Is Renee Montoya no longer the Question?

Dan Didio’s been answering people’s questions about the new 52 on Facebook and one is about the role of Renee Montoya in the rebooted Universe. The Green Lantern Corps web site has been collecting all the questions he’s answered to date including the question: Is Reene Montoya still the Question and is Vic Sage still dead?”  A CBR member has said he asked the question to Didio. And the answer was:

“Renee will be seen as a member of the Gotham City Police Force.”

Montoya started in the comics as member of the GCPD in comics and DCAU. During the series 52 she took over the role of the Question following the death of Vic Sage. As the Question, she lhad a mini and a back-up series in Detective Comics written by Greg Rucka. To date, DC has been mum on Renee in the new 52. When asked about her at SDCC, Didio deflected the question. But in a July story on DC’s diversity efforts that appeared in the  Advocate, Renee was mentioned as part of DC’s focus on diversity.

I liked Renee as the Question. Her journey into the role was one of the most compelling parts of 52. And I loved her back-up in Detective Comics. I had hopes that she would have been working with the Birds of Prey but those were dashed with the book’s cancellation for the reboot. Her return to a role within the Gotham PD gives me mixed feelings. On one hand it could mean she is seen more often as her appearances in the DCU trailed off after Greg Rucka, the character’s main writer, departed DC. Given the many Gotham based Batbooks there would be many more chances for her to appear.

But Renee was one of the few lesbian superheroes. We still don’t know if she’ll be acting as the Question and attached to the police. That wording on that answer doesn’t really give me much hope.

So where would she show up? The first book that one would assume she would appear in would be Batwoman, given her previous relationship with Kate Kane. But I also wonder if she’ll be popping into Batgirl. As I noted before, this panel from the first issue shows someone who looks like Renee.

Gail Simone, Batgirl’s writer, certainly has been very vocal about her fondness for the character most recently writing her into the final issues she penned of Birds of Prey. But at this point, this is just speculation. Update: Simone says she doesn’t have plans right now to use Renee in Batgirl.

And, of course, a bigger unanswered question is whether Vic Sage will show up again in the new 52. Given the time twisting in Flashpoint #5, it would seem that Vic could, like Ryan Choi, return from the dead. You’ll note the second part of the question for DiDio had no answer. And no Question.