We are still not done with the ramifications of the 80s revival series, because there are still consequences in the 90s.
Starting with something I should’ve covered last time.
Hawk & Dove Annual vol.3 #1 (1990)
written by Karl Kesel & Barbara Kesel
pencils by Dave Hoover & Tom Artis
cover by Rob Liefeld
Many thanks to my reader Chaim Mattis Keller for this reference, because for the life of me I couldn’t find where it was established that Chris could now transform without his watch-dial.
Hawk and Dove are among the DC heroes I know very, VERY little about. They’ve gone through several incarnations, and this is one of those I know next to nothing about.
I do know that they’re linked to the Lords Of Order And Chaos… and having recently suffered through the third Amethyst series, you’ll forgive me if I skip their part of the story entirely.
Especially since there are SOME details that I don’t want to know.
The story is also linked to the Titans East, the lesser known version of the Teen Titans… and I’m not very familiar with them either.
I’ve always found it amusing that Marvel has the West Coast Avengers, since the Avengers are normally on the East coast, while DC has the Titans East because the Titans are normally on the West coast.
So quick question to those who know the Titans East: does the fandom tend to needlessly make fund of them despite having solid runs? Because I’m used to that happening to the West Coast Avengers, who are almost consistently great.
But the real reason I’m talking about this issue is because we see Chris at S.T.A.R. Labs, where they gave him a Madrox cosplay to control his transformations.
You might remember that, at this point, Vicki is supposed to have Chris’s watch-dial after he stole back her medallion.
Now there’s no medallion, and he’s transforming automatically on his own.
This is not getting anywhere, but… why don’t other H-Dial user end up being studied like this by super-scientists?
I also love the fact that even now nobody has a real clue about how the dial works!
Later, when the Titans East are helped by S.T.A.R. Labs to reach another dimension, Chris joins them in the adventure.
Synapse looks terrible, but it’s not a bad transformation.
Aaaaand he gets defeated by the bad guy of the story.
That was page 27. The bad guys are defeated at page 52, we see Chris made it back at page 53, and the story ends at page 54.
No wonder we saw last time that Chris eventually drops out of the whole superhero business.
We next pick up the H-Dial in… yet another series I know next to nothing about.
Man that is seriously becoming a theme lately!!!
Superboy And The Ravers #5 (1996)
written by Karl Kesel & Steve Mattsson
pencils and cover by Paul Pelletier
Of course I know about the post-Crisis Superboy: he showed up right after the Death Of Superman storyline. We will definitely talk A LOT about him once I get to the Legion reboot, because he’s quite important for that one. And I did read his 90s series, very entertaining (and in my opinion, more interesting than most of what’s been done with the character ever since, with the only exception of Young Justice).
But the Ravers? I know they’re a team that hangs out with him, but I know absolutely nothing about them.
The concept is delightfully bonkers: the Ravers have that name because they are connected to an intergalactic rave concert that teleports from place to place. Superboy happened to pick up a superhero team among them.
One of the Ravers, Hero Cruz… no seriously, that’s his name… used a vest with a force field for the first few issues. Now it turns out that it used to the Scavenger, the poor man’s Collector.
Hero ends up in the Scavenger’s lair when attempting to save a hostage…
The Scavenger thinks that he’s here to recover the H-Dial (which is actually Vicki’s medallion).
So Hero takes the opportunity to dial H.E.R.O.
We’re playing fast and loose with the rules, however, since Hero is able to IMMEDIATELY transform into a new hero instead of having to wait an hour.
And I have to say, he ALREADY has more creativity with TWO transformations than the kids had with their entire series!!!
Being unfamiliar with Scavenger, I have no idea whatsoever why THIS little speech convinces him to let the hostage go and let Hero keep the dial.
I’m not going to review the ENTIRE series just for Hero Cruz, so he’s a rundown of all the transformation he gets in the following issues.
It is notable that most of these guys have at least a little bit of personality of their own.
Superboy And The Ravers #13 (1997)
written by Karl Kesel & Steve Mattsson
pencils and cover by Paul Pelletier
This issue, however, needs a more proper look.
Because it’s when we meet a familiar face again, although good luck recognizing her.
Hero transforms to defend himself against her, but it’s not a good transformation.
Especially since his opponent can ALSO transform, so you’ve already figured out who this is.
In the middle of the fight, there’s a neat detail: the fact that Hero Cruz doesn’t have to wait between transformations he because he “broke the safety timer of the H-Dial”.
Since this is Vicki’s medallion that was created by Robby, that was indeed a deliberate addition.
No wonder Vicki is angry: she’s been looking for the dial since 1988, nine years before this story!
During the fight, they both turn back human.
Notice the attention to detail: all the transformations she namedrops HAVE been shown in previous stories!
Vicki sure had it rough in her career, right? I really feel bad for her.
She went through all sorts of hell during her Teen Titans appearances and then was completely forgotten for almost ten years! I wouldn’t go as far as saying that she’s a great character that didn’t deserve this, but it was very gratuitous.
At least this story gives her, if not a happy ending, a resolution.
Also the issue ends with the revelation that Hero is gay. Which even in the late 90s it was still a relatively big deal, and would probably have made more of a splash if people were actually reading this series.
So I guess it’s not a coincidence that in the NEXT issue, Hero is the first H-Dial user to directly change gender. Although Chris KIND OF did it first, since he transformed into a shapeshifter who then transformed into a woman.
Also, maybe the hero transformations are different parts of the minds of the person who transforms? That’s a fascinating concept that is immediately dropped.
Mostly because while it could work for users that have the dial for a couple stories, but good luck finding enough explanations for 50+ transformations.
Superboy And The Ravers #15 (1997)
written by Karl Kesel & Steve Mattsson
pencils by Josh Hood
cover by Paul Pelletier
Since #14 was a tie-in to a crossover, this is the actual resolution of the Vicki story.
How crazy is it that it took THIS LONG to talk about body image when it comes to the H-Dial?
But also, there’s the addictive nature of the transformations. All H-Dial series except the original deal with this to some extent; I think this is done much better here than Wolfman did with the Teen Titans story.
So of course Hero dials a few pages later.
And that’s all we see of Vicki!
To close off the Hero transformations, #16 has one of the most unique ones.
Because the team has to deal with the sorcerer Faust…
…Hero transforms into a nearly identical mystic.
In #18 he turns into a healer.
And finally #19 is the last issue of the series.
Titans Secret Files and Origins #2 (2000)
written by Geoff Johns & Ben Raab
pencils by Drew Johnson
Hero has a couple of cameos here and there, but as far as I can tell this is the last time he’s shown transforming.
And that’s it for the Dial H kids: the 2000s will bring a couple of complete reboots for the entire Dial H franchise.
I will be looking at those ONLY to answer to one question: whatever happened to Robby Reed?
Historical significance: 4/10
At least as far as the Dial H franchise goes, it’s neat to have Vicki at least receive SOME resolution.
I can’t say if this has repercussions for Superboy, but probably not.
Silver Age-ness: N/A
Does it stand the test of time?: N/A
This is not a real review so I’m not giving a real score.
I’m not recommending the Hawk & Dove Annual, but you might want to give a shot to the Ravers.
The series gets messy at the end and suffers for having waaaaay too many characters, but the team has legitimate chemistry and the story isn’t bad.
Also you can never have too much Paul Pelletier artwork. Do consider that he’s replaced by much worse artists at the end, though.
Not a masterpiece, but better than you’d think.
Dial V for Vicki transformations: 78
Considering how much she had to get through, it’s reassuring that at least she has the most transformations now.
Dial K for King transformations: 77
Adding Serrator and Synapse.
Dial R for Robby Reed identities: 54
Dial Z for Hero Cruz identities: 15
I’m beginning to think Robby was a bit hasty in handing over the original Dial to Nick…
Dial N for Nick identities: 4
I read Superboy & the Ravers when it came out, but I barely remember it. I remember Scavenger solely because he meets the reboot Legion, an event with major repercussions.
On the other hand, Barbara and Karl Kesel’s run on Hawk & Dove, which introduced the idea that they’re champions of Chaos and Order, is a great series, cancelled too soon in an misguided attempt to fix the botched Armageddon 2001 crossover. Future Hawk & Dove series are… not so good.
Also, while there have been teams called Titans East, the Hawk & Dove Annual is about Titans West. It’s easy to lose track of all the Titans’ spin-off teams.