The Question

[The Question]

THE QUESTION

Real Name: Charles Victor ‘Vic Sage’ Szasz
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Rank: Hero
Affiliations: Justice League, occasionally
Canon/OC: Canon
Other Characters: None

Personality: As complex and thought-provoking as the philosophies that drive the vigilante forward, three distinct guises make up the man commonly known as Vic Sage. Charles, or more usually Charlie, is perhaps an insight into what Vic would have become leading a normal life. He is a run-of-the-mill guy, who knows who his friends are and knows not to make too many in the dank streets he calls home. That said, he is kind and compassionate towards those he knows, and those who need it. Charlie rarely drinks, and spends most of his time keeping himself to himself. Unless your name’s Aristotle Rodor, you probably don’t know Charlie. Exceptions can occur.

Then there’s Vic Sage, investigative journalist extraordinaire. It would be fair to say that Vic Sage is an aggressive journalist, though only with his words. His knack for piercing a corrupt CEO’s mental defence is uncanny, reducing even the most hardened criminals and lawyers to tears with but a few questions. Vic is, however, primarily a searcher of the truth. If you’re innocent, he’ll clear your name. If you’re guilty, there won’t be a microorganism on the planet that doesn’t know about it. For all of the intelligence and contacts Vic possesses, some cases need a more hands-on approach.

The Question, or ‘man without a face’ as you may know him, is a vigilante more feared than understood. To other heroes he is approachable, trustworthy, and most importantly productive; as long as he hasn’t got something of his own that he’s working on. To the public, he’s a myth, a fairy story that assures Blackgate’s inmates sleep with an eye open. To villains, he’s a nightmare. The Question isn’t eager to make his presence known, but when he does he does so with brutality and ferocity. He doesn’t have any kind of ‘no-kill rule’. He will intimidate and harass his opponents, analysing them as he goes to find weak spots and flaws. The Question seeks out justice wherever Vic cannot, and by whatever means necessary.

Powers: None

Abilities:

• Advanced Hand-to-Hand Combat - Vic is highly skilled at fighting hand-to-hand, having been trained by the likes of Richard Dragon and Batman, to name a couple. His acrobatic prowess and physical conditioning aid his impressive fighting abilities. He shows no aversion to fighting brutal and dirty, making him a tricky opponent even when he's unusually outclassed at martial arts. He practices Dragon-style Kung Fu.
  
• Genius-Level Intellect - To say Vic is an intelligent man would be an understatement. He thinks creatively and with strong reason, which when coupled with his honed detective mind and investigative skills makes him one of the highest-rated intellectuals in crime-fighting.
  
• Journalism - If there's a story to be known, Vic Sage will probably be the one telling you about it. His ability to pick apart evidence and relay information proves useful in many aspects of his life.
  
• Intimidation - A man without a face is scary enough. Vic has spent time training his ability to intimidate and, though he would rarely venture into torture, his aggressive methods usually bring about some kind of positive outcome.
  
• Determination - As you might expect, The Question is not a man easily broken. His self-assurance and willpower can sometimes make him an uncomfortable partner, but always make him a powerful vigilante.
  
• Philosophy - A learned man, Vic even calls himself a philosopher. He has taken the time to understand modern life in structured and realistic terms, understanding the functions of a city's different people and the city itself on a deeper level.
  
• Disguise - Vic has a talent for disguising himself and easily blending into whatever situation he needs. It has been reported that even allies assume he'd 'gone invisible'. He is a man of many faces and many personalities if need be.
  
• Firearms - Though it isn't his favourite talent to have, The Question understands the importance of knowing how to wield a firearm effectively if he's dishing out justice on the streets. Vic has trained himself to be skilled with a gun. He'd be more likely to wrap a metal pole round your face than shooting you, but if he absolutely needs to, don't expect him to miss.
  

Equipment:

• Pseudoderm Mask - The Question's trademark mask completely conceals any facial features of the wearer, including their eyes and mouth. The face of the wearer appears completely covered in skin. Vic uses a special gas that bonds the mask to his face and another which reacts with the first chemical to allow the mask to be removed. This is so that, as is often necessary, his mask cannot be removed by the punks and thugs who get their hands on his face.
• Calling Cards - More than just a bit of theatrics, Q's calling cards are an extension of the urban myth surrounding his vigilante persona. They can intimidate far more than a fist. The cards initially seem blank, but when touched by human skin they emit a cloud of smoke in the shape of a question mark, and an inky question mark emerges onto the face of the card.
  
• Police Radio - Yes, it's stolen. Who wants to try and arrest him for it? The radio keeps Vic updated on serious criminal disturbances in whatever district or city he finds himself in when tuned the correct way; which it usually is.
• Tracers, Binoculars, etc. - The Question may not have the awesome arsenal of Batman, but he does keep a few important items with him to help solve crimes and catch crooks. The 'trackers' are probably his most technologically advanced, being hooked up to Q's personal GPS. Otherwise, his crime-fighting equipment is purely mechanical.
  

Weaknesses:

• Human - At least Vic doesn't have a weakness to kryptonite. In truth though, in a world overcrowded with super-beings and powerful perps, it's not such an advantage to be one of the few who seriously can be killed with a bullet. Or get sick. Or break bones. This is more like a few weaknesses in one.
  
• Self-Reliance - Nobody denies The Question's skills as a vigilante, but it is clear that his reluctance to work with others unless absolutely necessary can count against him. He's not incredibly trusting of most people, it comes with the job; and he's definitely less trusting of guys running around in spandex and capes.
  
• Thorough Investigation - Q is rarely happy to let a case die just because the bad guy is behind bars forever. His inquisitive mind forces him to tie up loose ends, which can be time consuming and, more dangerously, lead him to discoveries that he likely has no intention of knowing about.
  

History:

Charles Szasz was essentially born an orphan, raised by a group of abusive catholic officials who recognised the boy as a trouble maker. His violent tendencies were very prominent even from an early age. This sort of behaviour only led Charlie to be abused more by the nuns and victimised by the other children. Charlie did manage to achieve though, and eventually left the orphanage to study journalism at college. Far from smooth sailing, Charlie found himself brutally beating a druge dealer whilst at college for giving him LSD; the young man saw red when he realised that his own senses could no longer be trusted. Charlie did graduate though, and created a name for himself under the alias of Vic Sage, an investigative journalist well known for obnoxiousness in Hub City.

A career in journalism is no easy path, but Vic Sage quickly made a name for himself as one of the most effective and outspoken reporters on the east coast. It wasn't long before the ginger-haired Sage moved into TV journalism, earning him a great reputation as a face as well as a voice. It was during this career-building time that Vic's work led him to investigate Dr. Arby Twain, which would alter the course of his life forever.

Charlie's former professor Dr. Aristotle 'Tot' Rodor, who was an old colleague of Dr. Twain, approached Sage to tell him about pseudoderm. psuedoderm was an artificial skin that Tot had developed with Twain based on the technology of Gotham criminal Doctor No Face and research into gingold, the chemical responsible for Elongated Man's powers. The experiments hadn't been successful, as the bonding gas used with pseudoderm proved toxic when applied to open wounds. Despite this, Dr. Twain intended to sell it as a product to third world countries, going against the agreement he made with Tot to abandon the project.

It didn't take a saint to know that Dr. Twain was doing wrong, but Vic had no way of preventing the sale legally. The risk to his safety and career were too great unless the reporter could find a way to conceal his identity as he attempted to stop Arby Twain in his tracks. Fortunately, Vic's lack of open wounds meant that he could wear a mask of pseudoderm to cover his features. The faceless vigilante was successful in extracting a confession from Twain after stopping him, and likely saved lives in the process. Vic decided to keep the mask and identity, becoming The Question, a vigilante who could find the answers that media-friendly Vic Sage would struggle to. It gave Charlie a way to channel his violence, and only served to aid his development as one of the country's foremost investigative journalist.

RP Sample:

Crooks came in all shapes and sizes. Some wandered Hub's lonely alleys with a pocket knife and some old dear's pension tucked into their inside pocket, others sat in their ivory towers with the pension leftovers neatly packed into the safe under their desk; presumably the latter quite liked to cull the population every now and then with corrupt economics. The Question knew full well that that night would require him to tackle both extremes of Hub's evil. Not-so-carefully dropping Harry to the floor by the scruff of his blood-soaked neck, Q couldn't help rejoice a little as the thug fell back onto the remains of his own teeth on the floor. He was out cold, and so he deserved to be after the state he'd left Vic's favourite leather gloves in from the beating he took. Ever-aware of the task at hand, Question pulled up Harry's jacket and sifted through the inside pockets. Sure enough, there was the bank account details that this punk had just unknowingly robbed from the wife of the district's police chief. Funny how things can work out.

Though you wouldn't tell, Vic grinned behind his faceless mask as he read through the bank's reports. Lots of 'donations' had been made to the police chief from Morelli and co. ltd, Luigi Morelli's 'legitimate' Hub City business relations. It doesn't need to be said that in a city like Hub, nothing is as legitimate as it seems. Police bribes, maybe even fulfilled contracts, whatever they were they were evidence. And with this information it wouldn't take long for Vic to strangle all the messy details out of Police Chief Anderson. Still, something needed to be done with the barely-breathing Harry first, lying on the soaked floor in a puddle of his own blood and tears.

Carefully folding the stained evidence into his trenchcoat pocket, Question clattered around some bins by the side of the scene where he'd brutally beaten the mugger. A bit of old rope and rags would do fine. Q managed to find the dirtiest and smelliest old t-shirts, it looked like, to wrap his catch in. Groaning a little as he dragged Harry's limp arms and legs around, Q tied them very tightly so that the arms were round the front. Once sure that any threat to civilization was contained (perhaps an exaggeration), Question lifted the prat over to a dingy yellow dumpster down at the other end of the alley. Q tossed Harry in forcefully, making sure the old banana peels and rotten foods wiped over him. Grabbing an old bin lid, Question collected some of the clogged rainwater and drenched Harry, waking the thug up from his deep sleep.

As Harry coughed and spluttered, Vic drew a cell phone from his coat and threw it in with him. Before any questions could be asked, Question explained:
"That cell is hooked so that it only sends out emergencies to the police. It's up to you, starve to death or turn yourself in." Vic had a way of being pretty matter-of-fact when it came to Hub's lowlifes. He leant in closer and tugged on the rags bounding Harry's arms, checking they were loose enough to operate the phone.
"I really couldn't care less," he insisted. It was essentially the truth; whether Harry rang the cops or not, Hub felt a little cleaner tonight. With that Q slammed the dumpster shut and fitted a padlock to it. Nothing that the police couldn't break through, just something to keep it shut. As Vic walked off, collecting his hat and fixing it atop his head, he couldn't help but chuckle as realised what he forgot.
"You're on 47th Street!" he yelled, recognising the dazed punk probably wouldn't know where he is. Did Harry hear him? Maybe he fell back asleep? The 'empathy' in The Question's faceless expression said it all - Who cares?

[Mister Mxyzptlk]

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