Monarch (DC Comics | Armageddon 2001)

Hank Hall first appeared as the superhero Hawk in Showcase #75 (June 1968), created by Steve Ditko and Steve Skeates. Alongside his brother Don Hall, who became Dove, Hank received mystical powers from entities representing the Lords of Chaos and Order. As Hawk, he embodied chaos, aggression, and war, gaining enhanced strength, durability, and agility, while Don's Dove represented peace and reason. The brothers formed the crime-fighting duo Hawk and Dove, balancing each other's opposing forces to combat threats effectively, often in Washington, D.C., where their contrasting philosophies complemented one another in battles against villains.

Following Don Hall's death during the Crisis on Infinite Earths event, Hank struggled with grief and continued as Hawk with a new partner, Dawn Granger, as the second Dove. This partnership highlighted Hank's growing inner turmoil and aggressive tendencies. The pivotal turning point came in the 1991 crossover Armageddon 2001, where the armored tyrant Monarch debuted in Armageddon 2001 #1 and was revealed as a future version of Hank Hall in issue #2. Driven mad by loss and chaos, Hank killed Dove, defeated Earth's heroes, and absorbed vast energy from Captain Atom, transforming into the despotic Monarch who ruled a dystopian future.

Monarch's evolution continued in the 1994 Zero Hour: Crisis in Time event, where he shed the armor to become Extant, acquiring powerful chronokinetic abilities to manipulate time and reality. Aligning with Parallax (Hal Jordan), Extant sought to recreate the universe but was ultimately defeated by heroes including the Justice Society and Atom. Though seemingly killed, Hank Hall's essence persisted through subsequent resurrections, notably as a Black Lantern during the 2009 Blackest Night event, reinforcing his tragic arc from idealistic hero to embodiment of destructive chaos.

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