Polite Dissent

In the recent Infinite Crisis/Days of Vengence Special*, the Spectre kills the Lord of Order Teratraya and the Lord of Chaos T’Charr in his bid to wipe all magic from the universe. Since Hawk and Dove receive the powers from these entities, they immediately lose their powers and their career as crime-fighters seems over (and it lasted, what, all of a year-and-a-half?).

I’m of two minds about this.

First, T’Charr and Teratraya are already dead. They died back in Hawk & Dove #17 (October 1990), so it would be hard for the Spectre to kill them now.

Second, I don’t really care. Sure, I’m one of the world’s biggest Hawk and Dove fans, but if they’re going to be around, I want them done right. Quality over quantity. The team has already had two good runs: the original Skeates/Ditko/Kane run in their own title and the Teen Titans back in the ’70s, and the Kesel and Kesel run in the ’80s and ’90s. The two attempts since then haven’t impressed me. I’d rather remember the good runs than struggle through mediocre ones.

*Hat tip to Charles W

While not a slave to continuity, I’m definitely a fan of it. I like having a consistent past for the characters. Having this 40+ year history is one of the things that makes our hobby unique. I can understand why this would be intimidating for some readers, particularly the new ones, but it should be viewed as a challenge rather than an obstacle. I am aware that Joe Quesada among others has advocated caring less about continuity and more about telling “great stories”; I’d be more willing to agree with this if they were actually telling great stories.

This has been a long-winded introduction to why I’m not fond of the new Hawk and Dove team. I like having Dawn Granger return as Dove, but I’ve never fully accepted her (never before seen or even mentioned) sister Holly Granger as the new Hawk. It’s possible that given enough time and some good explanations, I could learn to like her. But for now, she goes against two previously well-established facts of the Hawk and Dove canon (and I’m probably the only person in the world who can use that phrase non-ironically):

1. Dawn Granger is an only child.
All the pictures on the walls in the Granger house show 3 people: Mom, Dad and a single child. Dawn herself mentions being an only child in Hawk & Dove #20, as she’s sitting bored at home wishing for some excitement. I’m sure there’s some way this can be explained away: Daddy’s little secret or an evil twin, but those explanations only make it seemed horrible clichéd.

2. Hank and Dawn are the last Hawk and Dove
The death of T’Charr and Teratraya in Hawk & Dove #17 means that they can no longer bestow the powers on anyone else. This was one of the main themes of the latter half of the Hawk & Dove series. The two of them would be the last Hawk and Dove, ever. In the scene below from Hawk & Dove #18, Hank reflects on this fact with Dawn ( “Unity” refers to T’Charr and Teratraya as a combined entity).

scene from Hawk & Dove #20

scene from Hawk & Dove #18

I know I’m behind in my reviews and recaps of the Hawk & Dove series, but I’ll catch up posting this weekend, at least through their adventure with the Titans and the death of T’Charr and Teratraya.

Remember: Continuity doesn’t have to be bad; some of us like it. And Quality over Quantity.