[1] Renee is initially a detective from the Gotham City Police Department, assigned to the Major Crimes Unit, who comes into frequent contact with Batman.

She made her cinematic debut in the 2020 DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film Birds of Prey,[2] portrayed by Rosie Perez.

[6] Gotham City is destroyed by an earthquake in Cataclysm and closed off from the rest of the United States in the No Man's Land story arc.

[9] Corrupt police officer Jim Corrigan steals and sells the bullet, which is needed to prove that the shooting was in self-defense.

[12] In the 2006–2007 series 52, Montoya, having been fired from the GCPD, is now a depressed alcoholic obsessing about the loss of her job and girlfriend Daria who had walked out on her three months previously, unable to watch Renée "destroy herself".

A dying Sage passes the Question identity to Montoya, who dons his mask before going after Bruno Mannheim, finding him and Whisper A'Daire as they are about to use Kate as a sacrificial victim.

[volume & issue needed] Montoya appears in Countdown #40 when Oracle solicits her help in capturing the Trickster and the Pied Piper, who are suspected to have killed Bart Allen.

Maggie Sawyer, corrupted by the Anti-Life Equation, emerges from Gotham Central along with the rest of the brainwashed police force.

Starting in Detective Comics #854, Montoya appeared in an ongoing backup feature written by Greg Rucka, with art by Cully Hamner.

Montoya takes the case of a missing illegal immigrant — the young sister of the man named Hector Soliz seeking her detective services.

She follows some leads to their hideout and discovers pornographic pictures of the girl, indicating she may have become involved in a child pornography or sexual slavery ring.

[15] While investigating a businessman whom she believes is involved with the slavery, Montoya is kidnapped and left to die after being tied up in the trunk of a car that is driven into a river.

[16] During the events of the 2009–2010 "Blackest Night" storyline, Montoya is tracked down by Lady Shiva, who claims that she wishes to test her in combat to see if she is a worthy successor to Victor.

The two women engage in a brutal fist fight, only to be interrupted when Vic Sage, now reanimated as a Black Lantern, arrives on the scene and attacks them.

After a drawn out battle, Renee discovers that Black Lanterns feed on emotions, and that if she is able to cut herself off from her feelings, she will become invisible.

Shiva reveals that she never intended to actually fight Montoya, but felt that attacking her would draw Victor out into the open so she could face him again.

Savage offers to shut down his criminal network in exchange for one of them taking the Mark of Cain, which had been branded onto his face by the Spectre during the events of Final Crisis.

Renee ultimately chooses to accept the Mark of Cain, ending Savage's reign of terror but leaving her face disfigured.

Batman sends Renee to Paris, France, to infiltrate the Golden Portal, a violent cult responsible for a number of deaths.

[23] As part of The New 52, a 2011 line-wide revision of DC superhero comics, including their fictional histories, Montoya appears in an image viewed by Batwoman on the GCPD's wall of honor.

James Tynion IV, a writer on Batman Eternal, revealed that the creative team almost included Montoya, but they decided against it: "We cut her out because we didn't want her to just be in the background of the GCPD.

Montoya appeared sporadically in Detective Comics, still working for the GCPD and slowly rebuilding her relationship with Kate Kane.

Renee rejoins the GCPD around the time of "A-Day", a massive attack on Arkham Asylum by the Joker that results in the deaths of dozens of inmates and staff;[28] the circumstances of why she gave up being the Question have yet to be depicted.

In The Next Batman: Second Son #1, Gotham City Mayor Christopher Nakano asks Renee to become the Commissioner of the GCPD to replace Jim Gordon, who has retired.

[36] IGN also listed Montoya as the 87th-greatest comic book hero of all time: a character representing ethnic diversity, who has undergone a tremendous personal transformation from humble beginnings.