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Fictional superhero in DC Comics From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hourman (Rex Tyler) is a fictional superhero appearing in comics published by DC Comics. He is known as the original Hourman (spelled Hour-Man in his earliest appearances, also referred to as The Hour-Man, and The Hourman). He was created by writer Ken Fitch and artist Bernard Baily in Adventure Comics #48 (April 1940), during the Golden Age of Comic Books.[1] He continued to appear in Adventure Comics until issue #83 (Feb 1943).[2]
| Rex Tyler | |
|---|---|
.png) Rex Tyler as the original Hourman from the cover of Adventure Comics #54 (September 1940). Art by Bernard Baily. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Adventure Comics #48 (March 1940) |
| Created by | Ken Fitch (writer) Bernard Baily (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Rex Tyler |
| Team affiliations | |
| Notable aliases | Hour-Man |
| Abilities |
|
Rex Tyler made his live-action debut in the first season of DC's Legends of Tomorrow before becoming a guest star in the second season, portrayed by Patrick J. Adams. Rex Tyler also appeared in the first season of the DC Universe series Stargirl, portrayed by Lou Ferrigno Jr.
Scientist Rex Tyler, raised in upstate New York, developed an affinity for chemistry, particularly biochemistry.[3] Working his way through college, he landed a job researching vitamins and hormone supplements at Bannermain Chemical. A series of discoveries and accidents led him to the "miraculous vitamin" Miraclo. He found that concentrated doses of the "miraclo" given to test mice increased their strength and vitality several times that of normal, but only for one hour. After taking a dose himself, Rex found he could have superhuman strength and speed for an hour, before returning to human levels.[4]
Keeping the discovery of Miraclo a secret, Tyler decided that human trials would be limited to the only subject he could trust: himself. Feeling that the Miraclo-induced abilities should be used for good purposes, he decided to use the abilities to help those in need; in other words, he would become a superhero, based in Appleton City.[5] He received his first mission by placing an ad stating that "The Man of The Hour" would help the needy. Tracking down one responder to the ad, he aided a housewife whose husband was falling in with the wrong crowd, and stopped a robbery. Using a costume he found in an abandoned costume shop, he started to adventure as The Hour-Man[6] (later dropping the hyphen). In November 1940 Hourman became one of the founding members of the first superhero team, the Justice Society of America. After leaving the JSA in mid-1941 Tyler became one of Uncle Sam's initial group of Freedom Fighters.[7] He later became part of the wartime All-Star Squadron.
According to Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes, "Hourman fights a variety of Doctors: the robot-wielding Dr. Darrk, the hypnotist Dr. Feher, the big-headed genius Dr. Glisten; the occultist and alchemist Dr. Iker; and the bio-engineer Dr. Togg. There is also the 90-Minute Man, who gains Hourman-like powers for 90 minutes from his radium armor".[8]
Hourman was one of many heroes whose popularity began to decline in the post-war years. Eventually, his adventures ended, but with the resurgence of super-heroes in the mid-1950s and early 1960s, interest in the Golden Age heroes returned, and Hourman was soon appearing as a guest star in issues of Justice League of America. Like all the other Golden Agers, he was now considered an elder statesman of the super-hero set.
It is later revealed that Miraclo is addictive and that Rex is struggling with its effects. In Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!, Extant kills Hourman before the Hourman android rescues him and transports him to a pocket dimension.[9]
Rex is later resurrected, retires, and provides technical support for the JSA All-Stars, of whom his son is a member.[10]
In Doomsday Clock, Hourman is erased from existence when Doctor Manhattan alters the timeline, but is resurrected when Superman convinces Manhattan to undo his actions.[11]
Through the use of Miraclo, Hourman can possess superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and durability, night vision, underwater survival, and expert martial arts skills for one full hour.
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