Hawk and Dove are two heroes with simple names and an unexpectedly deep origin. They debuted in 1968, when many Americans were beginning to question the country’s role in the Vietnam War. Should we keep fighting, or should we have never gotten involved in the first place? The inseparable duo of Hawk and Dove --  aka Hank Hall and his brother, Don -- represented both sides of the argument, with Hawk always favoring war and Dove always favoring peace. They squabbled frequently, but by working together, they always saved the day in the end. We're pretty sure that's supposed to be symbolic of something. It’s a fairly basic premise, which probably goes a long way to explaining the characters’ enduring popularity.

Lately, their joint star has been on the rise. There has been much buzz about Hawk and Dove's recent appearance on the online show Titans, where they are played by Alan Ritchson and Minka Kelly respectively. The show has, of course, had to make some changes from the comics -- some major, some minor. Hawk and Dove have only appeared in one episode as of this writing, so it’ll take a while before we learn the full extent of the alterations made. In the meantime, let’s get to know the Hawk and Dove who inspired the TV characters that have so intrigued viewers. We'll give you a quick history of the characters and even point out a few areas where the TV show took liberties with the source material. Which version do you like better, the original from the comics or their small screen counterparts?

20 HAWK REPRESENTS CHAOS

Hawk has a variety of superpowers, including strength, speed, agility, and a "danger sense" that tells him when it's time to transform from a civilian to a superhero. But where did he get all these cool powers from? That would be the Lords of Chaos.

The Lords of Chaos are mysterious, godlike entities responsible for all discord on Earth. They go around choosing people they feel will best further their goals and imbuing them with the power to disrupt the lives of others -- they're a fun bunch. Hank didn't know who the Lords of Chaos were when he first accepted their offer of power, but it probably wouldn't have mattered.

19 DOVE REPRESENTS ORDER

Dove possesses a power set similar to Hawk's but is, appropriately, Hawk's exact opposite in terms of personality. Doves are selected by the Lords of Order, the sworn enemies of the Lords of Chaos. Whereas the Lords of Chaos love nothing more than to shake things up a bit, the Lords of Order seek champions who will help maintain stability.

While it may be tempting to equate chaos with evil and order with good, it is important to remember that Hawk and Dove are both heroes. Each contributes critical ideas and experiences to achieve their shared goal of protecting the world.

18 HAWK'S QUICK CHANGE

On Titans, Hawk and Dove stand out in part because of their costumes. They are much grittier and more "realistic" than what most of the other characters wear. This is ironic, because while their TV look closely resembles their original outfits, their comic book counterparts wear costumes made of magic.

Whenever Hawk and/or Dove sense danger, they say their codename out loud to trigger the transformation into their superheroic identities. Their costumes appear spontaneously, replacing whatever they were originally wearing. And when the danger is passed, the costumes vanish once more. This is another gift from their benefactors, the Lords of Order and Chaos, to make them more effective crimefighters.

17 DOVE'S SIBLING RIVALRY

Hank and Don Hall disagreed on almost everything, but they were always there for each other when push came to shove. Holly and Dawn Granger, the second set of siblings to fight crime as Hawk and Dove, had a somewhat more contentious relationship.

Because their mother traveled a lot, Dawn and Holly got to choose where they spent most of their time growing up. Dawn chose to live in Connecticut, while her sister Holly chose to live in London. Spending so much time apart did nothing to strengthen their sisterly bond. Holly in particular believed Dawn made a bad decision when she remained stateside.

16 HAWK SAILS THE SEVEN SEAS

In the late '70s, the original Teen Titans disbanded, and Hank and Don decided to hang up their tights and spend some time as ordinary teens. Don went to college, and Hank, true to his warlike nature, joined the Navy. He was assigned to the USS Tippecanoe, which would prove to be a fortuitous selection on the Navy's part.

In Teen Titans #50, the Tippecanoe became a target of attack for the villain Captain Calamity, who caused it to float high into the air. Hank sprang out of retirement immediately. He transformed into Hawk and teamed up with some other erstwhile teen heroes to bring the vessel down to earth.

15 DOVE'S HEROIC SACRIFICE

During "Crisis on Infinite Earths", the multiverse is under attack by the Anti-Monitor, who grows stronger with every universe he destroys. Every hero in the DC Universe, including Hawk and Dove, must band together to save reality. Sadly, not everyone would survive the Anti-Monitor's assault, and among the casualties was Dove.

In the final issue of Crisis, Dove stops to rescue a child from an unstable building. But even as he lifts the child to safety, a Shadow Demon, one of the Anti-Monitor's minions, sneaks up from behind. The Shadow Demon blasts Dove out of existence while Hawk watches, too far away to help.

14 HAWK LEADS THE TITANS

The Teen Titans have traditionally operated from a base on the East Coast. So what happens if trouble strikes on the West Coast and immediate assistance is needed? That's where Titans West came in... well, that was the idea, anyway. Titans West had some trouble getting off the ground, in part because they had terrible taste in leaders.

For some reason, they looked at Hawk and decided that this temperamental war-mongerer was the perfect candidate to head up Titans West. In what should have been an unsurprising development, Hawk's personality did not lend itself to effective leadership, and the team disbanded quickly.

13 DOVE SAVES HER MOTHER

During the chaos of "Crisis on Infinite Earths", Dawn Granger's mother was held hostage by group of terrorists at London's American embassy. Dawn went to the police, but they were otherwise occupied and unable to help. That's when the Lords of Order stepped in. Contacting Dawn as a disembodied voice, they offered to give her the power necessary to rescue her mother herself.

Dawn accepted the offer, and even as the old Dove fell an ocean away, a new one rose. With her newfound abilities, Dove rescued her mother. This was an ironic echo of the original Dove's origin, as Hank and Don first acquired powers to save their father from a hit.

12 HAWK HAS NO COPING SKILLS

The Lords of Order and Chaos "designed" Hawk and Dove to be a team. Occasionally, one or the other would go on a solo mission, but spending too much time alone would wreck the delicate balance between war and peace. DC's criminals found that out the hard way after the original Dove's passing.

With his brother gone, Hawk started going way too far to stop criminals. He was even banned from multiple countries for his increasingly violent tendencies. This is the danger of leaving Hawk alone for too long. But what would happen to a Dove left without their Hawk? Fortunately, we haven't been forced to find out yet.

11 DETECTIVE DOVE

Adopting Dove's name and costume was only the first step on Dawn's journey to becoming an avatar for the Lords of Order. She'd seen Hawk's various rampages on the news, so she knew that her next job was to find him and convince him to cool it a little.

Dawn proved a natural detective, figuring out Hawk’s secret identity on her own. She sought him out and, after much effort on her part, persuaded him that they'd both be better off as partners. Together, they successfully stopped Kestrel, a representative of the Lords of Chaos bent on destroying Hawk and Dove.

10 HAWK HATES REBOOTS

Hank Hall was, understandably, very upset after his brother's passing. He attempted to fight crime solo and, as mentioned elsewhere on this list, was not very good at it. But even though he clearly needed a mediating influence, he didn't exactly welcome Dawn Granger with open arms.

When Dawn first became Dove, Hank angrily rejected her as an impostor. Despite her attempts to convince him they should team up, Hawk became obsessed with uncovering her secret identity but failed to do so before she discovered his. Getting to meet Dawn face to face was the final push Hank needed to agree to work with her.

9 DOVE IN LOVE

When Hawk and Dove made their debut in the second episode of Titans, Raven's empathic abilities revealed that Dove and Robin had once dated. Their relationship apparently meant less to Robin than it did to Dove, although she insisted that she was over him. Hawk wasn't impressed either way.

But while Dick Grayson is certainly a good-looking guy, he never had that kind of relationship with Dove in the comics. Actually, Dove was far more interested in Sal Arsala, a captain on the DC police force. Hmm... Dick is a police officer in Titans. Maybe Dove just has a type?

8 WHEN GOOD HAWKS GO BAD

With all that anger simmering inside him, it's not all that surprising that Hank Hall has gone full-on supervillain. When he first crossed over to the dark side, he became a villain named Monarch. He created a whole new timeline where he ruled the world.

But even that wasn't enough for Monarch. He sought to remake the entire universe as he saw fit. Now calling himself Extant, he had since acquired the power of time travel and used it to mess around with the past to ensure his own future as dictator. He was ultimately smashed by Atom Smasher... temporarily, anyway.

7 ANOTHER DOVE BITES THE DUST

During his reign as Monarch, Hank attempted to take over the world, because what else would he do with a name like Monarch? Dove tried to stop him, only to be unforgivably cut down. Hawk ended Monarch in revenge, but when he realized that he himself was Monarch, he lost his few remaining marbles and assumed the Monarch identity.

But all was not as it seemed. Just before Monarch could strike, a sorcerer named Mordru showed up and cast an illusion to make it look as though he'd succeeded in taking outDove. The real Dove, meanwhile, was kept in suspended animation by Mordru.

6 HOLLY BECOMES HAWK

With Hank Hall busy being not alive, a new Hawk was needed. The Lords of Chaos selected Holly Granger, Dawn's sister, to replace him. Holly was less than cooperative at first. Like the original Hawk, she had a very abrasive personality and didn't always play well with others, but she soon grew into the role.

Unfortunately, it didn't last. The "Blackest Night" event saw many deceased characters rise from the grave as crazed zombies called Black Lanterns and Hank Hall was one of them. In a painful echo of his own brother's murder, Hank ended Holly as her sister looked on helplessly.

5 THE FORGOTTEN DOVE

After Monarch supposed ended Dove, there was an opportunity for a new Dove -- and Hawk -- to jump in and fill the void. Wiley Wolverman and Sasha Martens snatched up that opportunity, with mediocre results. For starters, they did not get their powers from the Lords of Order and Chaos. Rather, they were able to sprout wings at will as a result of experiments performed on them when they were children.

Wiley and Sasha's heroic careers were short and unremarkable compared to their predecessors'. They considered joining the Titans, but ultimately decided against it and after that, they just kind of disappeared.

4 HAWK COMES HOME

After his turn as a Black Lantern, the original Hawk should have returned to his eternal reward. But fate -- or at least, a mysterious white light -- had other plans. The light chose twelve people to come back to life for real this time, and Hank Hall was among them.

Obviously, both Hank and Dawn had some adjustments to make, especially considering that Dawn had just watched Hank take oout her sister. But Dawn understood that Hank was under the demon Nekron's control at the time, plus she has a very forgiving nature in general. It didn't take long for them to find their groove again.

3 DOVE IS A MOM (KINDA)

When Mordru saved Dove from Monarch's attack, his intentions were less than pure. He knew that Hawk and Dove could produce a perfect, extremely powerful child. They just needed a little... encouragement, that's all. He mixed Hank and Dawn's genetic material, and nine months later, along came Hector Hall.

Hector, as predicted, was no ordinary child. He was the reincarnation of Doctor Fate, a vessel for Nabu, who serves as a balance between the Lords of Order and Chaos. In fact, it was Fate who finally freed Dove from Mordru and allowed her to reveal to everyone that she was alive.

2 HAWK IS A GOOD FRIEND

A big part of Hawk and Dove's relationship on Titans is the fact that they have been dating for a long time and wish to settle down together. This is quite the change from their comics relationship, which is most definitely a friendly rather than romantic one.

Interestingly enough, Hawk and Dove were granted powers in the first place because a Lord of Chaos and a Lord of Order fell in love and wanted to prove that both sides could work together to achieve great things. Hawk and Dove themselves, however, have never dated. The closest they came was when Hawk dated a woman that he originally mistook for Dove when Dawn Granger first appeared on the scene.

1 DOVE JOINS TITANS EAST

Although Hawk and Dove are closely associated with the Titans, they have spent very little time as official team members. They mostly serve as allies that the Titans can call on in times of need. But in Titans East Special #1, it was revealed that Hawk and Dove had in fact joined up with Titans East... for about a week.

The team didn't even have time to pull off the introductory name tags before Trigon attacked. Dawn and Holly Granger got lucky and escaped with a few injuries. Most of the rest of the team were either in comas or taken out, effectively putting an end to Titans East.