Hank and Don Hall
Hank and Don Hall are the sons of Judge Irwin Hall. They find out that their father has many enemies when he is nearly assassinated. Hank and Don eventually follow the attacker back to his hideout and accidentally lock themselves in the closet of some criminals plotting to dispose of him. Mysterious voices echo throughout the room, offering the boys a chance to save their father by giving them powers. The voices belong to a Lord of Chaos named T'Charr and a Lord of Order named Terataya, who had fallen in love despite their respective groups, the Lords of Chaos and Order, being enemies.[9] The Hall brothers invoke their new powers and become Hawk and Dove. The conservative Hawk (Hank) is hot-headed and reactionary, whereas the liberal Dove (Don) is more thoughtful and reasoned, but is prone to indecisiveness. Irwin Hall displays a more centrist political beliefs, and firmly disapproves of vigilantism, not knowing his sons are costumed adventurers and saved him from his would-be assailants.
After their series ended, Hawk and Dove became semi-regulars in the Teen Titans, eventually joining Titans West. Writer Alan Brennert attempted to end their saga in a 1982 issue of The Brave and the Bold where 12 years later, Hank and Don Hall, then adults, are trying to cope with their 1960s values in the 1980s. After Hawk and Dove team up with Batman, the mysterious voice revokes Hank and Don's powers, deeming them still immature.
In Crisis on Infinite Earths, Dove is killed by the Anti-Monitor's shadow demons. Without Dove to restrain him, Hawk becomes violent to the point where many superheroes consider him nearly as much trouble as the supervillains.
Modern Age
In 1988, a new Hawk and Dove miniseries written by Karl Kesel and Barbara Kesel reintroduced the duo.[10] This series places a woman named Dawn Granger as Dove, replacing Don. The new Dove mysteriously receives her powers while attempting to save her mother from terrorists. At the end of the miniseries, it is revealed that Dawn received her powers the moment Don lost them.
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. Dove fights mostly defensively, preferring to out-think and remain in control of her opponent. She also heals quickly and cannot revert to Dawn if her wounds or some other condition would be fatal to Dawn. They manage to hold their own against the Lords of Chaos' creation Kestrel.
Set in Washington, D.C. (where the duo attend Georgetown University), the series introduces several supporting characters, including Hank's girlfriend, Ren Takamori, and friends Kyle Spenser and Donna Cabot. They also work with police Captain Brian "Sal" Arsala, who develops a mutual admiration for Dawn. It also introduces Kestrel, an evil spell created by M'Shulla and Barter, owner of Barter Trading: Exotic Goods and Services.
Hawk and Dove are lured to the mystical land of Druspa Tau – the home of the Lords of Chaos and Order – by Kestrel in an effort by M'Shulla to seek out that world's Lords of Order. T'Charr and Terataya are later found in the form of a combined being called Unity.
Hawk's fall and redemption: Armageddon 2001, Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! and JSA
The villain Monarch was originally intended to be a future version of Captain Atom. After this information was leaked to the public, DC Comics changed the storyline last-minute. Sales of Hawk and Dove had dipped and the series was slotted for cancellation, contributing to the decision to make Hank Hall the true identity of Monarch. In a fight against the heroes, Monarch murders Dawn, causing Hank to suffer a psychotic break, kill Monarch and assume his villainous identity. He briefly becomes a recurring foe for Captain Atom before absorbing Waverider's time-travel powers, subsequently changing his form and name to Extant in Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!.
As Extant, Hawk murders several members of the Justice Society of America; during a rematch, however, the Atom Smasher uses Metron's Mobius Chair to transfer Hall onto a doomed plane in place of Atom Smasher's mother.
Sasha Martens and Wiley Wolverman
Another version of Hawk (Sasha Martens) and Dove (Wiley Wolverman) appear in a five-issue miniseries 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 manifest as "military brat" and "slacker dude", respectively. They gain large bird-like wings and a telepathic link after receiving experimental medical treatments as children. Following the miniseries, the new Hawk and Dove make a handful of cameo appearances in Titans-related books, once protecting the town of Woodstock, New York, during a worldwide crisis.
Holly and Dawn Granger
In 2003, JSA #45–50 tell of a mysterious woman in a coma who is taken into the care of the Justice Society. Initially thought to be the comatose body of Hector Hall's missing wife, Hippolyta Trevor, the woman is revealed to be none other than the presumed-dead Dawn Granger. Dawn's "death" is revealed to be a hoax orchestrated by Mordru, who turns out to have caused Hank's insanity that set him down the path to becoming Monarch (and later Extant).
Dawn later gains a new partner when her estranged sister Holly Granger is granted the mystical powers of Chaos as the third Hawk. Holly's first appearance is in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #22–23, joining her sister and many other former Titans against Doctor Light. The duo later re-teams with the Titans to rescue Raven's "soul self" from their old nemesis Kestrel.
Hawk and Dove also appeared in Countdown to Mystery, in which Dawn Granger is among the heroes possessed by Eclipso. In Teen Titans (vol. 3) #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 was temporary, though they resurface in the Titans East Special as part of a new team organized by Cyborg.
Blackest Night
In Blackest Night, Hank Hall is resurrected as a Black Lantern.[12] He lures Holly and Dawn to a library, then kills Holly by ripping out her heart.[13] The black power rings claim Holly's body, but are unable to resurrect Don Hall. Writer Geoff Johns attributed Don's immunity to him being at peace in death, leaving him unable to be affected by the rings.[14]
Dove goes to Titans Tower for help, only to find it under attack by several dead Titans members, who have become Black Lanterns. When Holly attempts to rip out Dawn's heart, a blast of white energy radiates from her body, severing the connection between Holly and the ring. Dawn turns the light on the other Black Lanterns, destroying all but Terra, Tempest, and Hank.[15] Barry Allen realizes that Dawn possesses the "white light of creation", a power created by the combined seven powers of the emotional spectrum.
Brightest Day
Hank and Dawn encounter Deadman shortly after the events of Blackest Night. They have him, in their own particular ways, try to resurrect Don and Holly, but to no avail.[1][18] The three are transported to Silver City, New Mexico, where they find the White Lantern power battery in a crater. When Deadman asks the white battery why they were all brought back to life, the Life Entity tells them that it is dying and requires a successor. The Entity also tells Hawk to save Dawn from Captain Boomerang.[19]
Hawk and Dove are transported to the Star City forest by the Entity, where it tells them that they must protect the forest and withstand Alec Holland.[20] Within the forest, Captain Boomerang finds Dawn and throws a boomerang at her.
The New 52
In 2011, DC relaunched this title as part of their company-wide reboot of their 52 major titles. It was released on 7 September, written by Sterling Gates and art by Rob Liefeld.
In this new series, Hawk and Dove are Hank Hall and Dawn Granger, who resume their superhero activities in Washington, D.C., with assistance from Deadman. They encounter Condor and Swan, a new pair of supervillains who possess superpowers similar to theirs. Hawk and Dove fight Condor and Swan after they try to kill President Barack Obama and Hank's father. Swan escapes, but Hawk and Dove manage to defeat Condor, who is revealed to be an old unnamed man.
During the first issue, the origins of Hawk and Dove are recounted – Don and Hank were Dove and Hawk for at least two years, until three years before the start of the series, when Don died during the "worst crisis the world has ever seen" (referencing Don's death in the original canon in the Crisis) and Dawn became the next avatar almost immediately. This is later retconned in the Titans Hunt miniseries, where it is revealed that Hank and Don were members of the original Teen Titans, and that Don was killed during a battle with Mister Twister.[22]
