365 DC Comics Heroes & Villains Paper Cut-Outs
Dial H For Hero
The H Dial is a magical amulet originating from an other-worldly realm. It appears not unlike a telephone dial with mystical runes in place of the numbers. How it came to earth remains unexplained and it remained buried in a cave for untold eons. It was finally happened upon by a teenager named Robbie Reed.
Studying the amulet, young Robbie is able to decipher the runes, making out the letters H-E-R-O. Remarkably, when Robbie dials these letters in sequence, the amulet transforms him into a superhero possessing a variety of different powers.
This transformation lasts for a period of time before Robbie is reverted to his original form. And each time he redials the word he is transformed into a new hero with different powers. These transformations are random and unpredictable, he never knows what kind of hero with what kinds of powers he will be changed into. Nonetheless Robbie chooses to use the dial to become a hero, battling crime and taking on various threats.
Robbie used the dial in this fashion for a long while and accomplished many good deeds. When his grandfather/guardian passed away, however, Robbie was emotionally crushed and became obsessed with somehow defeating death so that no one would have to endure the pain of such loss. He disappeared and the H Dial ended up in the hands of new owners.
Subsequent individuals who used the dial to act as heroes included Chris King, Vicki Grant, Nick Stevens, Lori Morning and Hero Cruz. These various youngsters were able to unlock new properties from the amulet, with a number of them encountering an ancient and powerful being known as The Wizard who guided them in the use of the dial; and were pursued by an equally mysterious villain called The Master who sought to obtain the dial for his own purposes.
In the contemporary era, the dial fell into the possession of lad named Miguel Montez. Miguel and his friend Summer were contacted by The Operator (a new manifestation of The Wizard) to use the dial and keep it out of the hands of the villainous Mister Thunderbolt (a new manifestation of the Master).
Miguel ultimately came to realize that The Operator, The Wizard, The Master and Mister Thunderbolt were each iterations of Robbie Reed. It turns out that Robbie’s obsession with conquering death had led him down a dark road. His expanded consciousness became split, with one facet intent on obtaining absolute power and the other understanding that such power corrupts and must be kept out of the human hands. The former of these two facets became Mister Thunderbolt seeking to obtain and unlock the H Dial by any mans necessary, while the other became the Operator, guiding those who had the dial and ensuring that his other self could never attain it. As such Robbie became locked in an endless battle with himself with all those who encountered the H-Dial new pawns in this inter-psychic conflict.
The H-Dial and Robbie Reed first appeared in the pages of House of Mystery #156 (1966).
