Sometimes when two people unite in a cause they are more than the sum of their parts. Hawk and Dove are granted power by two cosmic beings who realized this through love. Their champions are bound to one another to help balance each other out. So how do these people get the powers of Order and Chaos? Let’s find out!
Hank and Don Hall
The Hall brothers were always at odds with each other, Hank was as aggressive and strong as he was stubborn. Don was more compassionate and intelligent but often struggled to make a decision. The two would butt heads often, to the chagrin of their father, Judge Irwin Hall. While the boys would spend their days fighting one another, their father had made quite a few enemies in his line of work. This would one day lead to an assassination attempt on their father’s life. The two young men would try to find the culprits responsible but end up trapped and soon to be found out by those responsible and ready to finish what they had started against the judge.
It was then when two voices were heard by Hank and Don, they claimed to be Lords of Order and Chaos that had fallen in love and found they wish to share their powers with the world to better it together. The boys accepted this offer, Hank would gain strength as Hawk, while Don would gain speed as Dove, both gained other superhuman enhancements to themselves as well. The two were able to fight off their father’s attackers and save his life. Thus began their career as costumed vigilantes, finally working together, but still fighting over their views.
Dawn Granger
Since they were still rather young, they would join the Teen Titans. Their adventures would go for several years, even losing their powers at some points due to not meeting their patrons’ ideals. They would eventually gain them back and things would go on until the Crisis of Infinite Earths, when Don would die while saving the life of a child. Hank was devastated and now had no Dove to calm his anger.
At the same time Don Hall died, Dawn Granger would suddenly hear a voice offering her the power she needed to save her mother’s life. She would eventually meet Hank Hall and realize her powers were tied to his and the two would begin working together. The two would even get more powers by the Lords of Chaos and Order. The reason for this would become clear, they were soon involved with threats from both Chaos and Order who did not want this union of power to stand.
The greatest enemy of Hawk and Dove was the Monarch, a time-travelling villain hellbent on their end. It would turn out that the Monarch was a future Hank Hall. When Hawk and Dove fought the original Monarch, Dawn would be killed, leading Hank to murder the Monarch and take his identity and time-traveling abilities. This would lead to Hank becoming more and more violent and eventually becoming the villain Extant who would threaten all of reality in the Zero Hour, where he would die.
Holly Granger
Time went on and a woman was found in a coma, it was Dawn Granger. She had not died but ended up as part of an elaborate scheme by the villain Mordru to twist Hank with his magic into the villain. When she awoke she found that her estranged sister Holly had been given the powers of Hawk now and the two would begin working together. They would join the Titans to help in dealing with threats like Trigun.
When the Blackest Night arrived, Hank Hall would be revived as a Black Lantern Corps member and attack Hawk and Dove, killing Holly and having her join the Corps as well. Dawn would continue to fight both where she would then learn her own powers were perfectly suited for stopping the Black Lanterns. She would prove vital in the battles to come and help save the day. In the following Brightest Day, several formerly dead heroes were resurrected, Hank Hall was one of them.
Back to working together, they team up with a resurrected Deadman who now has a White Lantern Ring and deal with the strange occurrences of those back from the dead. Dawn and Deadman would fall in love while Hank would learn he was possibly become more power due to his ties to War as an elemental force. Deadman would die once more which allowed for Hank to stay in control due to the power released. The two would then join Oracle’s Birds of Prey team.
There you have it! Hawk and Dove have been around for quite some time. They’ve been animated and recently been seen on the small screen in live action. Though they don’t have their superpowers, their dynamic and the transfer from Don to Dawn is still there. We’ll have to wait and see what they’ll be up to next. See you next time!
Suggested Reading
Showcase #75
Hawk and Dove
Teen Titans
Blackest Night
Brightest Day
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
