My 15th inductee into my "" is former superhero and agent of the Lords of Chaos cum murderous super-villain: Hawk!
A founding member of one of my all-time favorite crime fighting duos, the ill-fated “Hawk and Dove,” Hank Hall and his brother Don were the unwitting agents of the mystical, god-like Lords of Chaos and Order respectively. (For the record the Lords of Order were also responsible for giving archeologist Kent Nelson the helmet of Nabu, thus granting him, and his numerous successors, the powers and mantle of Dr. Fate – see the 4th “D.C. Rest Home” installment).
Made famous (well, not famous, exactly) in 1968’s “Showcase No. 75,” the characters of Hawk and Dove were created by the legendary Spidey artist Steve Ditko and Steve Skeates. In an effort to capture the zeitgeist of the Vietnam era debate between conservative, pro-war, anti-communists and liberal, anti-war protestors, Ditko and Skeates endeavored to create a pair of brothers who would represent the ideological divide that literally seemed to be tearing the nation apart at the seams.
On one hand you had the macho, hyper-militant, conservative jock, Hank Hall (aka. Hawk) and on the other hand you had contemplative, scholarly, liberal pacifist Don Hall, (aka. Dove). Not surprisingly Hawk and Dove would constantly butt heads about everything from the war in Vietnam to how to best subdue villains. They would eventually join Teen Titans West.
After Dove was tragically killed by Shadow Demons in 1985’s “Crisis on Infinite Earth’s,” Hawk no longer had his brother’s influence to pacify him and his violent, war-like tendencies came to the fore. Hawk would eventually become the hero slaying villain known as Monarch and later Extant. Although he was killed in 2009’s “Blackest Night” series, Hank, like so many of his super heroic brethren, was resurrected and once again assumed the Hawk mantle.
So it is with great affection that I present life-long Republican and likely Archie Bunker aficionado; the square jawed warmonger Hawk!