Dial F for Finale

That’s curtains for Dial H for H.E.R.O. retrospective, having followed the crazy journey of Robby Reed. So let’s celebrate its absurd history with some curiosities, shall we?

Little did we know this kid would end up literally re-shaping the Multiverse.
Just compare his first and last panels to date.

But now that I’ve gone through multiple incarnations of the Dial H franchise, how would I rank them? I’m only counting the major series, not the various cameos or one-offs.

#5: 80s revival

I think my reviews were harsh enough to convey my disappointment with this relaunch.
It completely wasted any potential by having WAY too many transformations, not enough characterization, and zero charm.
I initially considered doing an awards post for this series as well, until I realized I had almost nothing good to say about it and didn’t want to double down on the negative.
I still think the kids deserved better than the character assassination Wolfman inflicted on them on Teen Titans, though.

#4: Dial H

 I skipped the 2012 series because I wanted to focus on Robby Reed, and this is the only incarnation where he doesn’t show up.
It’s a good series that really gets into the horror aspect of the H-Dial, even though I wasn’t a big fan of the artwork.

 #3: House Of Mystery

Despite its many flaws… it’s formulaic, characterization is very low, it has Mighty Moppet… it’s still very charming and full of potential. Sadly it doesn’t use it, but there’s something oddly comforting in this innocent silly series.

#2: H.E.R.O.

This was my first real exposure to the franchise, and I loved it…s first half.
The conclusion isn’t very satisfying, as it loses sight of the transformations and goes for shock value way too often… but those issues where the H-Dial bounces from person to person are just a treasure.
Even after reading all others, the caveman story is still THE best Dial-H story in my book.

#1: Dial H for HERO
Take everything that all previous incarnations lacked.
Complex protagonists with good chemistry? Check.
A compelling mystery to unravel? Check.
A cool villain? Check.
Balancing silliness and seriousness? Check.
All the good things I said about the H.E.R.O. series? You can find ALL of it (minus the cavemen story) JUST in issue 7 here!!!
And that’s even before you factor the sheer amount of creativity with all the various homages and art styles!
Hands down the best relaunch a (let’s face it) rather obscure franchise can hope for.

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And now, let’s have a look at some of the counters I’ve kept throughout the reviews.
What, you thought it was just for fun? That would just have been a colossal waste of time for my own amusement.

I have recorded 121 Sockamagee!s.
Unsurprisingly, they’re almost all in the House Of Mystery run, and they don’t really come back into style until the 2019 series.

The fourteen dialing options are more equally spread, with only three series contributing.

But here’s the juicy part: the transformations! In total, I have catalogue a staggering 505 transformations across the entire retrospective (even including the 2012 series for good measure).
The 80s relaunch leads the total, with an incredible 152 transformations.

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As for who has the highest number of transformations… it’s a bit complicated.
Technically speaking Vicki beats every single individual with a monumental 78 transformations, followed by Chris at 77 and a distant Robby at 61.
The elephant in the room is the Thunderbolt Club mayhem, because in just TWO issues of the 2019 series they manage to increase the number of transformations by a neat 100 by giving away transformations to half of Metropolis.
The other “collective” entries, Captain Chaos from H.E.R.O. and the JLA from the Silver Age event, are very distant with 33 and 8 respectively.
Something that I didn’t notice until now is just how many repeated users there are.
Excluding the Thunderbolt Club and the members of the JLA, there are only EIGHT other individuals that dialed only once.

It’s hard to picture just how many transformations Vicki and Chris have when compared to everybody else. When grouped together, they have A THIRD of all transformations!

H.E.R.O. doesn’t have an actual protagonist, but even if we add all the transformations from the four main characters (Jerry, Tony, Andrea and Matt) they don’t even surpass Robby or the two protagonists of the 2012 series, Nelson and Manteau.
Considering Hero Cruz doesn’t have a co-protagonist and he doesn’t keep the dial for long, he doesn’t get a bad total.

(I’m including Nick’s pathetic 4 transformations since he’s nominally part of the 80s protagonists; this is different from the total number of 80s transformations because Vicki has a couple afterwards).

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In honor of Vicki’s service… this is the complete list of all her transformations.

Sunspot, Ice, Grasshopper, Twilight, Windsong, Molecular Maiden, Hypno Girl, Midnight Wisp, Strato-Girl, Goldgirl, Alchemiss, Dimension Girl, Stellar, Ultra Girl, Starlet, Cardinal, Aniwoman, Thumbelina, Tiarra Star, Matter Girl, Echo, Ariel, Black, Weather Witch, Emerald Tiger, Rainbeau, Hummingbird, Hydra, Hyptella, Sonik, Puma, Sulphur, Sparrow Hawk, Kismet, Plant Mistress, Sea Mist, Harp, Pixie, Snowfall, Glass Lass, Unicorn, Queen of Hearts, Blue Biker, Weaver, Frosty, Tempest, Starburst, Spinning Jenny, Scylla, Futura, Sphera, Blazerina, Thundera, Monarch, Miss Hourglass, Sirocco, Infra-Red, Ultra-Violet, Gossamer, Fan, Visionary, Spyglass, Psi-Clone, Rock, Genesis, Ms. Muscle, Lavender Sky-Writer, Turnabout, Raggedy Doll, Venus, Fire-Water Woman*, Giant Lizard*, Diamond, Electric Lady*, Harpy, Volcano Girl, Sister Scissor-Limbs, Cobress.
_{*not actually named in the story}

Is it any wonder she went crazy?

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So long, Robby Reed. I will genuinely miss this retrospective, but I’m glad that after so many crappy finales and relaunches you finally got the chance to get the respect you deserve.
Sockamagee!