H.E.R.O. #15-22

The last stretch of the 2003 relaunch will finally answer the question: whatever happened to Robby Reed?

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H.E.R.O. #15 (2004)
By Will Pfeifer & Dale Eaglesham
cover by Jon Van Fleet

In case you didn’t know this relaunch went into a much darker direction than the original, the covers can provide some hints.

And we start off with Robby Reed finding Jerry, the protagonist of the first four issues.

Robby is still looking for the H-Dial. If you hadn’t read the original you might find it weird that he could build a non-functioning replica, but remember Robby is smarter than he lets on.

Robby gets Jerry up to speed about his origin story. Which is colored and drawn differently than the scenes in the present; nice artistic touch.

Jerry makes fun of the dumb transformations…

…but Robby points out that at least HIS transformations were interesting!
A comment on my previous review pointed out that this the Dial-H series that is the least interested in the transformations themselves, and I absolutely agree.
Either someone said the same to Will Pfeifer, who DID write those transformations after all, or it was the plan all along.

Robby reveals the last transformation he went through in the old days: Future Boy.
You’d think that time travel would be a useful power, but apparently not.

But once Robby returned to the present, the H-Dial stopped working altogether.

So he decides to return to the cave where he found the H-Dial, leaving it there.
So this completely ignores the previous depictions of how he gave up transformations: Plastic Man #13 where he left the dial behind because he hit puberty, and the extremely convoluted 80s relaunch.

That means that this is the first time we see what Robby does as an adult.
He even marries his original love interest Suzy!

But if you thought his story had a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention to this series.

Robby started developing superpowers without transforming (as we’ve seen in the previous issues), and knowledge of the future made him crazy.

This series has my absolute favorite concept behind the H-Dial, and the reason why I prefer when you don’t explain how it works.
It’s this eldritch abomination that can either be used for good or that utterly ruins your life.

The utter randomness of the transformations also means that a very scary one is potentially always behind the corner.
This reminds me of another DC Comics series where the protagonist could get random powers: the 90s version of Resurrection Man, who would resurrect with new powers every time he was killed; a similar concept about “hitting the jackpot” was explored there.
Also, Robby mentioning he met Superman MIGHT be a reference to the Silver Age continuity insert.

Robby wants Jerry’s help in finding the H-Dial. When Jerry says he’s not interested… well I did mention Robby went crazy.

But Jerry is also developing powers without transforming.

The concept is not entirely unprecedented in Dial-H history: you might remember Vicki and Chris went through something similar.
Although the kids and Robby went through 50+ transformations when that happened, while Jerry peaked at just 13.

Robby spells out the other theme of the series, besides “being a hero can ruin your life”.

Later, as Robby sleeps on Jerry’s couch, he has a nightmare about what he witnessed as Future Boy.

And we close the issue with a guy who just murdered a woman finding the H-Dial.

A very effective moment, but THAT is the reason why the dead woman is on the cover?
Talk about a stretch.

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H.E.R.O. #16 (2004)
By Will Pfeifer & Dale Eaglesham

Jerry’s girlfriend thinks that hanging out with a crazy man who escaped from prison and is talking about doomsday is a bad idea, for some reason.

Meanwhile, the guy who found the dial is killing lots of people while superheroing, plus generally being a creep.

Probably the aspect I like the least about this series is having Robby access all his powers with relative ease. It defeats the entire purpose of the dial!

Even if they do try to underplay it.

The new H-Dial user keeps on murdering. At this point it’s clear he’s a serial killer.

Robby isn’t the only character we meet again: there’s also Suzy. Who continues her trend of changing hair color between appearances.

And she’s still smarter than you’d think.

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H.E.R.O. #17 (2004)
By Will Pfeifer & Dale Eaglesham

Since both Jerry and Robby have random powers, they escape the police just fine.

They later get into a fight because Jerry suspects that Reed is the serial killer.

But the serial killer is on a (mostly unseen) killing spree, so Jerry believes him now.
And we close the issue learning what Robby actually saw as Future Boy…

…himself and Jerry fight Future Boy.

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H.E.R.O. #18 (2004)
By Will Pfeifer & Dale Eaglesham

The classic time travel shenanigans are interrupted when Future Boy is blasted back into the past.

That’s naturally the work of the serial killer. Who apparently transformed into this form for the second time? It’s not named, but he clearly switched forms in-between.

And it’s a very powerful transformation indeed: flight, super-strength, heat vision and duplication powers.

We’re approaching Martian Manhunter levels here, but at least there are drawbacks.

Jerry recovers the H-Dial, but he makes a blunder: the user is the one who has to use the dial to transform back. That’s actually consistent with how the original series worked.

Okay we have flight, super-strength, heat vision, self-duplication, freeze breath, telekinesis and telepathy. This guy really DID hit the jackpot!

Well he ALSO has shapeshifting, so he has the complete Martian Manhunter package AND THEN SOME MORE!
It also means that ALL the transformations from the serial killer are actually the same.

Threatening his girlfriend makes Jerry transform into four new heroes in rapid succession.
Once again not unprecedented thanks to Vicki and Chris.

But even THAT is not enough to stop the powerhouse. I don’t know if he’s speaking metaphorically, but at this point I could believe he’s ALSO a precognitive.

I mean he has healing powers as well.

But apparently the H-Dial still works even on severed limbs.

And so we end with Robby killing the serial killer…

…and SOMEHOW lose the H-Dial again!!!

You know Chris maybe had a point in carrying that thing around as a wristwatch.

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H.E.R.O. #19 (2004)
By Will Pfeifer & Dale Eaglesham

Sooooo… why isn’t the series over? Because of that pesky duplication power.

This is bizarre, even by this franchise’s history. Not only the main plot SHOULD be over, but the fact that these guys didn’t cease to exist once the serial killer lost his powers makes no sense.

Most of the issue is spent watching the duplicates trying to transform back, until only one of them is left alive.

And then we move to Robby being worried about defeating Captain Everypower.
WE JUST DID THAT PLOT!!!

With Jerry out of the count (and presumably dead? His girlfriend thinks so), we’re tracing back the other protagonists of the series.

Okay, the fact that Robby becomes a fan of Captain Chaos is pretty funny.

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H.E.R.O. #20 (2004)
By Will Pfeifer & Dale Eaglesham

The serial killer’s duplicate… who sadly doesn’t get a codename… murders most of the Captain Chaos crew.

Despite the fact that he’s a fan! He also recruits the Gotham petty criminal that starred in issues 9 and 10.

Since the duplicate is SOMEHOW disconnected from the H-Dial, the criminal can transform again.

But it’s nowhere near as powerful as Captain Everypower, who puts him in his place.

At least we get SOME explanation for how users can still use the powers without transforming. I still think it defeats the purpose of having the H-Dial, but it’s something.

Since Captain Everypower can sense the location of former H-Dial users he kidnaps Andrea, the protagonist of issue 6. That gets the attention of her father, the protagonist of issue 5.

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H.E.R.O. #21 (2004)
By Will Pfeifer & Dale Eaglesham

Well that clears up any doubts of what this guy’s deal is.

I can’t believe a guy that used to work for the Joker is going to act as Captain Everypower’s conscience.

He also gets another transformation.

The last Captain Chaos member is killed off-panel, and the VAST majority of the issue is wasted on Matt arguing with Robby.
This is basically a repeat of the dynamic with Jeff when HE didn’t want to work with Robby!

But eventually Robby decides to access his Giant Boy powers and save Andrea.

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H.E.R.O. #22 (2004)
By Will Pfeifer & Dale Eaglesham

And we have reached the end of this series.

With Robby and Jerry busy fighting Captain Everypower, Andrea tries to use the H-Dial to transform… but she’s still a kid, so Tony stops her easily.
Now there’s nothing stopping him from transforming again.

Or is it?

Nope! He had a change of heart, and gave the H-Dial back to Andrea.

The H-Dial is SO addictive that Matt ends up attacking his own daughter to get it back…

…except that’s ANOTHER superpower for Captain Everypower: mind control.

Thankfully mental powers are nothing compared with he ability to shoot laser beams against your enemy’s crotch.

Even THAT is not enough to take down Captain Everypower, so Tony has to complete his redemption arc by BLOWING HIMSELF UP.

Good for Tony, but this came out of nowhere and THAT is how we defeat the bad guy!?

With all those superpower being thrown around, it’s perhaps telling that the only person using them responsibly has been the literal child.

And so we end with Robby using his Future Boy powers to send the H-Dial into another time.

And now we move into the epilogues. Andrea goes back to living with her father, and Robby leaves… apparently not to get back with Suzy.

Jerry is confirmed to have died in the fight against the serial killer, but turns out his girlfriend was pregnant at the time.

Between Andrea hinting she might want to grow up as a superhero and Jerry’s son displaying powers, I wonder if there were plans for a sequel.

But whatever happened to the H-Dial? Robby sent it into the past… specifically to the caveman from issue 11.

That means that, at least according to this series, the entire thing is a close loop.
While it’s not exactly spelled out, it’s heavily implied that Robby originally found the H-Dial in a cave because the caveman left it there.
Which implies that the very existence of the H-Dial is a paradox: Robby received the dial because he gave it to himself.

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Historical significance: 0/10
As far as I know, this series is not referenced by anything.

Silver Age-ness: 0/10
It really, REALLY goes out of its way to avoid it!

Does it stand the test of time?
#15-18: 7/10
It continues to suffer from the tendency to have violence for shock value, and Robby’s characterization is a bit inconsistent. The serial killer is absolutely terrifying, both in how amoral he is and how efficient he can be. Robby is much more of a protagonist than Jerry, and too much time is lost between an argument between them that is not very interesting… we don’t have ANY reason to believe Robby is the serial killer when we’ve seen the real one. They should’ve left it ambiguous for a while; as it is, the arguments feel very empty.
I would rank it slightly higher if it wasn’t for all the emphasis on former dial users keeping their powers, which as I’ve gone over again and again cheapens the entire franchise.
Despite its flaws, it does manage to keep the tension high for the right amount of time and it has a satisfying conclusion.
In fact it would’ve been a much better finale than the actual one.
#19-22: 6/10
Most of this is a retread of what we have already seen, and done worse. Why keep the duplicate around for so long? He doesn’t feel as threatening as the original: the protagonists BARELY survived a single direct encounter with that one, which makes the sequel feel much inferior.
Completely ditching Jerry for Matt doesn’t work either, because he ALSO wastes a lot of time with useless arguments. And Tony’s redeption doesn’t feel earned.
I did like the use of Andrea and the idea of tying it back to the caveman issue, though.
You know what would’ve made this whole thing work? Ditch Jerry and have Matt be the one following Reed, then merge the plot of #18 with that of #22. Tony and the Captain Chaos kids don’t need to be involved, they don’t add anything. And neither does having the

Dial V for Vicki transformations: 78
Dial K for King transformations: 77
Dial R for Robby Reed identities: 55
Adding Future Boy.
Dial Z for Hero Cruz identities: 15
Dial J for Jerry identities: 17
Adding the new four forms.
Dial N for Nick identities: 4

Dial M for Miscellaneous identities: 58
The serial killer only changes into one, although possibly the most power transformation we’ve seen so far. But we also have 5 new Captain Chaos ones, a new one for Tony and one for Andrea.

Dial S for SOCKAMAGEE! : 103
Three uses of the catchprase, all of which are during the flashback to the origin story.

Dial C for the superpowers count: 81
Time travel is a new one, as is surprisingly invisibility: as The Wizard he did make the dials invisible, but this looks like a different power.
All other powers shown by Robby… flight, energy projection, telekinesis, size increase… are all repeats. 

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And that’s it for this relaunch. Despite stumbling in the finale, I think it’s still my favorite incarnation of the Dial H concept.

As previously mentioned Robby doesn’t show up in the 2012 relaunch, so it won’t be featured in the retrospective.
Only two things are left to cover before I end the retrospective: a couple of cameos spread throughout the 2000s, and the 2019 relaunch where Robby shows up.
Once again completely ignoring ALL the other sequels to his original series, because at this point it’s on brand for him.