The Most Heroic Titan Just Turned Evil in DC Comics

Warning: contains spoilers for Future State: Suicide Squad #1!

Dove, of the duo Hawk and Dove, is a longtime Teen Titan, and one of the most heroic. There have been two versions of the character and both have been avatars of peace, but in Future State: Suicide Squad#1, the latest version has abandoned the cause of peace and love, embracing a dark and twisted path. The story, ‘The Beginning of the End,’ is written by Jeremy Adams, with pencils by Fernando Pasarin, inks by Oclair Albert and colors by Jeromy Cox; it is currently available in stores and on all digital platforms.

Hawk and Dove first appeared in Showcase #75 in 1968. Created by the legendary Steve Ditko, the pair initially consisted of brothers Don and Hank Hall. Given superpowers by the Lords of Chaos and Order, the two brothers became Hawk and Dove, with the culture of the time familiar with these avian metaphors for different approaches to international intervention. Hank, who became Hawk, embodied conflict, whereas Don, who became Dove, represented peace. Don was killed in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and a new Dove, Dawn Granger, joined Hawk soon after. This version of Dove is perhaps better known than the first, having appeared in more comics and in television adaptation Titans. It is this version that embraces the dark side in Future State.

In the 853^rd century, a terrifying evil force known as the Unkindness has been unleashed upon the universe. The Unkindness, who have allied themselves with the Seven Deadly Sins, consist of Vandal Savage, who has gotten an upgrade from the Lords of Chaos, Teekl, the former familiar of Klarion the Witch Boy and a twisted version of Dove. Billed as “the former soldier of Order,” readers learn that Dove has given up the ways of peace to become “the embodiment of violence.” Her traditional blue-themed costume is gone, replaced with blood red to represent her new mission.

No reason is given for this horrifying transformation, but there is some precedent for it in the character’s history. Hank was driven mad during the Armageddon 2001 crossover and became Monarch before morphing into the god-like Extant during the Zero Hour miniseries. Later stories and events undid this change, and Hank became Hawk again, but as the heroes have pledged themselves to serve such grand concepts, they’re particularly vulnerable to sweeping societal changes – the whole point of Future State‘s linewide flash forward – and eldritch influences. Once you’ve embodied Order, there’s no easy way out, but picking another master is clearly an option.

Future State only presents possible futures for DC’s characters, but the company is likely to draw on its storylines for years to come, meaning fans should look out both for Dove’s potential corruption and the possibility of time-travel shenanigans bringing this intriguingly corrupted hero into DC’s main timeline. The Teen Titans are no strangers to being betrayed by their own members, such as in their famed ‘Judas Contract’ arc, but by the looks of Dove in this issue, no member has ever broken bad to quite the same devastating extent.

About The Author

Shaun Corley
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Shaun Corley is a pop culture enthusiast living in the Pacific Northwest. After stints in both customer service and academia, he’s turned his attention to writing about comic books–his lifelong passion. He is a graduate of Radford University, with a degree in English. When not reading comics, he enjoys spending time with his fiance and their dog.

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