HOURMAN II

Real Name: Richard Tyler

Class: Human technology-user

Occupation: Artist, superhero

Group Affiliation: JSA, formerly Infinity, Inc. .

Known Relatives: Rebecca Tyler (cousin), Rex Tyler (Hourman I, father), Wendi Harris Tyler (mother), unnamed grandfather, unnamed grandmother, unnamed maternal aunt, unnamed maternal grandparents (presumed deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Los Angeles, CA

First Appearance: (as Rick Tyler) Infinity, Inc. #20 (November, 1985), (as Hourman II) Infinity, Inc. #21 (December, 1985)

Powers: Hourman formerly used Miraclo pills that increased his speed, agility and invulnerability and gives him the strength of five men. These effects lasted a full hour. He currently uses a skin patch applied to the base of his neck which duplicates the Miraclo pills. Hourman poossessed an hourglass filled with tchyon particles that let him see one hour into the future.

History: Rick Tyler's father was the mysteryman Hourman I, inventor of Miraclo pills that gave their user super-powers. Rick was pressured by his father into taking over the family business of Tyler Chemical, but he had more interest in becoming an artist.He gained his father's respect during the Crisis when he took a Miraclo pill and saved a number of earthquake victims. Rick toyed with the idea of becoming the new Hourman, and his father eventually developed a refined Miraclo pill for him to use, one that was weaker but lacked the addictive effects of the original. While he began his career as the second Hourman his friend Dr. Beth Chapel assumed the identity of Dr. Midnight, and together they joined Infinity, Inc.

(Swamp Thing II #46) – Hourman was among the number of heroes teleported to the Monitor’s satellite by Alexander Luthor, Jr., who explained his plan to make sure reality survived the Crisis.

(Hourman #5 (fb) - Hourman developed a sickness that doctors misdiagnosed as leukemia.

(Hourman #8, 9) - Hourman II’s mother visited him in the hospital and told him that Hourman III destroyed Rex Tyler’s Long Island mansion. Although he was infuriated he calmed down when Hourman III visited him and told him he could cure his leukemia. Hourman III discovered that his illness was one never before seen on Earth, and he could not be cured. This was the last straw for Hourman II, so he took some Miraclo pills he had hidden under his hospital bed and attacked Hourman III. Hourman III easily handled him, and deciding that if he couldn’t cure him he could at least halt the progress of his disease. He sent Hourman II to the Time-Point, a moment frozen in time where no one aged.

(JSA #34 (fb, BTS), 36 (fb, BTS) - Before leaving the present day Hourman III released Hourman from Time-Point and gave him two gifts, an hourglass filled with tachyons that would let Hourman see into the future, and one hour’s worth of access to the Time-Point, where he could spend some time with his father Hourman I.

(JSA #33-37) - The Ultra-Humanite used Johnny Thunder’s Thunderbolt to conquer the world, and imprisoned virtually every superhuman on Earth in stasis tubes, only reviving them when he needed mind-controlled slaves to serve in his personal guard the Thunderfront. Hourman escaped Humanite’s control and joined up with a ragtag version of the JSA consisting of other heroes that broke out of the Humanite’s prisons. Hourman and the JSA targeted the Mindsweepers who unwillingly aided Humanite in controlling the Thunderfront. After a battle with the Thunderfront the JSA used a device that disrupted the braincaps Humanite used to control the Mindsweepers and Thunderfront, leaving them unconscious but freed from Humanite’s mental domination. Hourman traveled to timepoint with Sand to get advice from Hourman I on defeating the Humanite. The JSA used his advice to ground the Thunderbolt with a lightning rod, taking away Humanite’s source of power, and the Humanite was later killed by Crimson Avenger II. Hourman and the JSA attended the funeral of Johnny Thunder, whose body gave out after he was freed from the Humanite’s control. Hourman accepted Mr. Terrific’s offer to stay on as a member of the JSA.

(JSA #38) - Hourman moved into his JSA brownstone apartment and since it was Father’s Day decided to visit Hourman I at the Time-Point for a heart-to-heart. His father apologized for not having been around more when Rick was growing up. He was proud of his son, and told him he’d gone further in his career as Hourman than his old man. He gave Rick a pocket watch that used to belong to his Rick’s grandfather, and told him to make whatever he wanted out of life. If that meant being the second Hourman he was happy for him, but if Rick wanted to do something else he was fine with that as well. The Hourmen hugged, and Rick left Time-Point.

(JSA #41) - Hourman got a premonition of Black Barax attacking Tylerco. On his word the JSA went to Tylerco, where Hourman’s cousin Rebecca was on the verge on conducting an experiment that was meant to prove the existence of tachyons. Rebecca argued with Hourman about halting the experiment, telling Hourman he was far from the most reliable member of the Tyler family, and rubbing it in his face that she was chosen over him to run Tylerco. She eventually capitulated, and just then Barax appeared from the future and attacked the JSA and Tylerco. The JSA forced Barax to flee into the past, but he succeeded in wrecking Tylerco’s experiment.

(JLA / JSA: Virtue and Vice) - The JLA and JSA’s ranks were decimated when the Seven Deadly Sins possessed several members of the teams, so Hourman and a number of JLA reservists responded to the situation. Hourman, alongside other JLA reservists and the unpossessed members of the JLA and JSA helped Shazam re-chain Deadly Sins in the Rock of Eternity, and then defeated the Sins’ masters, Johnny Sorrow and Despero.

(JSA #45) - Hourman and the JSA provided security for the trial of Kobra for terrorist acts, which was necessary because hundreds of Kobra cultists were swarming the district court building where Kobra was being tried. Under Kobra’s orders the cultists threatened to activate bombs implanted in their bodies, killing themselves. Rather than allow the bloodshed the judge and Director Bones of the D.E.O. agreed to let Kobra go free for the time being. Black Adam and Atom-Smasher were outraged, and both agreed Kobra should have been killed for his crimes then and there. Hourman and the rest of the JSA vehemently opposed their viewpoint, so the duo quit the team. “Dr. Fate” then removed his helmet and revealed he was really the JSA’s nemesis Mordru.

(JSA #46, 47) - Mordru tore into Hourman and the JSA, and Obsidian soon arrived to cause further chaos. The JSA were on the verge of losing when Mordru opened a gate to Dr. Fate’s Tower and left with Obsidian, threatening to unravel the universe very soon.

(JSA #49-51) - Hourman, Wildcat and the Freedom Fighters battled Mordru’s ally Eclipso, who’d possessed hundreds of New Yorkers and was tearing the city apart. Hourman and the Freedom Fighters wrested away Eclipso’s black diamond and gave it to Alex Montez, who used it to make Eclipso manifest in him, and kept Eclipso bound to his will using magic glyphs. Mordru attacked Hourman and the JSA, but was weakened by J.J. Thunder and Arion the Immortal, weakening Mordru to the point that he could no longer keep Dr. Fate imprisoned in Fate’s amulet. Fate imprisoned Mordru in the Rock of Eternity.

(JSA #52) - Hourman met with the JSA’s new business manager Jesse Quick, and after she gave him some glowing compliments about how he’d pulled his life together they went off to catch up on old times.

(JSA #54) - Hourman, the JSA and JLA celebrated Thanksgiving at JSA hq. Hourman got to show off his culinary skills preparing dinner for the heroes. Kulak and the Warlord of Ys ruined the Thanksgiving meal, but were quickly defeated by the heroes. The JLA and JSA settled for ordering out, and had pizza for Thanksgiving.

(Hawkman IV #23) - Hourman and the JSA traveled to St. Roch to attend a party for Hawkman, but while the rest of the JSA took in the sights of the city Hourman stayed in his hotel room. He visited his father at Timepoint and told him he was struggling against the temptation to use his power to see into the future to gamble in St. Roch. Rex told him he was making the right choice by avoiding temptation, because the Tylers were prone to having addictive personalities, and had to spend their lifetimes fighting compulsions. Hawkman’s party ended when the JSA heard a news report about Black Adam’s conquest of Kahndaq.

(JSA #57, Hawkman IV #24) - Hourman and the JSA traveled to Kahndaq in the Steel Eagle with the intentionof taking the members of Black Adam’s superteam, their former allies, back home before Adam completely turned them into villains. Black Adam destroyed the Steel Eagle, and the team was scattered across Kahndaq. Hourman escaped a mob of Khandaquis who considered the JSA invaders, then aided the JSAers in fighting Black Adam’s teammates Nemesis and Eclipso (Alex Montez). Nemesis slashed open Hourman’s abdomen, forcing him to retreat to Timepoint to save himself from death. In order for him to remain in Timepoint his father Hourman I left Timepoint and joined the JSA in Khandaq.

(JSA #65, 66) - Hourman I,Hourman III and several JSAers arrived at Time-Point to save Hourman’s life. Dr. Mid-Nite performed emergency surgery, and Hourman III sped up the healing process. Hourman II was saved, but his father’s allotted hour at Time-Point ran out. A door to the past opened, and he prepared to go back in time, but his son refused to let him. Hourman II jumped into the past, intending to be the one Extant killed. Hourman I followed, and they tussled, each refusing to let the other die. Hourman III stopped them, set up a holographic field, and took Hourman I’s place as the one murdered by Extant. The JSA returned home with the remaining Hourmen. Hourman I told his son he was retiring unless he was desparately needed. He looked forward to watching his son continue his legacy and spending time with his family.

(JSA #67) - In the wake of Sue Diny’s death Hourman wanted to spend some timewith his parents.

(JSA #68) - Rip Hunter gathered Hourman and the JSA and brought them in his Time Sphere to the year 1951. Per Degaton was going to do something on October 30, 1951 and blame it on the disbanded Justice Society, thus altering history. As a result they would be tried for treason and the JSA would never again reform. Rip Hunter had brought the JSA to convince the Justice Society to get back together to oppose Degaton. Rip told Hourman that it was his disturbing the timestream to save his father’s life that allowed Per Degaton the chance to rewrite history.

(JSA #69, 71, 72) - <October 28-30,1951> Hourman went to his father’s house in Hartford, and the house that he would one day grow up in brought back bad memories of his mother’s heartbreak over a husband who never had time for his family. He saw his mother on the phone, and overheard that his father was already in Washington, hot on the trail of Degaton. Horman II found his father in Degaton and the Red Morgue’s clutches and rescued him. They went to the JSA Brownstone where they met up with the reformed Justice Society and the time-traveling JSA. Hourman I informed them Degaton was planning to assassinate the President. The Justice Society and JSA went to Washington to warn Truman that his life was in danger. Degaton and the Red Morgue attacked Washington, but the teams were ready for him. Degaton used a time-disc to speed up Atom’s metabolism and turn him into a nuclear bomb ready to go off. If he exploded millions would die, but J.J. Thunder and Johnny Thunder summoned the Thunderbolt to turn Atom back to normal. Hourman and the other heroes defeated Degaton, who fled into the timestream. The resulting time distortion caused the Justice Society members to forget their adventure with the JSA. After Degaton was defeated Rip Hunter ferried the JSA back to the present.

(Green Lantern: Rebirth #4, 6) - Ganthet summoned Hourman and the JSA and a number of other heroes to battle Parallax, who’d completely taken over Hal Jordan. They weakened him enough for the Spectre to separate Hal from Parallax, allowing Hal’s soul to return to his body, resurrecting him. Parallax possessed Ganthet, spreading fear throughout the world, and only Hal was able to stop him.

(JSA #73-75) - Atom-Smasher asked to be readmitted to the JSA so Hourman and the JSA had a meeting and a vote on it. Once they’d voted, Atom-Smasher was already gone back to Khanaq. Captain Marvel told the JSA that Jean Loring/Eclipso and the Spectre-Force were attacking Khandaq, and their help was needed there. the heroes had little luck battling Eclipso and the Spectre, and Black Adam resented their presence and began fighting them. Spectre only stopped his attacks when Atom-Smasher told him he’d accept the Spectre’s judgment, and allowed the Spectre to stop his heart. Black Adam restarted his heart with his magic lightning, and the JSA took Atom back to America after warning Black Adam to stay far away from him in the future.

(JSA #76) - Hourman volunteered to find the missing Dr. Fate and J.J. Thunder, but was having little luck until Nabu spoke to him an offered his assistance.

(JSA #78-80) - Hourman and the JLA located Fate’s Tower, and found Fate’s helm, but no sign of Fate. Sand put on the helm, awakening Nabu. Nabu told them Spectre did something to Fate, but he didn’t know what. He opened a portal to the 5th Dimension so the JSA could rescue J.J. Thunder. Only Hourman, Terrific and Stargirl made it through before Mordru attacked the rest of the JSA, breaking Nabu’s concentration and sealing the portal. They found the 5th Dimension at war, with J.J. responsible for the chaos, and joined Saradin, Shocko and Thunderbolt in their resistance of J.J. The JSAers allowed themselves to be captured by J.J.’s hounds with Thunderbolt ad Shocko hidden in liquid in Terrific’s mouth. As they approached J.J.’s throne Shocko couldn’t control himself and attacked. J.J. easily defeated the heroes and commanded Thunderbolt to kill them. Thunderbolt shook off J.J.’s commands and attacked him. The fight ended when Saradin separated Qwsp from J.J. and bound Qwsp to his service. The JSAers brought J.J. back to Earth, where he summoned the Thunderbolt to banish Mordru.

(JSA #81) - Hourman and the JSA were called to Philadelphia when Liberty Belle lost control over her powers after an attack by the Society. Stargirl showed her that her daughter Jesse was there, and was worried about her mother. This allowed Belle to focus and regain the use of her powers.

(Teen Titans III #32) - Superboy Prime confronted Superboy because he wanted to take his place, and was willing to kill him to do it. Hourman and the JSA and the Teen Titans were called in to combat Prime. There were casualties, but Flash Jay Garrick, Flash and Kid Flash took Prime out of action by running him into the Speed Force.

(Villains United: Infinite Crisis Special #1) - The Society massed in Metropolis, and Hourman and an army of virtually every hero on Earth confronted the villains and engaged in an epic battle with them.

(52 / WWIII Part Three: Hell Is For Heroes #1) - <Week 5, Day 5> Hourman and the JSA went into action after Black Adam decimated Pisa, Italy during WWIII, aiding the survivors.

(52 / WWIII Part Four: United We Stand #1) <Week 50, Day 7> Black Adam arrived in China, and prepared to destroy the entire country. He defeated China's superhero team the Great Ten before China allowed Hourman and the American superhero community to square off against him. Black Adam was a god with nothing left to lose, and each punch he threw was intended to kill. His savagery was winning the day until Martian Manhunter reappeared and flooded his brain with his own loss, the death of the entire Martian species. Black Adam was distracted long enough for Captain Marvel to hurl a Shazam bolt at him. Theo Adam was powerless, and left with amnesia. He staggered away unnoticed from the end of WWIII.

(Green Lantern IV #24) - The Sinestro Corps invaded Earth, intending to conquer the planet, making it a symbol of the Sinestro Corp’s power and their ability to control any planet. Hourman and the Justice Society were among the heroes who helped stave off the invasion. 

(Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman-Prime #1) - An army of Earth’s heroes, including Hourman and the Justice Society appeared to take Superboy down during the Sinestro Corps invasion of Earth. The heroes focused on wrecking his armor, because after a year on Oa, and away from a yellow sun his Kryptonian body still wasn’t at full strength, and his armor collected sunlight. Superboy bragged that once the sun rose on Earth he’d be at full power. Superboy was battered by Wonder Girl and Wonder Woman, who blamed him for Superboy’s death, as well as Supergirl and Power Girl, who blamed him for the death of the Superman of Earth-2. As the fight went against him, Superboy broke down in tears. He tried to wipe them away, saying that it was impossible for boys to cry, and then whining that no one ever thanked him for sacrificing his Earth to save the multiverse. The battle lasted until dawn, and he flew into the sunrise. As he achieved full power he declared himself the one, true Superman. The Guardians arrived with Sodam Yat, the new Ion, and pitted him against Superboy-Prime.

(Titans II #38) - Hourman, the Justice Society and the rest of the superhero community attended the funeral of Atom Ryan Choi.

Comments: Created by Roy Thomas & Todd McFarlane

In the pre-Crisis DC Universe Hourman II lived on Earth-2.

Hourman received profiles in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #10 and Who's Who in the DC Universe #5. He received a profile in JLA-Z #3 under the Justice Society of America entry.

Hourman had cameos in JLA #121 and Justice League of America II #1.

All characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © DC Comics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please visit The Official DC Comics Site at: http://www.batman.com