Polite Dissent

Just like some bloggers are obsessed with certain heroes such as Aquaman, Swamp Thing, and the Atom, I have long found myself fascinated by Hawk and Dove. I’m not sure what it is about them, but I have enjoyed both their original Ditko incarnation and the more recent Kesel version. (There was a similarly named mini-series by Mike Baron in 1997, but it had nothing to do with the original characters, and is in fact a pox upon the fine name of Hawk and Dove).

With the re-emergence of interest in the duo after their appearances on Justice League Unlimited, I thought now would be a good time to look into the history of the twosome. (And give me a good excuse to track down some of those issues of Teen Titans that I’m missing.)

The Hawk and the Dove first appeared in Showcase #75, published in June 1968. As a bit of personal history, I started collecting comics at the beginning of the “Bronze Age” (or whatever you want to call it) and Showcase #75 was the first Silver Age comic I tracked down and bought. It was also the first comic I owned that was older than me. Admittedly, it’s not a great comic, but it sets the stage for what will become one of the most memorable super-hero duos.

In the first panels of the comic, brothers Hank and Don Hall are introduced. Despite being in high school, they are attending a demonstration and counter-demonstration at the local college. Hank is loud, impatient, and a very strident backer of the “might makes right” philosophy. Don, on the other hand, is quieter and more introspective. He believes that peace can always be achieved though compromise and violence is never required. Don also has some of the worst taste in clothes of any hero in the history of comics. The demonstrations erupt into violence and the police arrive to break up the fight. Oblivious to the scuffle around them, Hank and Don continue to argue with each other.

Meanwhile, their father, a local judge, has just sentenced local crime boss Dargo to jail. As Dargo is led away, he swears vengeance on Judge Hall. A short time later, Hank and then Don arrive in their father’s office. The judge scolds them both for having unrealistic world views and not thinking their opinions through. In the midst of the dispute, one of Dargo’s hoods shows up and throws a bomb into the office. Hank and Don escape injury, but the judge is not so lucky. Don stays with him while Hank runs for help. The judge is whisked to the hospital and placed under police protection.

The next afternoon, Don and Hank are on their way to visit their father when they chance across the hood who threw the bomb at them the day before. They trail him to an old warehouse where they sneak in an open window to eavesdrop on him and the rest of the gang. Unfortunately, they accidentally lock themselves in a back room. They overhear the gang plan to shoot their father and realize that they are the only ones who can save him. They try repeatedly to break down the doors but are unable to open them.

Out of nowhere, a strange voice rings out, promising them both power. The voice asks what sort of power they desire. Hank speaks first: “I want the power to break out of here…the power to stop those creeps who are after dad…the powers to smash them…tear them apart so that they’ll never commit crimes again!”; Don envisions power differently: “I want to save father, not smash criminals, let the police handle them!”

The voice speaks again and they are transformed into the Hawk and the Dove. Hank likes his costume, but Don is appalled at his (and rightly so). The voice promises them that they will be able to change back to their normal identities once the danger is past. To turn back into Hawk and Dove, they only need to speak their name when danger is present, and the transformation will occur.

Hawk and Dove break out of the warehouse and race across town to the hospital, arguing the whole time. When they arrive at the hospital, Hawk charges into the gang and immediately begins pounding the crooks. Dove is more tentative, unwilling to join the fight, and gets stunned from behind and thrown out the window. He recovers and re-enters the fray just in time save his father from being shot. He is trying to convince the gunman to give up when Hawk runs in and knocks the crook unconscious. The judge thanks them, and they quickly leave before they change back into Hank and Don.

Returning to their father’s room, they are just in time to hear him denounce Hawk and Dove as criminal vigilantes. Stunned, they leave the room. Hank wants to continue to use their powers to fight crime, but Don just wants to forget the whole idea of silly costumes. They continue arguing as they walk out the hospital, down the street, and to the end of the comic.

An unnecessary text page at the end of the issue spells out the rather obvious themes of the comic. The page restates what any competent person could have deduced for themselves after reading the comic. The creative team is mentioned and then it is announced that The Hawk and The Dove series will be starting the next month.

The art in Showcase #75 was by Steve Ditko, who also co-wrote the issue along with Steve Skeates. Ditko’s contributions to comic books are well known, and the art on this issue is undeniably his. In addition to Showcase #75, Skeates also wrote the first 4 issues of the subsequent The Hawk and The Dove series as well as several issues of the Teen Titans and a few issues of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.

Showcase #75 is a good comic. Certainly there are some flaws — such as plot holes that won’t be addressed for years (the mysterious voice) and the frequent instances where the Hawk/Dove Hank/Don War/Peace conflict is a tad overdone. On the bright side, the art is classic Ditko, and the writing manages to avoid the hip teen lingo that was prevalent in other comics of this era. The most important aspect of Showcase #75 is that it sets up the Hawk and the Dove for the years to follow (or at least until Armageddon 2001).

UPDATE: I’ve been able to fix the coding so clicking on an image in the post will bring up a larger image.