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Dial H for Hero is a comic book feature published by DC Comics about a mysterious dial that enables an ordinary person to become a superhero for a short time, by selecting the letters H-E-R-O in order. A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a Fictional character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derring-do Each time it is used, the dial causes its possessor to become a superhero with a different name, costume, and powers. These superheroes are usually new, but on one occasion the dial caused its user to become a duplicate of an existing superhero, Plastic Man. Plastic Man ( Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a fictional Comic-book Superhero originally published by Quality Comics and later Some versions of the dial contain additional letters, allowing other kinds of transformations.

Contents

Original series

Cover of House of Mystery #156. Art by Jim Mooney
Cover of House of Mystery #156. Art by Jim Mooney

The original series debuted House of Mystery #156 (January 1966), and continued until issue #173 (March-April 1968). James Noel "Jim" Mooney ( August 13, 1919 &ndash March 30, 2008) was an American comic book artist best known The House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series The art was by Jim Mooney, with scripts by Dave Wood. James Noel "Jim" Mooney ( August 13, 1919 &ndash March 30, 2008) was an American comic book artist best known Dave Wood is an Australian calligrapher born in Manchester England The original owner of the dial is Robert "Robby" Reed, a teenager from Littleville, Colorado, who has a penchant for exclaiming, "Sockamagee!", and who discovers the dial in a cavern. The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. A cave is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter Resembling an old telephone dial, this device is hand-held and covered in unknown symbols (that somehow Robby was able to understand as modern letters). In the current volume, issue #9 of The Brave and the Bold, Robby reveals to Tin of the Metal Men that the symbols are Interlac, suggesting at least some relevance between the later 31st century of the Legion of Super-Heroes and the Dial's construction. For the Tortoise and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy album see The Brave and the Bold (album. The Metal Men are Fictional characters, a team of Robot Superheroes created by writer Robert Kanigher, pencilled by Ross Andru and In the DC Comics fictional universe, Interlac is the designated communication language of the 30th century United Planets This is about the DC Comics superhero team For the animated television series based on this see Legion of Super Heroes (TV series.

How the dial got there or who created it is never revealed. Each time he dials the letters H-E-R-O, Robby finds he turns into a different superpowered being; dialing O-R-E-H makes him revert to his normal form. He quickly uses it to protect Littleville under the guises of numerous superheroes.

Robby's H-Dial was once used by his foe, Daffy Dagan, who in House of Mystery #158 (April 1966) briefly becomes a supervillain known as Daffy the Great after dialing V-I-L-L-A-I-N. In House of Mystery #169 (September 1967), Robby's girlfriend Suzie uses the dial, dialing H-E-R-O-I-N-E to temporarily transform into Gem Girl. At the end of the story Suzie receives a blow to the head that causes her to forget about the secret of the device.

After the series ceased its run in House of Mystery, Robby appeared in Plastic Man #13 (June-July 1976). Recovering from an attack of amnesia, Robby retrieves his dial, which has become corroded with rust. Amnesia (from Greek) is a condition in which Memory is disturbed The corrosion causes Robby to turn into an evil version of Plastic Man, and he attacks the real Plastic Man. After defeating Robby and returning him to normal, Plastic Man confiscates the dial from Robby for using it irresponsibly. It is never explained how Robby is seen with the dial in later stories.

In Silver Age 80-Page Giant #1 (July 2000), Robby lends the Dial to the Justice League, allowing several of its members to transform into new superheroes to defeat Agamemno's Injustice League at a time when they had learned how to defeat the Leaguers in their normal forms. 80-Page Giant was the name used for a series of Comic books published by DC Comics beginning in 1964. July 2000: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September The Justice League sometimes called the Justice League of America or JLA for short is a Fictional DC Comics superhero team. Agamemno is the name of a Fictional character, a Supervillain in the DC Comics universe The Injustice League is the name of two Fictional teams of Supervillains in the DC Comics Universe. Each of the superheroes became new superheroes to thwart Agamemno and the Injustice League:

1980s series

Cover of Adventure Comics #479, featuring Chris King and Vicky Grant. Art by Carmine Infantino and Bob Smith.
Cover of Adventure Comics #479, featuring Chris King and Vicky Grant. Superman is a fictional Comic book Superhero widely considered to be one of the most recognized of such characters and an American Cultural icon Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a fictional Comic book Superhero co-created The Atom is a Fictional character, a DC Comics superhero introduced during the Silver Age of comic books in Showcase Black Canary is a Fictional character, a DC Comics superheroine. For the LNER Steam locomotive, see LNER Class V2 4771 Green Arrow Green Arrow ( Oliver Jones "Ollie" Queen Martian Manhunter is the Superhero alias of J'onn J'onzz, alternately known as John Jones or the Manhunter from Mars, a Fictional character Art by Carmine Infantino and Bob Smith. Carmine Infantino (born May 24, 1925) is an American Comic book Artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age

The second Dial H for Hero series debuted in the 1980s, in a special insert in Legion of Super-Heroes #272 (February 1981), then ran in Adventure Comics #479-490 and continued in New Adventures of Superboy #28-49. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Adventure Comics is a Comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983 A new feature of this series was that the readers could submit new hero and villain characters, which were then used in the stories. The submitters were given credit for their creations (and a t-shirt with the series logo), but the characters became DC Comics' property. The original writer and artist in the series were Marv Wolfman and Carmine Infantino. Marvin A "Marv" Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an award-winning American Comic book Writer. Carmine Infantino (born May 24, 1925) is an American Comic book Artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age

In this series, two other dials are discovered years later by teenagers Christopher "Chris" King and Victoria "Vicky" Grant of the New England town of Fairfax in a 'haunted' house. History See also History of New England New England's earliest inhabitants were Algonquian -speaking Native Americans including the These dials--disguised as a watch and a necklace--only have the letters H-E-R-O on them, and work only for an hour, after which they will not work for another hour. A watch is a timepiece that is made to be worn on a person The term now usually refers to a wristwatch, which is worn on the wrist with a strap or Bracelet. A necklace is an article of Jewellery which is worn around the Neck. King and Grant begin protecting Fairfax from a number of menaces. Unknown to them, most of these villains are created by a mysterious villain known only as The Master.

It must be noted that, while anyone could use Chris and Vicki's H-dials, they always turned the user into a hero, regardless of his or her personality; even The Master was temporarily made good by one. This fact has been ignored in later stories. On one occasion (Adventure Comics #488), a hero's persona overwhelmed the heroic Chris' own personality; as "Ragnarok, the Cosmic Viking", he possessed no awareness of Chris King's memories and acted with disregard for others' property and safety, going so far as to threaten police officers and swat away Vicki (as the miniature heroine "Pixie") when she attempted to talk him down, failing to recognize her as an ally.

Eventually Chris and Vicki discover that a fellow student named Nick Stevens has been drawing up superheroes as a hobby--and somehow, the dials turn them into those heroes. With Nick's help, they find out that their dials were created by a being called The Wizard (not to be confused with the DC Comics villain of the same name), whom the Master thought he'd killed years before. The Wizard is the name of a fictional DC Comics Golden Age Supervillain. In truth, The Wizard faked his death while he looked for the original Hero Dial. With it, he merges with The Master--and transforms into Robby Reed, who explains that years before, he had used the dial to split in two so that he could disarm a dead man's switch, while his other self, the Wizard, defeated the villain who set it. A dead man's switch (for other names see alternative names) as its name suggests is a switch that is automatically operated in case the Human operator becomes incapacitated However, the Wizard carried all of Robby's inherent goodness, while the Robbie that remain possessed only evil impulses; the original Hero Dial was lost when this Robby, renaming himself The Master, dialed "hide yourself", causing the dial to vanish along with The Master's and The Wizard's memories of their former life as Robby Reed. While The Master learned genetic techniques that allowed him to create his army of super-villains, the Wizard was driven to create the new H-dials, unconsciously designing limitations into them to prevent what happened to Robby from recurring (only heroic identities, a time limit, and the exclusion of letters other than H-E-R-O; the latter, however, did not prevent Chris from experimenting on one occasion and dialing H-O-R-R-O-R, with disastrous results). With Nick developing the ability to actively influence the dials' results (rather than subconsciously as before), Robby passes his dial to Nick, and retires as a hero.

In New Teen Titans #45 (June 1988) Victoria and Chris' history after the end of their series is revealed. After the two teens graduated from high school, they found they had gained the ability to transform without the dials--apparently because of their extensive use--but as a side-effect Vicky began experiencing mental problems. Vicky later joins a cult called the Children of the Sun, where she is physically and mentally abused, deranging her even more. She seeks out her former partner Chris in order to kill him. With help from the Teen Titans, Chris rescues her (in New Teen Titans #46). For the animated TV series based on this comic see Teen Titans (TV series. Chris now finds that he changes into a new superhero every hour, without the dial, and remains that way until he expends an unspecified amount of energy. He decides to continue his superhero career, using a suit provided by S.T.A.R. Labs to monitor his changes. This article is about the fictional organization in DC Comics

In Superboy and the Ravers #5 (January 1997), Hero Cruz finds Vicki's H-dial in the lair of Scavenger, and uses it to gain superpowers. Superboy is the name of several Fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. Hero Cruz is a Fictional character in comic books published by DC Comics. The Scavenger is the name of two DC Comics Supervillains with no known connections A still deranged Vicky returns in Superboy and the Ravers #13 (September 1997) to get her dial back from Hero, but she regains her sanity once she uses the device. She is last seen in the care of the Forces, a family of metahumans.

2003 series

DC relaunched the series again in 2003, this time simply titled H-E-R-O. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. HERO is an American comic book series published by DC Comics that started in 2003 and ran for 22 issues The new series, written by Will Pfeifer with art by Kano, focused on the effect the HERO dial has on a series of average people, whose lives are usually ruined by the pressures of superherodom. William Pfeifer (born 1967) is an American Comic book writer currently writing the monthly comic Catwoman for DC Comics. Kano is the administrative center of the Kano State and the third largest City in Nigeria, in terms Robby Reed, now grown old and bitter, is searching for the missing dial, determined to retrieve it. The series lasted 22 issues.

Other appearances

As an epilogue to the Chris King/Vicki Grant Dial H series, The New Adventures of Superboy #50 features a story in which Chris King's watch is stolen from the Space Museum of the Legion of Super-Heroes' time period by a thief named Nylor Truggs, who flees with the dial to the ambiguous late 1960s/early 1970s era-Smallville of the original (Earth-One) Superboy by altering the dial's functions in some unexplained manner, allowing him to travel in time. A museum is a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development open to the public which acquires conserves researches communicates and exhibits the This is about the DC Comics superhero team For the animated television series based on this see Legion of Super Heroes (TV series. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. The DC Multiverse is a Fictional continuity construct that exists in stories published by Comic book company DC Comics. Superboy is the name of several Fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. Truggs further alters the H-dial to break the restriction that users can only transform into heroic identities, changing the "H" in the center of the dial to "V" for "villain". Truggs also makes the dial capable of changing individuals other than himself into villains if he desires; those transformed would then be under Truggs' control. Truggs transforms several of Clark Kent's high school friends, and forms a temporary alliance with a teenaged Lex Luthor, in a scheme to plant seismic devices in their time period so that Truggs can use those devices against the people of his own future time upon his return. Clark Joseph Kent (middle name is also Jerome according to some versions is a Fictional character created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. Lex Luthor is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Truggs' plan is foiled by Superboy, several members of the Legion, and Krypto the Superdog, the latter of which destroys the stolen H-Dial by crushing it in his jaws. Krypto, also known as Krypto the Superdog, is a Fictional character. Vicki Grant's H-Dial is also shown to have survived to the Legion's time--it is slated to replace King's dial in the museum display. As this story was published before the events of the Crisis on Infinite Earths (which erased the Earth-One Superboy from continuity) and the subsequent rebootings of the Legion of Super-Heroes' history, it is unlikely that any elements of this story exist in current continuity. Crisis on Infinite Earths is a twelve-issue American comic book Limited series (identified as a "12-part maxi-series" and crossover

In Legionnaires #69, Lori Morning uses an H-dial that was given to her by the Time Trapper to gain superpowers, and becomes a member of Workforce. Lori Morning is a fictional character in DC Comics ' Legion of Super-Heroes. The Time Trapper is a Fictional character and Supervillain who appears in stories published by DC Comics. The Workforce is a semi-heroic super-team in DC Comics ' post- Zero Hour Legion of Super-Heroes continuity Lori gives the H-dial to Brainiac 5.1 to use against the Rift; the device is destroyed in the process. Brainiac 5 ( Querl Dox) is a Fictional character who exists in the future of the DC Universe. This timeline was also erased in the Legion reboot.

In a One Year Later storyline the H-Dial comes into the possession of Father Time, who hopes to clone the device and create an entire army of "one man Justice Leagues". One Year Later was a 2006 event running through the DC Universe. Father Time is a Fictional character, a Supervillain in publications from DC Comics. An army (from Latin Armata "act of arming" via Old French armée) in the broadest sense is the land-based Armed forces However the device is stolen, and Johnny Mimic (the reformed Green Lantern villain called to act as a profiler) dupes Alan Scott into killing him while holding the device, destroying it for good. Alan Scott is a Fictional character, a Superhero from the DC Comics universe and the first superhero to bear the name Green Lantern Offender profiling is a behavioral and investigative tool that helps investigators to profile unknown criminal subjects or offenders

Other Version

An alternate take on Robby Reed and Dial H For Hero was used in Teen Titans Go #52. Teen Titans Go! is a Comic book series that was published by DC Comics. This version of the character unknowingly drew his powers from other heroes who were close by. Resulting in Robby giving up his dial and signing up for Cyborg's new Teen Titan's Training program. His identities in the issue were:

Known transformations


See also

External links

Kid Chameleon is a Platform game released for the Mega Drive/Genesis.
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