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The Tasmanian Devil (Hugh Dawkins) is a fictional superhero appearing in DC Comics, depicted as a gay pacifistic Australian metahuman with the ability to turn into a giant aggressive Tasmanian devil.[1] He first appeared in Super Friends #7,[2] with his first post-Crisis appearance being in Infinity, Inc. #32.[3]
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| Tasmanian Devil | |
|---|---|
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Super Friends #7 (October 1977) |
| Created by | E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Hugh Dawkins |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations | |
| Partnerships | Gregorio de la Vega (husband) |
| Abilities | Transforms into a were-beast granting:
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Hugh Dawkins is usually depicted as a metahuman born with the ability to turn into a giant and intelligent Tasmanian devil. However, an alternate origin has jokingly been offered, suggesting that Hugh's mother was a were-Tasmanian Devil who raised him in a Tasmanian Devil's cult, which gave him a Tasmanian Devil amulet after selling his soul to a Tasmanian Devil and injecting him with a radioactive Tasmanian Devil's musk from a race of alien Tasmanian Devils which gave him his powers.[4] Regardless, his parents had a hard time dealing with his alter ego until he saved his father's life.
He served as a superhero in Tasmania, before joining the Global Guardians. He often fought alongside other heroes, such as the Super Friends and Infinity Inc. Later, the Guardians' base was destroyed and the team disbanded.[5]
Dawkins helped to rebuild the Justice League's Embassy which had been destroyed during an alien invasion.[6] When Queen Bee reformed the Global Guardians as part of her scheme to brainwash heroes, Dawkins was left out of the roster due to his connections to the Justice League.[7] After his close friend Tuatara fell into a coma after attacking the League, Dawkins and his friend Joshua Barbazon were preparing to transfer him to the medical lab in the Justice League's Australian embassy, but Queen Bee recalled Tuatara before this could happen.[7] Dawkins would later be there when Tuatara recovered.
Dawkins would join the League in a mission to Bialya,[8] which would turn out to be an illegal invasion, as Queen Bee's mole in the UN, Ambassador Heimlich, had fired Captain Atom, Elongated Man, Ice, and Blue Beetle.[9] Once the Bee's massive brainwashing efforts are uncovered, Dawkins would learn that Doctor Mist, Jack O'Lantern, and Owlwoman had been replaced by imposters, with the real heroes either missing or dead.[10] Dawkins and the League help with relief and recovery efforts.[11]
He returned to Australia and he rejoins a team of Guardians to rescue those still endangered by the secret machinations of Harjavti.[12] The entire group is endangered as those left behind had been implanted with subliminal orders to kill. Fortunately, nobody is actually harmed and the Guardians are reformed again.[13] Taz assists with clean up efforts after Coast City is obliterated.[14]
He rejoins Justice League International after aiding them against the villain Sonar.[15] He is present for the funeral of fellow Leaguer Ice.[16] He becomes indirectly involved in another recruitment effort but it doesn't work out.[17]
It is also revealed that Hugh is openly gay in Justice League Quarterly #8 (September 1992). He has previously been romantically interested in JLA liaison Joshua Barbazon, had a crush on Hal Jordan[18] and is dating Starman, Mikaal Thomas.[19]
Later, Dawkins works with the Justice League during the Bloodlines event. He teams up, mainly with Elongated Man and Metamorpho to stop a group of murderous aliens terrorizing London. The other adult female team members, Power Girl and Doctor Light, are unavailable to assist due to previous commitments. The men are not very successful as dozens of citizens vanish or are killed. The toll, which includes a missing school bus, deeply affects all three. During one investigation, they are attacked by the rookie armored hero Lionheart, who mistakes Taz's unusual form (and the changing forms of his friends) for the eyewitness reports of the aliens.
The aliens attack the League's headquarters, a (seemingly haunted) castle. Summoned by the energy flares of their youngest member, Maya, the group returns and fights the creatures. Lionheart, though his secondary mission is to discredit the League, sees the nobility in Taz and the others and helps them chase off the aliens. No pursuit is possible, as all are injured; Taz himself has been impaled through the shoulder. Lionheart, before fainting from his injuries, summons medical help through an emergency Justice League communications channel.[20] Taz recovers in time to help his JLE teammates and dozens of other heroes defeat the Bloodlines aliens. The aliens are destroyed in a swamp outside of Metropolis in America.[21]
Around this time, Dawkins goes on a JLI goodwill tour to New Zealand. They resist him at first. He and his contact, Raylene Mackenzie, stumble upon the villain Phobia and Tas literally sniffs out one of her recent murders. The two get into a back-and-forth fight with the fear-casting killer. Raylene confronts a fear of drowning, while Tas' hallucination concerns the abusive treatment his mother heaped upon his father. Working together, the two defeat Phobia. Tas' efforts to save a New Zealander endears him to the entire country.[22]
Dawkins later assists the Justice League in battling Overmaster.[23] There, the team loses Ice.[24] The group falls apart, and Dawkins soon leaves too, not wanting to stay in a group so small and unestablished. He does not see the point.[25]
Tas is one of the mourners at the funeral for Maxwell Lord.[26] After some time missing, he is shown attending the funeral of Sue Dibny, wife of the Elongated Man.[27]
He joins the Ultramarine Corps and lives for a time on their floating city of Superbia. When the entire city is conquered by Gorilla Grodd and his forces, Tas and the other surviving heroes are sent to cause destruction.[28] His mind and the Corps are rescued by the Justice League.[29] Soon after, he takes part in the Corps' mission into the infant universe sometimes known as Nebula Man. Their efforts later allow the villain to be destroyed.
Tas helps out in the OMAC Crisis. He is one of many superheroes who go to the Sahara as bait for the legions of meta-human killing machines. This scheme works, and many OMACs are destroyed without harming the hosts within.[30]
After the events of Infinite Crisis, Tas is shown at a memorial service/headcount.[31] During the 52 maxi-series, Tas and other powered beings, including Gloss and Manticore, face a rage-maddened Black Adam in Sydney, Australia. They are shown unconscious and buried in debris.[32]
Later, Tas once again rejoins the Global Guardians.[33]
In Detective Comics #852 (2008), Tas makes a brief appearance fighting hostile gunmen on the streets of Australia.
In Justice League: Cry for Justice, Tasmanian Devil is killed by Prometheus.[34] However, Gorilla City citizen Malavar resurrects him using a Lazarus Pit, after which he joins the Justice League's reserve roster.[35]
In DC Pride, Tasmanian Devil joins Justice League Queer, which his husband Extraño assembles to defeat Eclipso.[36][37]
In the Doomsday Clock storyline, Tasmanian Devil joins the Sleeping Soldiers, Australia's sanctioned superhero team.[38]
Hugh Dawkins can turn into a large Tasmanian devil, similar to a werewolf. In this form, he possesses super strength, claws, advanced healing, razor sharp fangs, and the ability to grow larger in size. While Hugh is a pacifist, his alter ego is often aggressive and bestial.
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