6) The Question(s)
A throwback to classic pulp heroes like the Shadow or the Spirit, Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko’s The Question was originally made for Charlton Comics before being subsumed into the DC universe. A hard-hitting journalist by day, Vic Sage used a featureless mask to fight crime and corruption in his hometown of Hub City. What made The Question stand out from the crowd was his philosophical outlook and commitment to fighting social injustice
Though Sage wasn’t a detective by profession, he definitely had the spirit of one. His protege Renee Montoya, however, was an alcoholic ex-detective for the Gotham City Police Department. Before he died of lung cancer, Sage trained Montoya as the next Question, operating out of a lighthouse. Montoya’s Question often allies with Batman and has joined a team of superheroines formed by Wonder Woman.
It’s worth mentioning that Watchmen‘s Rorschach is a pastiche of The Question, so shares the character’s thirst for fighting crime and dogged detective ways. That said, he’s a fair bit more unhinged than Sage, to put it mildly.