Polite Dissent

The final issue of the Hawk & Dove mini-series starts with the origin of the new Dove. Dawn Granger was in London during the time of the “red skies” (i.e. the Crisis on Infinite Earths). Her mother was held hostage by a group of terrorists who had taken over the American Embassy. Desperate for a way to save her, Dawn hears voices that promise her the power to restore order (or should that be Order?) when she says the word “Dove.” Changing into Dove, she captures the terrorists and rescues the hostages. She then decides to return to America to find Hawk. Ultimately, Dawn is able to link Hawk and Hank Hall and enrolls at Georgetown to track him down.

As Dawn and Hank are sitting in Hank’s apartment talking, his parents let themselves in. They of course immediately assume that their little Hank has found himself a girlfriend. Despite the protestations to the contrary, the Halls invite Hank – and Dawn – to dinner at their house the following evening.

It turns out that the Halls weren’t the only one who barged in on Hank and Dawn; one of Kestrel’s demons was listening and threatens Hank’s parents if Hawk and Dove don’t show up at the same warehouse where they first met.

The pair arrives at the warehouse but find it empty. Hawk discovers a mysterious door in the wall that Dove can’t see at all. They enter the doorway and find themselves in the Chaos realm. Dove’s order-based powers are weaker there and she is having problems concentrating. Hawk, on the other hand, finds himself strengthened. They’re not alone in the Chaos realm — Kestrel is there as well. He taunts both Hawk and Dove, but finds particular delight in harassing Dove. She manages to lead Kestrel directly into Hawk’s path, but the chaos has so enraged Hawk that he is as willing to fight Dove as Kestrel. Trying to convince Hawk that he’d be better off without Dove, Kestrel tells him that he and Hawk would make better partners; that they’d be “blood brothers.” This reference to “brothers” reminds Hawk of his brother Don and this immediately calms him down. Finally realizing and admitting that Dove is his partner, Hawk and Dove agree to take down Kestrel once and for all. At this point, the Lords of Chaos realize that Kestrel has failed – he was unable to tempt Hawk to Chaos. The Chaos realm collapses around Hawk and Dove and they find themselves back at Hank’s apartment.

That evening at the Hall’s house as she is talking to Hank’s mother, Dawn realizes that she received her powers before Don died, and she begins to wonder if he died because she was given his powers. She wonders if maybe there was some truth to the “experiment” Kestrel had been ranting about. On the walk home, Hank does his best to reassure her. They encounter Ren, who finally gets Hank to agree to take her out on a date. The series ends as Hawk and Dove chase after a mugger with Ren exhorting them to be careful and make sure they’re back by Friday.

This issue is a fitting end to the mini-series. It establishes the new Hawk and Dove status quo but leaves questions open for exploration later. The Order/Chaos dichotomy is handled well. Dove is weaker in the Chaos realm and is unable even to see the door that leads to it. Hawk becomes stronger when exposed to Chaos – a point that will be revisited in the second year of the subsequent series when the definitive origins of both Hawk and Dove are given (and Kestrel returns).

There are other nice touches as well. The interactions with the parents are handled perfectly, and this continues into the following Hawk & Dove regular series. Crisis on Infinite Earths is referenced, but never explicitly mentioned. This allows new readers to enjoy the story without missing a beat, but allows us old time DC readers a smile. I like the fact that Kestrel remembers how Dove fights and tries to use that against her. Dove, however, anticipates his anticipation and leads him into a trap. For all the time the same heroes and villains fight in comics, you think you’d see more of this recognition of style.