Renee Montoya is struggling with her self-esteem, and her relationship with Kate is on the rocks. So just another day for her. Can she fight her inner demons as well as those on the Watchtower?

The key to a good detective story is often stated to be one in which the reader also has access to the clues so they can make an educated guess on who the culprit is. So, what do we know so far? Two Superman villains (and yes, I hate that the Eradicator has to be classified as such) have attacked the Watchtower, both of whom have tech-based abilities. We know that heroes have been mind-controlled by the Eradicator and were used to attack Kenn Kawa, who might’ve figured it out. But the Eradicator is currently being held away from everyone and is about to be questioned by the Question (pun absolutely intended and shakily implemented).

Now, this is the DC Universe, and since we can guess that the culprit is someone who manipulates metal, it's possible to whittle down our choices to a few suspects. Unfortunately, we can’t really tell as the story doesn’t provide any villains with motives, which is the first major issue. As for the second, the blame can be placed at Renee’s feet.

Renee has been wholly ineffectual throughout the series, both as a detective and as a security chief. She has struggled to shut down any attacks on the Watchtower by herself and hasn’t done any detective work to find clues on who the suspect is. Her investigations in this issue… involve putting on a Kryptonite ring and committing police brutality on the captured Eradicator (not aware that he could be hurt by Kryptonite, but what do I know). The fact that she couldn’t learn anything from him is either another sign of her incompetence or a demonstration of the futility of torturing people for information. But something tells me the latter might be accidental.

But of course, Renee has figured it all out off-panel in her mind, just as the main villain makes his presence known. Again, this sounds like intentional comedy, but it's not. Even the villains go out of their way to tell the Question that she was the best choice to figure out their plot if only the League had brought her on sooner. This reminds me of James Tynion’s run on Detective Comics, which, in an attempt to appeal to Tim Drake fans, went above and beyond to show how smart and cool he was. While some people will appreciate it, others will find the flattery to be deceiving.

As for the art, the colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr. are pretty solid, but it is time for Kenn to be forcibly aged beyond his years. I didn’t go into this series expecting this to be a running gag, but if they keep handing me the material…

Recommended If

• You must have every comic with Renee Montoya as the lead
• You’re reading all the Justice League related comics for a complete picture
• You like Fajardo Jr.’s work

Overall

The Question: All Along The Watchtower #3 doesn’t manage to do much with its mystery plot and leaves the reader with the same question as the Question herself — why is she here? I actually like the idea of Renee uncovering a conspiracy aboard the Watchtower or even working as a detective to figure out supervillain plots. Unfortunately, the plot seems to be more interested in spending time with Renee’s struggles, none of which comes off as novel.

Score: 5/10

Disclaimer: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of review.