To the surprise of absolutely no one, Renee Montoya finally donned The Question’s Pseudoderm™ mask last week and kicked some Intergang tail.

We’re a bit saddened by the development, and it’s not because Ditko heroes are beginning to rival Infinity Incorporated and Justice League International characters in fatalities.

While the Keeper feels DC pulled the plug on Vic Sage a bit too soon (it seems a bit odd, considering the character played such a pivotal role in Justice League Unlimited), your humble host is especially dismayed to see Montoya join the spandex set.

Put simply, she doesn’t need to don a mask and embark on a mission of redemption. Montoya was already a unique and compelling character as a plainclothes cop - a role that filled a far greater need in the DC universe than the addition of yet another legacy hero.

Once upon a time, civilians played a major role in comic books. In the Golden Age, hard-boiled detectives and crime-busting reporters headlined their own features.

After World War II relinquished the main stage to Communist agents and radiation-spawned menaces, heroic scientists and patriotic military men reassured anxious comics fans.

Even after super-heroes regained their popularity, writers and artists surrounded their mythical creations with strong supporting casts. Characters like Carol Ferris, J. Jonah Jameson and Foggy Nelson ensured the newest generation of super-humans remained down-to-earth.

(Literally in the case of Hank Pym, who exclusively surfed the Anternet™ before Janet Van Dyne showed up.)

In recent years, perhaps reflecting the comics’ own shrinking audience, super-heroes mingled less with ordinary people. Spider-Man’s once rich supporting cast dwindled down to his aunt and wife, with plenty of appearances from the increasingly popular New Avengers.

DC’s elite heroes are on a first-name basis these days, but aside from Lois Lane and (to a lesser extent) Jimmy Olsen there aren’t many civilians text-messaging JLA members these days.

It’s as if ordinary people aren’t good enough to be in the company of super-heroes these days, an attitude exemplified by Reginald Hudlin’s assertion that Superman should have married Wonder Woman instead of Lois.

Since her introduction to the Bat mythos a few years back, Montoya (along with Crispus Allen, another strong character diminished by his newfound association with a cape) was an exception to this apparent rule.

Under the auspices of Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker, her life was as rich and (arguably) more complex than DC’s main attractions. Montoya’s struggle to regain control of her life in anarchic Gotham was heroic, even if the attempt was ultimately doomed to failure.

Now she is a second-generation cape who replaced a much-beloved - but not necessarily popular - cult hero. Will the traits that made Montoya unique disappear under the shadow of Vic Sage?

If the outcome is even remotely similar to Crispus Allen’s Spectre, the future doesn’t look all that bright.