Hawk and Dove
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- For other uses see Hawk and dove (disambig)
Hawk and Dove are the names used by a number of DC Comics superheroes who fight crime together as duos, despite their sharply differing methods and attitudes about violence. This difference is signified by the bird iconography: the hawk typically representing aggression, and the dove representing pacifism.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] Hank and Don Hall
Created by Steve Ditko and Steve Skeates, brothers Hank and Don Hall first appeared in Showcase #75. The pair gained their powers of heightened strength and agility from a mysterious voice and fought crime together as Hawk & Dove, despite their diametrically opposed opinions about the use of force. The conservative Hawk (Hank) was hot-headed and reactionary, whereas the liberal Dove (Don) was more thoughtful and reasoned (but prone to indecisiveness). Their father, a judge, displayed more balanced political beliefs and firmly disapproved of vigilantism, not knowing his sons were costumed adventurers.
Their own title, The Hawk and the Dove, ran for six issues from 1968 to 1969. Ditko only plotted the first issue, and left after the second one. Skeates was reportedly unhappy with the direction the book was taking, feeling that Don was being portrayed as an ineffective wimp, rather than a pro-active pacifist. He would leave after the fourth issue, leaving artist Gil Kane as writer thru the last issue.
After their series ended they became semi-regulars in Teen Titans, eventually joining Titans West. Dove died in 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths while saving a young boy from a building being attacked by deadly shadow creatures. The creature that killed Don came from behind him and Don was too far away for the horrified Hank to do anything about.
A statue of Don is part of the memorial at Titans Tower in San Francisco.
Hawk continued on his own, but without Dove to restrain him, he became excessively violent to the point where many of the superhero community considered him nearly as much trouble as the supervillains.
[edit] Hank Hall and Dawn Granger
Image:Hawk and Dove2.jpg In 1988, a new Hawk and Dove mini-series written by Karl and Barbara Kesel reintroduced Hawk and Dove in a 5-issue mini series. The beginning of the series introduced a woman named Dawn Granger, the second Dove. She mysteriously received her powers while in London, enabling her to save her mother from terrorists. This Dove, while considerably more aggressive and self confident than Don, also has greater-than-average strength and dexterity, faster-than-human speed, and expanded mental capabilities. She also heals incredibly quickly and cannot revert to Dawn if her wounds or some other condition would be fatal to Dawn. Dove fights mostly defensively, preferring to out-think and remain in control of her opponent.
Set in Washington, D.C. (where the duo attended Georgetown University), the series introduced several supporting characters, including Hank's girlfriend, Ren Takamori, and friends Kyle Spenser, and Donna Cabot. They also worked with police Captain Brian 'Sal' Arsala, who would develop a mutual admiration with Dawn. It also introduced Barter, owner of BARTER TRADING: Exotic Goods and Services, and Kestrel, an evil spell created by M'Shulla and Gorrum to unbalance the uneasy alliance between Chaos and Order.
In the series, it was revealed that Dawn received her powers the moment Don had been stripped of them.
During the series Kestrel, in the body of Ren Takamori, invited Hawk & Dove to the mystical land of Druspa Tau - also home to Lords of Chaos and Order. Hawk & Dove cut a deal with Barter to transverse dimensions to Druspa Tau. Once in Druspa Tau, Hawk & Dove saw their true forms and found their abilities were heightened exponentially. Meanwhile, a war was brewing between Chaos Lord M'Shulla and followers of Arriya, the Lord of Order. Finding themselves on opposite sides, Hawk and Dove were forced to do battle. Meanwhile, a countryman named Rome encountered Barter - who helped him summon Arriya, the Lord of Order, when he learned her true name: Terataya. Hawk & Dove met Terataya, the Lord of Order who gave Dove her powers, and T'Charr, the Lord of Chaos who gave Hawk his - the two entities fused together as one entity. These two Lords had fallen in love and reveal that Hawk and Dove were experimental spells cast by the pair to prove that the two conflicting mystic houses could work together; fatally injured during that adventure, the two Lords of Order and Chaos gave the remainder of their essences to make the Hawk and Dove spells permanent. This merging gave both Hawk and Dove enhanced powers, but it meant there will be no new Hawk or Dove if either of the current heroes died. Hawk and Dove also learned their abilities were upgraded: Dove could fly and Hawk was stronger and bulletproof.
[edit] Armageddon 2001 and Zero Hour
In 1991, in an editorial snafu concerning the miniseries Armageddon 2001, word leaked out that the central time-travelling villain of the piece (known as Monarch) was actually Captain Atom. Monarch had originally been conceived as a future identity of Captain Atom (post psychotic-break); Waverider had even 'checked' Hawk's future in Hawk & Dove Annual #2. In a last-ditch effort to provide a 'surprise twist', DC changed the storyline. Sales on Hawk & Dove had dipped, and the series was slotted for cancellation, so Monarch's identity was revealed as the future Hank Hall. Monarch attacked Hawk and Dove and managed to murder Dawn in front of Hank, causing him to suffer the psychotic break, kill Monarch, and assume the villainous identity. He briefly became a recurring foe for Captain Atom before changing his name to Extant in Zero Hour. Later, he challenged the Justice Society of America, an encounter that led directly to his demise when Atom Smasher used the New God Metron's mobius chair to transfer Hall onto a doomed plane in place of the Atom-Smasher's mother. Despite this, a statue of him is in the Titans Tower memorial in San Francisco.
In JSA, Dove's apparent death and Hawk's turning evil was revealed to be part of a larger plan by the evil sorcerer, Mordru.
[edit] A new Hawk and Dove
Another Hawk (Sasha Martens) and Dove (Wiley Wolverman), appeared in a six-issue mini-series in 1997, written by Mike Baron. In this version, completely unrelated to the concept of the Lords of Chaos and Order, the duo's conflicting personalities manifested as "military brat" and "slacker dude," respectively. They gained large bird wings and a telepathic link by receiving experimental medical treatments as children.
Following the mini-series, the new Hawk and Dove made a handful of cameo appearances in Titans-related books, before seemingly disappearing.
[edit] Holly and Dawn Granger
In 2003, JSA issues #45-50 told of a mysterious woman in a coma who was taken into the care of the Justice Society. Initially thought to be the coma-addled body of Hector Hall's missing wife, Hippolyta Trevor, the woman was revealed to be none other than the presumed-dead Dawn Granger. Dawn's "death" was revealed to be a hoax orchestrated by the villain Mordru, who was also revealed to have caused Hank's insanity. Dawn later gained a new partner when her estranged and aggressive British sister, Holly Granger, was granted the mystical powers of Chaos, becoming the third Hawk. Holly's first appearances was in Teen Titans (3rd series) #22-23, joining her sister and many other former Titans against a newly evil Dr. Light. The duo later re-teamed with the Titans to rescue Raven's "soul self" from their old nemesis, Kestrel.
In the Day of Vengeance limited series, the Spectre attacks and apparently destroys T'Charr and Terataya. Despite this, Hawk and Dove were shown during a world-wide prison break, being contacted telepathically by J'onn J'onzz. Both were in costume, and Dove was carrying Hawk while flying. In Teen Titans (3rd series) #34 post Infinite Crisis, Holly and Dawn are shown in Titans Tower sometime during the previous year, with dialogue from Hawk implying that they were at the time members of the Teen Titans. Their association with the team seems to have been temporary and they no longer are active members.
[edit] Other media
Animated versions of Hawk and Dove I were featured alongside Wonder Woman in an episode of Justice League Unlimited entitled "Hawk and Dove."
This version of the duo depicts a stronger relationship between the brothers; Don is more self confident, and their philosophical bickering is more like a brotherly teasing. They are voiced by Jason Hervey and Fred Savage, both of whom starred in the TV series The Wonder Years as brothers Wayne and Kevin Arnold. Ironically, there is a role reversal: Savage, who played nerdy Kevin, voices the violent Hawk, while Hervey, who played the bully Wayne, voices the pacifist Dove.
In this episode, their fighting styles were thoroughly contrasted. Hawk employs brute-force, aggressive tactics, at times resembling nothing so much as an American football-player. Dove, on the other hand, uses a blend of techniques reminiscent of aikido or perhaps judo, using his attacker's movements to fling them aside. Wonder Woman used them to help stop Ares' plot from causing war in Kasnia.
