After more than thirty years without their own, legitimate title, Hawk and Dove need to make a full on return to comics, and reclaim their place as DC power couple, and street level crime-fighters. A classic team from the Silver Age, at first, they’re the definition of heroes created from a snappy name. But over the years, this couple has stumbled onto a timeless storytelling truth, and they’re well past due for a revival.
First created in 1968 - by Steve Ditko and Steve Skeates - Hank and Don Hall were brothers who took on the names “Hawk” and “Dove” to fight do-badders with a dichotomy of violence and compassion; each brother adhering to the truths of each side. Tragically, Don Hall died in Crisis on Infinite Earths, and shortly after, the comics gods brought Dawn Granger to replace him.
Dawn fell in love with Hank, and the two took up the Hawk and Dove mantles again. Another move that seems motivated by cheap wordplay, but it was the correct story decision. This enabled the characters to become different from one another, while tying them together even more. Dawn’s Dove was introduced in 1988 by a married writing team, naturally enough, Barbara and Karl Kesel. The couple had a magnificent run of some thirty-odd issues before running out of steam.
Since then, the super-team has been remarkably overlooked. They were rebooted in 1997 for a brief sojourn as some star-crossed punks with totally different identities. Then, the New 52 trotted out eight issues that featured Dawn in a relationship with Deadman (with next to no explanation). Lately, both in these runs and some guest appearances, the trouble comes down to a relationship imbalance towards Hawk, or a departure from the street level work they became known for.
Most of the time, Hawk and Dove are based in Washington DC. Because of the names, probably, there’s an association between this super team and ethical/political corruption. This is great because, right now, the DC universe geography is a total disaster. There’s a mix of fictional and real cities, and some real cities that are known as fictional cities. All of that, once it gets sorted out, is good for Hawk and Dove. These two aren’t aliens, or geniuses, or billionaires, they’re just trying to protect their friends and neighbors while figuring out what’s right. Current DC super-teams aren’t built around things making that much sense. If another city, Washington DC or Hub City or whatever, could grow a superhero network more like Gotham’s than the Justice League’s, the universe gets far more powerful.
Hawk and Dove are ingenious because they’re a superhero-ification of something humans go through every day. An option on one hand, and another option on the other. Both may contain risks. Deciphering a fork in the road is so essential, that two characters who embody opposite approaches is the most useful storytelling device ever. It’s like a Platonic dialogue with capes and powers, every topic is up for grabs. And while their roots may be street level, what better layman’s entry point could there be for a cosmic storyline? What about these two, along with Wally West in a Morbius Chair, working through the DC timeline? And the versatility! Split them up for guest spots in other teams, use them as an anchor for a separate team, or simply use them as a couple of people with decades of relationships and everyone in their rolodex.
Finally, speaking of relationships, these two are also about the only couple in the DC universe that’s decided to stand up and say they want to be together. Everyone else seems to be in shallow infatuation arcs, or charmingly dysfunctional slogs. With a fan base who grows older and wiser each week, a super-team trying to have a mature, lasting relationship, can absolutely resonate. Hawk and Dove are a classic superhero(team) founded on wordplay and animal personification, with built in romance and conflict, working off of essential moral themes, adaptable to any situation. It’s well past time for them to take flight again.