DCnU - Hawk and Dove #1 from DC's New 52

Hawk and Dove number one features writing by Sterling Gates and art by Rob Liefeld.

In this story, we get Hawk griping repeatedly about how much better a partner as Dove his brother was than Dawn is. His brother died in the line of duty, and fans of the old Hawk and Dove series know that Don's powers left him seconds before he actually died. I'm not sure if that is true in the current continuity, but while Dove is talking to her boyfriend, Deadman, she indicates there is something about how she became Dove that she hasn't told Hawk.

So... here's the thing. Hawk is aggressive and confrontational. But he has been partners with this Dove for two years. Given that they are both college-aged, it strikes me as odd that after two years, he still spends a lot of time comparing his partner to his deceased one. Not that I think he should necessarily be over having lost his brother, but I'd think he'd be pretty used to the dynamic of working with the new Dove.

Okay. So, having clarified that, here we go: The first page, as it has been in a lot of the New 52 so far is an info dump that introduces Alexander Quirk, who calls himself a Science Terrorist. It is revealed that he has hijacked a plane and is using it to deliver his "Monsters of Mass Destruction" into Washington D.C.

From there, we jump into a two-page spread inside the plane, of Hawk beating up on some of his men. Now, I am not a Liefeld hater, but this was not a good place to start. Maybe it's the lack of motion lines, or the straight up-and-down stance Hawk is in, but this feels very static rather than kinetic.

The fight in the plane goes on, with the Monsters of Mass Destruction - zombie-like critters - waking up and attacking Hawk & Dove. They dispatch them, and try to land the plane without taking out any of the national landmarks in the DC area on the way down.

So, here's the problem. I really like Hawk & Dove. One of the things I liked about their old series was that the fights were really well done. Now? Not so much. In 6 pages of the opening battle (counting that two-page spread), there are two punches thrown by Hawk, and one kick by Dove. One of the zombie-things also lunges at Dove and nearly gets her, but she dodges out of the way.

Then, they try to land the plane. They run into Washi Watanabe who is part of the D.C.P.D Special Crimes unit. He tells them that Captain Arsala says hi, which is a nice call back to Sal Arsala's significant role as a supporting character in the previous series. I can't help but wonder if now that he is a Captain if he still wears Hawaiian shirts all the time.

After that, we get some character development as Hank talks to his fater, and Dove patrols with Deadpman. Then, we he origin story of Hawk and Dove (Hank and Don, that is), and Dove reveals that, "If the world is going to stay safe, Hank can never know about me and Don." It's unclear if that is because Dawn somehow "stole" the power of Dove from Don, or if there is something else going on.

After that, we get the mandatory appearance of the Flashpoint woman (2nd to last page, top panel), and introduction of next issue's threat. It looks kind of like Kestrel from the last series - who I really liked - but not quite. The coming attractions on DC's site reveal that it is Condor. and that he and Swan will be coming to make Hawk & Dove's lives a little harder.

Overall, I wasn't too thrilled with this issue. My affection for the characters will definitely lead to picking up issue #2, but at this point, the comic has to work to win me over. It won't be hard - I am hoping that the problems I had with the first fight scene were due to Liefeld trying to get across the cramped quarters of fighting in a plane. I also hope that the degree of bitching about Dove from Hawk was pushed heavily because it is the first issue. Alexander Quirk has some potential as a villain, and I am looking forward to seeing Hawk & Dove square off against other avatars.

I'm also hoping that we don't see the normally considerate and good Dove, avatar of peace, crush someone's car while she is out on patrol because she is having a conversation that makes her a little uncomfortable. Particularly since she can fly, and never needs to land on someone's car. I may be alone here, but stuff like this really bugs me. This, Superman throwing a dog's ball past the horizon in the latest movie, that kind of thing. Heroes who are supposed to be good people just randomly being dicks. And Dove is definitely supposed to be good people.