dawn granger • the avatar of order      From an early age, Dawn Granger traveled the globe, thanks to her mother’s career in the State Department, and learned smatterings of many languages and an appreciation for diverse cultures. While Dawn lived mainly in Connecticut, her rebellious younger sister Holly opted to live in London. During her high-school years, Dawn’s family settled in Washington, D.C. when her father, a highly regarded physical technician, was offered a job at the Arlington S.T.A.R. Labs. Surrounded by diplomacy, Dawn came to believe in me power of reason over force; that all riddles have answers, all problems have solutions, and all conflicts are resolvable. She was an exemplary student, showing leadership abilities and a natural talent for order and organization.

     After high school, Dawn returned to Europe to attend England’s Oxford University. While there, an inter-dimensional Crisis occurred that required the services of nearly every country’s super-heroes, military, and police forces. During this time, Dawn’s mother, in London to deliver a diplomatic pouch, was taken hostage along with the staff of the American embassy by a band of terrorists who announced they would blow up the embassy. Desperate, Dawn’s pleas for help were answered by a mysterious mingling of voices, belonging to Lords of Chaos and Order, who promised Dawn the power to make order of this chaos if she would only “say the word.” The word was “Dove.” She agreed. Whenever danger is present, Dawn can say “Dove” and trigger the change in which Dove’s costume swirls across her body, appearing from nowhere to replace whatever she is wearing. This costume cannot be removed on low-magic worlds like Earth and hides the fact that Dove is not truly human, but a conduit for and the living essence of a Lord of Order’s mystical energy. When the danger is over, Dove reverts to Dawn. Dawn knew about the first Hawk and Dove team, but assumed she was just “another” Dove, just as there are many Green Lanterns. She was shocked when she discovered the first Dove had died while rescuing people during the Crisis. She also noticed a change in Hawk as news resources reported his escalating destructive and chaotic behavior.

     Increasingly convinced that it was intended for her to become Hawk’s new partner and that Hawk needed the balancing effect of Dove’s presence, Dawn returned to the United States, tracking Hawk’s moves and charting his appearances. She deduced that Hawk was Hank Hall, a Georgetown University student, and transferred herself to the same school, to her parents’ delight. When confronted by the new Dove, Hawk’s initial reaction was angry and violent, but he came to accept and appreciate his new partner. During this first adventure, Dove learned that Hawk and Dove were linked to Chaos and Order and that the first Dove actually died and Dawn had accepted the powers, meaning she may have been partly responsible for his death. Guilt and curiosity eventually led Dove, with Hawk, to meet Terataya, the Lord of Order who gave Dove her powers, and T’Charr, the Lord of Chaos who gave Hawk his. These two Lords had fallen in love and revealed that Hawk and Dove were experimental spells cast by the pair to prove that the two conflicting mystic houses could work together fatally injured during that adventure, the two Lords of Order and Chaos gave the remainder of their essences to make the Hawk and Dove spells permanent. This merging gave both Hawk and Dove enhanced powers. It also left Dawn wondering if Hawk and Dove were meant to fall in love as their creators had.

     But Dove had a different romantic partner in mind. While in Georgetown, Dove caught the attention of Captain “Sal” Arsala, leader of the Washington DC Special Crimes Unit, who was immediately taken with the bright and beautiful crimefighter. But unknown to Sal, it was difficult for Dove to date the colorful Captain because her powers only sparked when danger was near. So Dove attempted to date Sal as Dawn Granger, but donned in a white wig to protect her dual identity. Meanwhile, Dawn’s friend Donna offered to play match-maker by arranging a blind date with her childhood friend, Brian. The situation became comically complicated when Dawn eventually met Donna’s friend at a holiday party – only to learn his full name: Brian “Sal” Arsala, the same man she was dating as Dove! This led Dawn to date Sal in both identities, hoping to win his heart in her civilian guise. Eventually, Dawn revealed her secret to Sal and the pair started to embark on a more serious relationship.

     But the lovebirds’ burgeoning romance was cut tragically short. During an afternoon picnic, Dawn and Sal were ambushed by the time-displaced Monarch. The power-mad despot attacked the couple, savagely slaying Sal as Dawn watched in horror. Seeking to insure his own origins, Monarch kidnapped Dove and used his teleportational ability to steal an odd array of equipment. Standing atop a hilly glen, Monarch proceeded to build a powerful device that would subjugate the Earth to his will. By this time, Hawk tracked them down and when Dove tried to stop Monarch, the villain seemingly killed her.

     Hawk and Dove were always destined to be two sides of the same force, and they needed each other to maintain stability. With Dove dead, there was no one who could keep Hawk’s mind in check no one to stop him from slipping into chaos. And in a rage, Hawk killed Monarch – learning that he himself was the madman behind the mask. Dawn Granger was thought to be dead, but that was not so. The evil mage Mordru had actually saved Dawn from annihilation and created a concealment spell so she would appear dead. Mordru knew the offspring of Hawk and Dove would create a being of perfect balance between Order and Chaos – and he secretly planned to use that vessel for his own evil ends. Magically implanted with the seed of Hank Hall, Dawn gave birth to Hector Hall – who later assumed the mantle of Dr. Fate. Dr. Fate believed his birth mother was Lyta Hall, until he finally deduced it was Dawn Granger. The realization of this broke through Mordru’s mystical ruse and forced the evil sorcerer’s hand. Possessing the body of Dr. Fate, the malevolent magic-user was ultimately defeated by the Justice Society. Now freed of her mystical imprisonment, Dove left to search for a new Hawk.

     Dawn found the new Hawk in an unlikely yet familiar place, as Chaos bestowed the powers of Hawk upon Holly Granger, Dawn’s London-reared younger sibling. The avian duo quickly made their mark as the latest Hawk and Dove, assisting the Titans in battling the more-dangerous-than-ever Dr. Light. But Dawn found her biggest challenge was in taming her sister’s fiery temperament. After Superboy’s tragic death during the Infinite Crisis, the Teen Titans faced a year of heartache and turmoil. Hawk and Dove joined the team for a short time, but later quit. The group remained in constant upheaval until Robin returned and reorganized the Titans into a team.

     Sadly, the female version of Hawk & Dove was ultimately short-lived. During the cosmic event known as The Blackest Night, the dead were imbued with Black Lantern energy and proceeded to attack and torment the living. Hank Hall rose from the dead, controlled by the evil Nekron, and murdered Holly Granger before her sister’s own eyes. But on the heels of this tragedy, there was a ray of hope. Before Nekron could return everything back to the black void, a burst of white light put an end to this plan – resurrecting twelve fallen heroes and villains in the process. Now mysterious restored to life, Hank Hall has rejoined Dawn Granger – allowing the Hawk and Dove team to fly again.