Hawk and Dove

Within the mythos of DC Comics reside a group of powerful extra-dimensional beings known as the Lords of Order and the Lords of Chaos. These two groups of entities are in a constant struggle to sway the cosmic order in one direction or the other. Their efforts occasionally spill over into the lives of humans as in the cases of Doctor Fate and Hawk and Dove.

In another dimension, one of the Lords of Order named Terataya and a Lord of Chaos T'Charr did the unspeakable and fell in love. They believed that the struggle between their two sides was in vain and decided to prove that by performing an experiment with two human agents, one powered by the forces of chaos and the other by the forces of order. They believed that this would prove that Order and Chaos could not only co-exist, but benefit from each other.

Enter Hank Hall and his brother Don. Sons of Judge Irwin Hall, the two brothers were complete opposites, with Hank being an athletic, brash man with a loud mouth, while Don was a quiet intellectual. Their beliefs on most issues came down on opposite sides so the two were always at odds with each other.

The two witnessed an attempt on their father's life by local crime kingpin, Boss Dargo. A few days later, the brothers spotted the man who tried to kill their father and followed him to their hide-out. The brothers listened in to their plans, but became trapped in a storage room. In frustration at their situation, Don said aloud that he wished to have the power to do something about these unjust men. A disembodied voice answered and offered the boys the power to fight crime. When Hank spoke the word "Hawk" and Don spoke the word "Dove," the two found themselves clothed in costumes and with special abilities. Hank gained increased strength, while Don gained the heightened agility. The two would only stay in costume until justice was served and then they would return to their normal selves.

The two used their abilities to defeat Boss Dargo and his men, turning them over to the proper authorities. They were shocked to learn however that their father denounced them as vigilantes, so they were forced to keep their identities and abilities secret from their family. For many years, the two used their abilities to fight crime. They were members of the Teen Titans for a time as well.

Over the years, however, Dove began to become increasingly violent, falling under the influence of Chaos. Terataya and T'Charr realized that their plans had been tainted, but decided to try again with a new host for the Order power. During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Don Hall was trying to rescue some innocent children, when he suddenly found himself stripped of his powers. He died from injuries when he was crushed under a falling wall.

On the other side of the world, a young woman named Dawn Grainger suddenly found herself endowed with the powers of Dove and used her new found powers to protect her father, an ambassador, from a terrorist attack. The new Dove soon teamed up with Hawk and the two began adventuring together.

The two eventually traveled to the dimension where their benefactors, Terataya and T'Charr, resided. While there, the two Lords died and passed their remaining power on to the two heroes, giving Hawk the ability to increase his mass and Dove the ability to fly.

Tragedy soon struck the duo with the coming of the villain Monarch. A villain from an alternate timeline,Monarch was actually Hank Hall gone mad with power. Monarch killed Dove, driving Hawk insane with anger and Hawk then killed Monarch. Donning Monarch's armor, Hawk attempted to kill all of the heroes on Earth, with the use of a nuclear weapon, but was stopped by the intervention of Captain Atom. The blast hurled both Captain Atom and Monarch/Hawk into the past where they battled each other until they reached the present. Monarch disappeared for a time, but returned as the villain Extant, who was responsible for the deaths of many of the Justice Society of America and sought to remake time in his own warped image.