Question vs Rorschach

The Question vs. Rorschach is a What-If? episode of Death Battle restarted by the ArtificialDragon, featuring The Question from DC Comics and Rorschach from Watchmen.

Description
DC vs Watchman. The original faceless detective vs the popular violent anti-hero. Who is the superior palette swap?

Interlude
Wiz: Superheroes come in many shapes and sizes, whether it's a gifted prodigy, a billionaire, an alien, or even gods.

Boomstick: Then there are these two faceless individuals who are so out of their depth they are considered outcasts from society, even by their fellow heroes.

Wiz: Why does that remind me of a certain co-host?

Boomstick: Shut up!!

Wiz: The Question, the Justice League's resident Conspiracy Theorist

Boomstick: And Rorschach, the violent anti-hero of the Crimebusters.

Wiz: I'm Wiz and he's Boomstick and it's our job to analyse their weapons, armour, and skills to find out who would win, a Death Battle!

The Question
'''Boomstick: The Justice League of America, a team of individuals made up of many different superheroes. Ranging from the godly Superman and Wonderwomen and the "normal" Batman.'''

Wiz: But even amongst this crowd of extraordinary beings, there were a questionable few that stood out. And no one presented that more, then the Question himself.

'''Boomstick: I know what you're thinking, just who is the Question? Man, isn't that the Question of the hour?'''

Wiz: Before he became the faceless vigilante, Vic Sage was born as Charles Victor Szasz and grew up as an orphan.

'''Boomstick: Little Vic was a trouble maker around the orphanage and it was his mission to endure all the physical abuse that was thrown at him. Even when he went to a higher education, his attitude didn't change. Man and people say I have issues.'''

Wiz: Eventually after graduating from college Victor made his mark in Hub city as an outspoken and aggressive reporter.

Boomstick: Once moving on as a Tv Reporter Vic would find himself down a path that would alter his life forever, well except the whole enduring abuse part.

Wiz: One day he along with his college professor, Aristotle Rodor were investigating Barby Twain, a colleague of Rodor's who had been doing some, pretty illegal dealings.

Boomstick: See both of the professors created something called Pseudoderm based on the notes of Gotham City criminal Bart Magan and research of Gingold, the same chemical responsible for creating Elongated Man.

Wiz: This synthetic polymer was created to be an invisible band aid, but as perfect as it was it proved to be toxic to open wounds and the project was scrapped.

Boomstick: Though willing to get something out of it and despite knowing the dangers, good old Twain was keen on selling the invention to third world countries for a huge profit.

Wiz: Though there was a small problem. Vic couldn't go after the good doctor, without exposing his famous face.

'''Boomstick: So he and his scientist buddy came up with a fool proof plan! Vic would become someone else entirely to find the incriminating evidence he needed. With a mask of the skin wizardry, Vic now had his answer!'''

Wiz: His Pseudoderm mask would serve as a simple, yet perfect disguise making him appear faceless. He sticks this mask to his face via a special aftershave and binary gas that he releases from his belt, that also somehow changes the colour of his clothes and hair, and can't be taken off by conventional means unless he reapplies the gas.

Boomstick: Now looking like the Slenderman's civilised cousin, Vic set to work on bringing down the evil doctor, force a confession out of him, and leaving him just deserts.

Wiz: With his first outing a success, Vic saw the potential in doing more with this new identity.

Boomstick: Thus he became the literal man with no face!

Wiz: But to the world he was only known as The Question. With his new alter ego Vic Sage would go on to solve numerous other investigations and fight crime while occasionally teamed up with other super heroes like the second Blue Beetle and even Batman.

Boomstick: And he's well built for the job, supposedly for a normal human Mr Sage is strong enough to break a man's arm with his bare hands.

Wiz: Early in his career he was a sloppy if ruthless street fighter, but with some training under Richard Dragon he became skilled in martial arts specifically the Dragon style of Kung Fu.

'''Boomstick: But that's not the only skill he had developed, along with his journalism he is a proficient acrobat and has knowledge in many mythologies and philosophies. He's even given the Batman villain "The Riddler" a run for his money with his own Riddles.'''

Wiz: He is most renown for his skill as a detective which is second only to Batman, he can easily spot things out of the ordinary that others normally overlook and is more open minded to outrageous phenomena. In fact, he is so good, even the worlds greatest detective himself implies that he is his superior.

'''Boomstick: That's really saying something, but he is arguably better at intimidation then old bats. I mean if I walked in an alley, and all I saw was a faceless man, I would probably shit my pants.

Wiz: Like Batman, The Question is also a skilled interrogator and is feared by criminals due to his ruthless tactics that normal heroes don't have the stomach for. One time he even went as far as using a chainsaw to make a killer talk.

'''Boomstick: Forget shitting my pants Wiz, I don't think I ever want to leave the house ever again! Could you bring some beer for me? I'll love you forever.'''

Wiz: Not going to happen Boomstick. Anyway, if that wasn't enough there's even more to this normal hero. During a particularly hard time in his career, Vic sought to learn shamanistic techniques which apply to the city.

'''Boomstick: Oh great! Not only is this guy creepy as hell, but now he's a magician too?!'''

Wiz: He's more of a Street Shaman, using the very magic of the Earth itself, but wielding it in a more urban environment. With this, the city essentially speaks to him through the people, he uses this along with his detective skills to track down organisations so elusive not even the Man of Steel himself can't find.

'''Boomstick: Holy crap! This guy sounds overpowered the more you know about him, doesn't he?'''

Wiz: Well, funny you should say that. With his shamanism, he can do other things such as talk to spirits, see the dead, look through walls, sense chi in others including Earth itself, and even manifest his chi on the spiritual plane to spy on others and interact with objects and people while his physical body is in another place.

'''Boomstick: Well, thank you for feeding on my paranoia Wiz. Time to say good bye to this cruel world!'''

Wiz: Unlike my co-host here, The Question has endured a lot of ridiculous situations.

Boomstick: Hey!

Wiz: He's tough enough to block a swing from a baseball bat, strong enough to send someone flying into a concrete wall with enough force to crack it, fast enough to catch up to a speeding truck, and has survived being smashed into the ground by Killer Croc, who according to Batman is strong enough to lift a school bus.

'''Boomstick: With his skill, he was able to hold his own against Lady Shiva, the Greatest Assassin in the World, reacted quick enough to block a bullet with a meat clever, is able to dodge automatic fire, multiple times, and has the endurance to fight crime for thirty-six hours straight, without sleep! Jesus, what is up with these "normal" heroes being stronger than the average human? '''

Wiz: Speaking of that despite his endurance and skill as a vigilante, The Question is not perfect. He is hardly the sanest individual, is highly paranoid, and while his detective skill is great enough to be recognised by the Justice League they tolerate him at best because of his eccentric personality and ridiculous conspiracy theories.

Boomstick: Heck, even Batman of all people believes he is a bit off of his rocker.

Wiz: Also while he is stronger than the average human, he still as fallible as any other mortal man. He even died once in the comics from lung cancer...only to be brought back to life as a Black Lantern.

Boomstick: AKA Space Zombies!!

Wiz: Regardless there is no denying that The Question is definitely not someone you want to cross if you so value your life.

'''Boomstick: Also for a crazy faceless magical detective he really knows how to get the hottest heroine ever, second only to Black Canary of course. Hehe, score.'''

The Question: Don't touch that!

'Huntress: Wow. I never knew the Girl Scouts were responsible for the crop circle phenomenon.'

'The Question: Few people do. Few even think to ask the question.'

Rorschach
Wiz: The dystopian world of The Watchmen takes place during the contemporary period of the 80s, but with several key differences.

'''Boomstick: The most relevant one being that superheroes are an actual thing, though they are more like glorified crime fighters as they all don't have actual superpowers. The exception is Doctor Manhattan, who doesn't know anything about pants apparently.'''

Wiz: Though over time, superheroes became unpopular to the public and were banned, in accordance to "the Keene Act". Many of the heroes were forced to retire, with only a select few continue their service with the United States government.

'''Boomstick: Though in New York City, there was one hero who continued to operate outside of the jurisdiction of the law. He was known as the World's Greatest Detective, the ink-blotted masked vigilante that citizens and criminals everywhere knew as Rorschach. '''

Wiz: Before he became the humanoid version of the psychological test, he was born as Walter Joseph Kovacs in 1940.

Boomstick: Ya get ready ladies and gentlemen, this man's life is one heck of a rollercoaster.

Wiz: That's putting it mildly, Boomstick.

'''Boomstick: Anyway, young Walter was the son of a prostitute and an unknown father so you could say he was the original bastard child. His mother would constantly abused him, which didn't exactly help when he was also picked on by bullies because they considered him ugly and they are kinda right. '''

Wiz: One day at the age of eleven, Walter has had enough and decided to stand up to his bullies and this surprisingly resulted in him being taken away from his current living conditions and be put in an orphanage.

Boomstick: Huh, what a coincidence!

Wiz: Now out of his abusive mother's grasp and in a better setting, Walter slowly started to improve. He took up many studies including several philosophies, gymnastics, and even a little bit of boxing. After leaving the orphanage at 16 years old he got a job as a garment worker in a dress shop.

'''Boomstick: Life started looking up for Walter until he read about the rape and subsequent murder of Kitty Genovese. This is what caused him to snap, leading him down a path that he could never stray away from.'''

Wiz: Disillusioned with the witnesses of the murder standing by and doing nothing to prevent it, Walter not wanting any further innocents to to be killed by the scum of the world wanted to take matters into his own hands.

'''Boomstick: So Mr Kovacs made a mask out of a certain fabric that strangely acted similarly to his namesake to serve as his true and more beautiful face, put on a trench coat along with a sick fedora, killed a rapist in the process, and became a new harbinger of justice. '''

Wiz: From that very strange and bloody night Walter took up the name of Rorschach, becaming a well-renowned and feared vigilante. He joined the team of superheroes called "Crimebuster" where he worked alongside his partner the second Nite Owl.

'''Boomstick: During his early days he wasn't always the violent anti-hero he was famous for. Originally he only beats up criminals and leaves them for the Police along with a Rorschach test as his calling card. '''

Wiz: That however all changed. One fateful day he was investigating the disappearance of a young girl and had followed the trail to the house of a man named Gerald Grice. There he found out the unfortunate, and grizzly fate of the child. This is where his darker nature took hold.

'''Boomstick: During his mental breakdown, Rorschach proceeded to kill the man's dogs, who were eating the remains of the girl and then lite the shack on fire with the murderer still inside. It's safe to say that the guy got what he deserved.'''

Wiz: On that day Walter Kovacs died and the vigilante Rorschach was truly born. Now bounded by a strict black and white view of the world, he never compromises to evil.

Boomstick: Rorschach may have no superpowers, but believe me he is anything, but simple.

Wiz: He rarely carries any weapons on hand, but the one piece of equipment he has is a gas operated grappling gun that was designed by Nite Owl when they were still partners. This gun can be used to scale tall buildings and traverse those hard to reach places.

'''Boomstick: Or be used as a makeshift harpoon!! Good god, now that is deadly and a bit unsettling! '''

Wiz: He is adept with firearms and using any object he gets his hands on as a weapon. He is also stronger than the average human and has great precision and timing.

'''Boomstick: He is a skilled street fighter, acrobat, has excelled in literature, mathematics, political science, and religious education, and is damn good at intimidation and detective work. He's pretty much a more realistic version of Batman if he wasn't a billionaire and was completely unstable.'''

Wiz: Though despite his instability he has been described as an intelligent and tactically brilliant individual. Combined with that and his high tolerance to pain makes him a dangerous and unpredictable opponent.

'''Boomstick: While superheroes are now illegal, that didn't stop him from doing his mission as a ruthless vigilante. He's strong enough to break a security glass door, discovered the secret compartment of The Comedian when police detectives couldn't, had a hand in killing several of the coldest individuals of the criminal underworld, and was tough enough to survive a fall from a several story building and beaten up by several police officers, he was more pissed off than hurt.'''

Wiz: Not as impressive as the time he went to Antartica, and despite wearing nothing but his usual trench coat and street clothes showed no discomfort whatsoever.

'''Boomstick: Wait, how cold is Antarctica?

Wiz: The average temperature of Antarctica is at around minus 49 degrees Celsius. In comparison, the average temperature for a home freezer is minus 14 degrees Celsius. The lowest temperature the human body can take before expiring is minus 21 degrees Celsius. Rorschach's body can handle over two times that.

'''Boomstick: Damn, that is impressive! I have been in a freezer before and it is not fun if you stay in there for too long.'''

Wiz: Wait...why on earth were you in the freezer?

Boomstick: Ummm sciency stuff?

Wiz: Suuureeee. While Rorschach is insanely intimidating and hardy, he has just as many flaws. Like his fellow heroes, he is nothing more than a mortal man with a mask. Most importantly his insanity along with his firm black and white morality and questionable tactics alienate him from society, which includes his colleagues.

Boomstick: Not to mention he is just as ruthless as the very criminals he has made his personal mission to fight against, but I guess what comes around goes around.

Wiz: While his refusal to compromise his views is quite admirable, this is what ultimately leads to his downfall when Doctor Manhattan was forced to kill him to keep quiet of a conspiracy set in motion by Ozymandias to unite world nations in light of a false alien invasion which resulted in the destruction of New York City causing the death of millions.

'''Boomstick: Though aside from getting killed by an actual superhero, Rorschach is the scourge of the criminal underworld for a good reason. Any criminal or evildoer who crosses paths with him, you may as well pray for a quick death or he will make you suffer.'''

'Rorschach: None of you seem to understand. I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with ME!'

Interlude
Wiz: Alright the combatants are set. Let's end this debate once and for all.

Boomstick: It's time for a Death Battle!!!