HAWK

Real Name: Henry "Hank" Hall

Class: Human avatar

Occupation: Superhero, college student

Group Affiliation: formerly Teen Titans

Known Relatives: Don Hall (Dove, brother, deceased), Irwin Hall (father), unnamed mother

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Washington, DC, Prime Earth

First Appearance: Hawk & Dove V #1 (November, 2011)

Powers: Hank Hall could transform into Hawk, an avatar of war, and in this form he possessed claws, superhuman senses, strength, speed and durability.

History (Hawk & Dove V #1 (fb)) - Brothers Hank and Don Hall were the sons of judge Irwin Hall, and when they heard rumors that the criminal Drago was trying to kill their father they decided to play amateur detective and follow him. They got locked inside Drago’s hideout, and when Don wished he had the power to save his father the personifications of war and peace appeared to the brothers to grant Don's wish. The brothers were transformed into Hawk and Dove, avatars of war and peace. They had years of adventures until Dove perished during the Crisis. Soon after Hawk met a new Dove, a woman named Dawn Granger.

(Hawk & Dove V #1) - Alexander Quirk, science terrorist, proclaimed that he was going to burn down the corrupt U.S. political system, and had his men and R.O.T. techno-zombies hijack a plane to crash it into the Washington Monument. Hawk and Dove responded, with Hawk taking out the terrorists while Dove tried to figure out how to fly the plane. Hawk berated Dove for not pulling her weight while he was doing all the fighting when one of the zombies got loose and attacked Dove. She kicked it through a window, depressurizing the cabin. Dove flew outside the plane, stabilizing one of the wings so Hawk could land it, and he succeeded, but not before clipping the Washington Monument. Hawk and Dove continued to argue on the ground when they were approached by Washi Watanabe of the DCPD Special Crimes Unit. He’s been tracking Quirk and his men for months, and asked Hawk and Dove if they’d be interested in helping his investigation. He’d been told that they once worked alongside the DCPD, and said Captain Arsala sent his regards. He also warned them that Quirk didn’t forget anyone who interfered in his plans, and they’d made a powerful enemy by foiling him. Back at home Hank got chewed out by Irwin Hall for nearly destroying a national monument, and he blamed Dove, saying things wouldn’t have gone so wrong if he was still working with his brother Don as Dove. Hank broke a picture of himself and Don as children and stormed off. Dove spent some time with Deadman, and admitted to him that she’d never told him Hawk her origins, which she only shared with Deadman because she cared about him, and Hawk had never questioned her. Deadman was surprised that Hawk didn’t know her relationship to his deceased brother, the first Dove, and she replied that it was for the best.

(Hawk & Dove V #2-4) - Watanabe found one of Alexander Quirk’s secret labs, and Hawk and Dove helped him raid it, defeating another group of R.O.T. techno-zombies. Watanabe informed the heroes that Quirk had released a statement promising reprisal for destroying his lab. Deadman visited the scene, asking if Dove had time to talk, but she was irritated that he was interrupting her while she was working, and the rebuffed and annoyed Deadman left. Judge Hall was being honored at the White House with a lifetime achievement, and Hank and Dawn attended. Judge Hall also invited Hank’s ex Ren Takamori. She tried to reconnect with Hank, but within minutes they were arguing, with Hank suggesting she was only successful as a reporter because of her looks, and Ren saying he was selfish for letting their relationship fall apart because of all the time he spent as Hawk. Hank quickly grew bored of Obama’s speech, and when Dawn noted that Ren wasn’t around he agreed to go look for her. There was an explosion, and Hank and Dawn transformed into Hawk and Dove, only to be confronted by Swan and Condor, who had his claws around the necks of Judge Hall and Obama. Condor threatened to neuter President Obama, and while Dove tried to calm the situation down, Hawk leapt into battle, making a point of saying he didn’t vote for Obama, but he wouldn’t see him hurt. During the fight Condor bit the head off a secret service agent, and told Hawk he’d only threatened Obama to draw him and Dove out, and revealed that he knew Hawk’s secret identity and that Hawk was created for a war he knew nothing about. Dove and Swan paired off in battle, with Dove calling her opponent a cheap knock-off. Swan mentioned a war circle that considered Hawk and Dove a joke and told Dove she she was going to kill her and absorb her powers. Swan revealed the enchanted dagger she intended to steal Dove’s powers with. Deadman possessed Obama, helping Hall get to safety, and then tried to possess Condor, but instead of gaining control of him he was confronted my a monstrous winged creature that was part of Condor’s soul and driven out. Dove had taken care of Swan, and saved Hawk by stabbing Condor with the enchanted dagger. Condor was wounded, but not dead, and when his healing factor kicked in he turned back into his human form, that of a frail old man. Condor was taken into DCPD custody, and after Judge Hall pulled some strings Watanabe allowed Hawk and Dove to interrogate the prisoner. Condor was unresponsive, so Hawk told Dove and Watanabe to leave the interrogation room, and started threatening Condor with violence. Watanabe told Dove the good cop / bad cop routine didn’t work outside of movies, and asked how she knew Hawk wouldn’t actually hurt Condor. Dove said she made sure Hawk never crossed and lines, and Watanabe asked her who kept her from crossing lines. Condor threatened Hawk, saying he’d cut the avatar out of him and eat it alive, and said he wanted Dove dead because he didn’t understand avatars of peace, and said that what he didn’t understand deserved to die. Condor said Hawk was a fool because he associated with Deadman, as his ghostly presence made the avatars within them visible targets. He said that when Swan cut Dove with his enchanted blade Dove’s avatar was cut, opening an energy conduit that let Swan switch planes of reality. Deadman came to visit Dove, and his timing turned out to be awful, as Swan reappeared, physically grabbed him, and disappeared. Dove demanded Condor tell her where Swan took Deadman, and he said he’d use Deadman to track down the rest of the war circle and kill them, saving Hawk and Dove for last. An explosion opened a hole in the jail cell and Quirk’s men and R.O.T. zombies swarmed inside. Condor had contracted Alexander Quirk to free him, and he was flown off in a helicopter.

(Hawk & Dove V #5) - Condor and Swan trapped Deadman in a chaos crystal and channeled his magic to open a gateway to the War Realm. Hawk and Dove contacted Deadman’s ally Xanadu, and she sensed the danger he was in, telling the duo to go to Salem and find a demon named gob. After Hawk and Dove roughed up the demon he relented and told them about the portal to the War Realm located in Harmony Theatres in Washington, D.C.. Hawk told Dove he was concerned with how hung up she was on her boyfriend, and wondered if it was worth it to save him. Hawk feared Deadman was inadvertently messing with their partnership and their connection to the gods of war and peace. Dove said nothing Hawk could say would change how much she loved Deadman, and he begrudgingly agreed to keep searching for him. At the portal to the War Realm they found Condor had sacrificed Swan to the war gods, increasing the power of his avatar and transforming him into a giant monstrous bird. He fought with Hawk and dove, eager to kill them and claim their power. He slashed Dove’s stomach, and light poured out from her, obliterating him. Hawk noted that Swan’s body had also disappeared. Deadman was free, but was upset that he’d been used by the war avatars to get at Dove. He said they had to end their relationship, and that it would be best for everyone involved.

(Hawk & Dove V #6) - Hawk and Dove caught Blockbuster stealing the Amulet of Ra from the Smithsonian. They managed to wrest it away from him, but he went on a rampage and engaged them in battle. Dove was forced to leave the fight when Blockbuster flipped over a police car and she had to rescue the officers. Blockbuster and Hawk, equally matched, fought for hours and their clash led them all the way to Gotham City. Dove arrived just as Blockbuster ripped the amulet away from Hawk and was able to bound away. They were met by Batman and Robin, who were cautious about strangers operating in Gotham City. Batman informed them that Blockbuster was working for the sorceress Necromancer, and had stolen a number of magical totems so she could create a vortex of magic that would open a gateway to another plane. Hawk put on his best tough guy attitude for Batman, who was unimpressed, and said that if Hawk and Dove wanted to help them on the case they’d remember that Gotham was his city and they’d play by his rules. They found Necromancer and Blockbuster in a warehouse down on the Gotham wharf, and by breaking Necromancer’s circle of totems they broke her control over Blockbuster. Blockbuster was in a rage but confused and easily put down by Batman and Hawk. Necromancer cursed them for ruining her plans, and escaped after throwing a smoke bomb. Batman told Hawk and Dove that they had great potential and hoped they lived long enough to realize it.

(Hawk & Dove V #7, 8) - To help her forget Deadman Dawn spent the nights partying at nightclubs with Hank tagging along because he thought of himself as her bodyguard. When one club-goer obnoxiously hit on her Hank decked him. Outside the club they both argued that the other was out of control. Hank pleaded with Dawn to stop drinking her problems away and work on healing her heart in a more responsible fashion. They were ambushed by Hunter and forced to change into Hawk and Dove. Hunter claimed to serve the Great Hunt and expertly exploited Hawk and Dove’s weaknesses and kept them separate to best them in combat. He managed to sever one of Hawk’s fingers and a lock of Dove’s hair. Having gotten what he came for he told them they’d fight again. A woman named Xyra appeared and struck Hunter, and the disgruntled villain activated his teleportation device and disappeared. Xyra explained that she was one of the Servants of Horus, who’d worshiped the hawk for centuries, and Hunter worked for the D’Yak, their bitter enemies who opposed the hawk. Hawk said everything she was saying sounded like mumbo-jumbo, but Dove advised him to listen to her. Xyra cautioned that the D’Yak would use the tokens Hunter had taken from Hawk and Dove to create a magical totem capable of destroying them, and offered refuge in a nearby warehouse with the rest of the Servants of Horus. Hunter presented the tokens to high priest D’Khan, who admonished him when Hunter talked about the restraint he needed to keep from killing Hawk and Dove, because that was the endgame of every hunt. D’Khan reminded him that the D’Yak were to fulfill a prophecy that stated Hawk would end up killing Dove. After they recuperated Hawk, Dove and Xyra stormed the temple of D’Yak, with Hawk fending off the D’Yak foot soldiers while Dove and Xyra made their way to the worship center. Xyra explained that according to legend D’Yak was the serpent who corrupted Eden, and after Eden’s fall he devoured the angels overhead and ruled the skies. Hawk and Dove were avatars that represented reincarnated angels, which is why the D’Yak wanted them dead. They were stopped by Hunter, but Dove, no longer at the disadvantage of being surprised, managed to defeat and disarm him. Xyra told her to use Hunter’s sword to kill him, because once his deal with the D’Yak was over he’d hold a vendetta against her and hunt her to the ends of the Earth. Dove refused to slay her downed foe, saying that as an avatar of peace it was unthinkable. D’Khan ambushed Dove, blasting her with a magic spell and bragging that the totems he had would transfer Hawk and Dove’s powers to him. Dove called him a small man and a false prophet, goading D’Khan into revealing his true dragon form. They fought, and Hawk finally caught up, grabbing Hunter’s sword and impaling D’Khan, killing him. Hunter said that with his business with the D’Yak concluded he was leaving, teleporting away to find a new hunt. Hawk and Dove didn’t like the fact that evil forces were always drawn to them, and Xyra said it was the nature of their powers that they would always attract those seeking power or to tear them apart. Hawk and Dove didn’t know what dark days might be ahead of them, but they knew they’d always be there to stand up for those who needed help.

Comments: Created by Steve Ditko & Steve Skeates.

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