his black eyes glimmering. Donny wanted to know when they were going to do something about Vic Sage. "He's only been in town a couple months and already he's rained on our parade plenty. Sage was too popular to get fired, but perhaps Lady Shiva could teach him a lesson? Donny wondered where she was during the fight in the shack. "I provide my services for a fee. I do neither less nor more than I am requested. I was not requested to protect a videotape-- nor to nurture the inept." Meanwhile, the fellow who tipped off No-Face about the tape was murdered by Baby Gun, who liked to employ a quiet little air pistol directly to the temple.

Next morning, Myra was in Vic's bed, talking about the hornet's nest he was stirring. For every point Myra made, Vic had a quick, curt, firm and cocky answer. "That's important to you. To be good at what you do. To prove you're good." Vic was an orphan; feelings of inferiority; blah blah blah was his brush-off to the familiar psycho-babble Myra was hinting at. Vic had gotten dressed to visit a friend. He had a bit over sixteen hours to live.

"Come in, Charlie, come in."
"It's Victor now-- but you know that... 'cause we have this conversation every time we meet."

Aristotle Rodor, PhD, saw this intentional irritation as a rite of reassurance. Vic complained that his mask's adhesive, tied to special aftershave and chemicals in his hair, was loosening up when triggered. Tot studied the problem while Vic smoked, a vile habit dropped many years prior, but recently resumed. Things were tougher in Hub City, where Vic was probably born and definitely raised, than they had been in Chicago, Gotham, St. Louis... Decent back in the day, it was an utter cesspool now. Tot pointed out that the smoking was affecting Vic's body chemistry, and thus the mask's adherence. Vic promised to cut down.

Twelve hours to live. Vic met an old wino, who pledged to dig up some information for him. A cop tried to roust the bum, but Vic forcefully explained this was Moe Fredericks, once among the best reporters in town, until his wife and kids were murdered. During the argument, the cop was shot by Donny, who was aiming for Vic. Sage pursued, and caught the trigger man. Vic berated the cops when they arrived, pointing out that a private citizen had done their job, that he couldn't be a cop himself because he passed the IQ test, and "Read this loser his rights, if you know how to read."



Outside KBEL, Vic was met by the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Hatch, "the mayor's pet sky pilot." After an exchange of barbs, the reverend offered a televised sermon while recalling his time in Vietnam, although he failed to mention that he discarded his cross in the face of that war's horrors.

One of Fermin's thugs fed Moe info that would lead Sage into an ambush, then hopped into a car with Lady Shiva, who he figured owed him for standing around while No-Face kicked his ass. Making the mistake of putting his arm around Shiva, it was dealt a swift, serious hurt in one motion. "If you ever touch me again, I shall shatter three bones in your arm: the humerus, the radius, and the ulna. I shall shatter them in such a way that shards will protrude into the nerves, causing intense pain! I shall shatter them in such a way that no western doctor will be able to repair them. Your arm will thereafter dangle from your shoulder like a dead fish. Do you understand?"

Four and a quarter hours to live. Vic got the call from Moe, but smelled the set-up from miles away. Regardless, Sage would be at the abandoned pier at midnight, as he told Myra, "babe... I can handle it."

Mayor Fermin was concerned Reverend Hatch might kill Vic Sage, but he was in no condition to put up any real fuss. "Go home to the mayor's mansion, brother Fermin-- go to your television and your bottles and your dreams. I shall deal with the ugliness of the world and of the flesh. For is that not my calling?"

Vic Sage didn't show, but the No-Face guy did. "Excellent! We shall use him to send Sage a message. Sister Shiva-- harm him. Humiliate him. Fill him with woe and lamentation." Lady Shiva strolled up to the Question, under a dim street light, snow blowing through the air, and asked his preferred style of combat. The Question requested that she stay out of the business again as she'd done before, because he didn't want to her her. "Don't you?"

Shiva seized the Question's arm and doubled him over, then twisted it in back around and flipped him over her. Shiva repeatedly struck the Question about the face and neck with her elbow and fist. Shiva swept his legs from under him, slamming him hard enough to the ground so that he did not stir. The Question never managed to raise the slightest offense or defense. Reverend Hatch decided that Lady Shiva should not kill him herself. "He has darkened the days of our brethren with shame. It is fitting that they admonish him." They did so with brutality and a lead pipe, all of which Shiva found "Barbaric." She wondered if it amused the reverend, and he confirmed this. Once No-Face was sufficiently broken, Baby Gun shot him in the head. The body was cast off the pier, and after ten minutes in the freezing depths, the Question's mask drifted off the shell that had been Charles Victor Szasz

"The Bad News" was by Dennis O'Neil, Denys Cowan and Rick Magyar. "The Answer..." was the name of the letter column presided over by editor Mike Gold, who used it in this instance to give a brief history of Steve Ditko's original Charlton creation. Gold also offered some behind the scenes information. While an entirely different source and text, Don Markstein covered a lot of the same ground with his Question Toonopedia Entry.