Polite Dissent

This is in no way intended to be an in-depth analysis of Crisis on Infinite Earths. If you’re looking for that, make sure to check out Matt Rossi’s excellent posts over at the Howling Curmudgeons. Instead, this post is going to look at how Hawk and Dove assisted during the Crisis, and how the events of the Crisis ultimately affected them.

Dove can first be glimpsed in the background aboard the Monitor’s spacecraft in issue #5, but nothing more comes of that.

The first real appearance of Hawk and Dove come in the ninth issue. At this point in the story, the villains have taken control of Earth-4, Earth-X and Earth-S. The heroes are called together to wrest control of these Earths from the villains. Acting true to form, Hawk objects to the presence of Red Star, a communist and a Soviet, among the heroes, but Dove reminds him that it’s for the greater good.

Dove can later be seen among the heroes fighting to free Earth-4. He and Robotman are losing a fight against Black Adam when Kole comes up from behind and turns Adam to crystal. Robotman wants to smash him into little pieces, but Dove won’t let him because “it’s not right to hurt someone else…no matter what he did to us.” This is a little extreme, even for Dove. I can fully understand Dove not wanting Robotman to kill Black Adam, but not for the reasons given. Dove is against violence and brute force. He is not, however, against punishment and ‘hurting” others when appropriate. It’s a subtle difference, but a real one.

Hawk is nowhere to be seen during this skirmish, or in any of the battles on Earth-X or Earth-S. It would be logical that he would be sent to Earth-4 with Dove, but then you would expect him to be fighting alongside him. His actions during this period are unknown, but he was probably out there punching some villain (or communist) in a frenzy of violence.

In the following issue, Dove is shown as one of the heroes sent back to the dawn of time to fight the Anti-Monitor. Again, Hawk is not seen, but since all the heroes were sent back in an attempt to stop the Anti-Monitor, he must be among the crowd somewhere.

In the final issue, the five Earths have been merged into a single new Earth, but danger is still present. The Anti-Monitor has sent his shadow demons to destroy this new world. Hawk and Dove, along with the Human Bomb, Doll Man, Batgirl, Vixen and the Inferior Five are in New York City escorting civilians to safety. Dove notices a child left behind. He runs to get him, but is ambushed by a shadow demon on his way back and killed as Hawk looks on in shock.

Don’s funeral is featured on one of the last pages of the book. Family and teammates can be seen standing solemnly next to Don’s tombstone. There is some controversy as to whether or not Hank was there. He can’t clearly be seen at the funeral (but it is a tiny picture), and events in the Kesel and Kesel Hawk & Dove mini-series suggest that he was not at his brother’s funeral.

Hawk continues to fight crime, but without Dove to control his wilder impulses he becomes more violent and unpredictable. He appears in various DC titles for the next three years, ending up as a hostage in need of rescue in Central America. He finally begins to regain his focus and returns to America. But that is a post for another day…