Super-heroes published by
DC Comics.
Hawk and Dove first appeared
in
Showcase #75.
Within the mythos of DC Comics reside a group of powerful
extra-dimensional beings known as the Lords of Order and the
Lords of Chaos. These two groups of entities are in a constant
struggle to sway the cosmic order in one direction or the other. Their
efforts occasionally spill over into the lives of humans as in the cases
of Doctor Fate and Hawk and Dove.
In another dimension, one of the Lords of Order named Terataya and
a Lord of Chaos T'Charr did the unspeakable and fell in love. They
believed that the struggle between their two sides was in vain and
decided to prove that by performing an experiment with two human agents,
one powered by the forces of chaos and the other by the forces of order.
They believed that this would prove that Order and Chaos could not
only co-exist, but benefit from each other.
Enter Hank Hall and his brother Don. Sons of Judge Irwin Hall,
the two brothers were complete opposites, with Hank being an athletic,
brash man with a loud mouth, while Don was a quiet intellectual. Their
beliefs on most issues came down on opposite sides so the two were
always at odds with each other.
The two witnessed an attempt on their father's life by local crime kingpin,
Boss Dargo. A few days later, the brothers spotted the man who tried
to kill their father and followed him to their hide-out. The brothers
listened in to their plans, but became trapped in a storage room. In
frustration at their situation, Don said aloud that he wished to have
the power to do something about these unjust men. A disembodied voice
answered and offered the boys the power to fight crime. When Hank spoke the
word "Hawk" and Don spoke the word "Dove," the two found themselves
clothed in costumes and with special abilities. Hank gained increased
strength, while Don gained the heightened agility. The two would only
stay in costume until justice was served and then they would return to
their normal selves.
The two used their abilities to defeat Boss Dargo and his men, turning
them over to the proper authorities. They were shocked to learn however
that their father denounced them as vigilantes, so they were forced to
keep their identities and abilities secret from their family.
For many years, the two used their abilities to fight crime. They were
members of the Teen Titans for a time as well.
Over the years, however,
Dove began to become increasingly violent, falling under the influence of
Chaos. Terataya and T'Charr realized that their plans had been tainted,
but decided to try again with a new host for the Order power. During the
Crisis on Infinite Earths, Don Hall was trying to rescue some innocent
children, when he suddenly found himself stripped of his powers. He died
from injuries when he was crushed under a falling wall.
On the other side of the world, a young woman named Dawn Grainger
suddenly found herself endowed with the powers of Dove and used her
new found powers to protect her father, an ambassador, from a terrorist
attack. The new Dove soon teamed up with Hawk and the two began
adventuring together.
The two eventually traveled to the dimension where their benefactors,
Terataya and T'Charr, resided. While there, the two Lords died and
passed their remaining power on to the two heroes, giving Hawk the ability
to increase his mass and Dove the ability to fly.
Tragedy soon struck the duo with the coming of the villain Monarch. A
villain from an alternate timeline,Monarch was actually Hank Hall
gone mad with power. Monarch killed Dove, driving Hawk insane with
anger and Hawk then killed Monarch. Donning Monarch's armor, Hawk
attempted to kill all of the heroes on Earth, with the use of a nuclear
weapon, but was stopped by the intervention of Captain Atom. The
blast hurled both Captain Atom and Monarch/Hawk into the past where they battled each
other until they reached the present. Monarch disappeared for a time,
but returned as the villain Extant, who was responsible for the deaths
of many of the Justice Society of America and sought to remake time
in his own warped image.