The DC Universe’s Version of Ben 10 is Saving The World

Warning: Contains spoilers for Future State: Teen Titans #1

Though it didn’t start life as a comic book, the series Ben 10 had an incredible premise for a superhero. The idea of one person having the ability to transform into a multitude of different heroes didn’t originate with that series though. Long before Ben 10, there was the DC comic, Dial H For Hero. The series’ signature H-Dial  returned in Young Justice recently, but it’s about to become more important than ever to DC’s other team of young adults. In Future State: Teen Titans #1 the H-Dial may be key to saving the world.

In the new series by writer Tim Sheridan and artist Rafa Sandoval, the world is in ruins after some sort of accident involving the Teen Titans. Through flashbacks, readers see the Titans confronting one of their students who is cocooned in light. Standing between the Titans and their student is the rogue Titan, Red X. X tells his former mentors that he won’t let them kill the student trapped in the cocoon. While he talks things out with Nightwing, Donna Troy and the current H-Dial owner, Miguel Montez, launch a surprise attack. Whoever the mystery student is, they must have been quite powerful, as they vaporize two of the strongest Titans in an instant.

Far later, Nightwing and Red Arrow go salvaging in the ruins of Titans Tower. They pay their respects to all their fallen comrades before poking around the rubble. After reminiscing about old times, Nightwing finally finds what he’s looking for, the H-Dial. He warns Red Arrow not to activate it, as it could teleport her into another dimension if she uses it wrong. The two take it to the Titans’ new leader, Starfire, who neglects to mention the recovered technology to the younger Titans. Dick asks her about their plan for the H-Dial, but Kory responds that whatever plans he had for the H-Dial were off the table. Done with trying to play by the rules, Nightwing breaks Red X out of Titan’s HQ and puts on Deathstroke’s mask.

While readers don’t know exactly what role the H-Dial plays in Dick’s plan, it’s clearly something dangerous. He even warns Red Arrow against using it. As previously mentioned, the H-Dial recently came back in the pages of Young Justice, where it was wielded by a young man named Miguel Montez. At most the superheroes he turned into were a little less powerful than Superman, which is still powerful, but not powerful enough to fix the apocalypse faced by the Teen Titans.

Still, it’s refreshing to see an obscure piece of DC history given a place of prominence. The often rebooted Ben 10 shows that the H-Dial’s premise is incredibly compelling. Readers will just have to wait and see whether the H-Dial will be a tool of salvation or destruction in Future State: Teen Titans.

About The Author

Evan Mullicane
(362 Articles Published)

Evan D. Mullicane is an editor, critic, and author based out of California’s Bay Area. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University in 2016. In his free time, he enjoys reading graphic novels and writing fantasy.

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