Hourman (01 - Rex Tyler)
Real Name: Rex Tyler
Search for 'Hourman (01 - Rex Tyler)' on eBay
Bio: Hourman was, in his civilian life, a scientist named Rex Tyler. Growing up in upstate New York, young Rex found an affinity for chemistry, particularly biochemistry. 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" or Miraclo. He found that concentrated doses of that "vitamin" given to test mice raised their strength and vitality several times that of normal. Taking a dose, Rex found that his strength, vitality, and speed increased to that of super-human levels. However, the human body could only process the Miraclo for an hour at a time. After that, the subject was weakened and returned to human strength levels.
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 that needed it; in other words, he would become a superhero. His first mission came as a result of Tyler's placing an ad stating that "The Man of The Hour" would help those that needed it. Tracking down one respondent 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 (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. He later became part of the wartime All-Star Squadron.
Hourman would be one of many heroes whose popularity would begin to decline in the post-war years. Eventually, his adventures ended. However, 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.
Unlike some other Golden Age heroes, his character would continue to grow more and more complex. The idea that Miraclo was addictive, combined with the suggestion that Tyler himself was addicted to crime fighting, made Hourman one of the superhero world's first cautionary tales. Rex would continue to fight both of his addictions throughout the rest of his appearances. His character was seemingly killed off along with other Golden Age heroes fighting a time-traveling villain named Extant. He was recently rescued from that fate by the third Hourman who took his place in that battle. Rex now lives in semi-retirement with his wife Wendi.
Notes:
First Appearance: Adventure Comics (1938) #48 Favorite Characters:
Hourman (01 - Rex Tyler) is a favorite character of 10 users
View a chronological listing of this character's appearances
Issue Appearances: 52 (2006)
#3 - 'New World Order' #5 - 'Stars In Their Courses' #7 - 'Going Down' #8 - 'Thief' #38 - 'Breathless' #49 - 'Eve of Destruction' Action Comics (1938)
#516 - 'Time And Time Again!' #794 - 'Invaders From Space' Adventure Comics (1938)
Adventure Comics (1999)
All Star Comics (1999)
#1 - 'Time's Keeper' #2 - 'Time's Arrow' All Star Comics Archives (1991)
HC vol. 00 - 'All Star Comics Archives * Volume 0' HC vol. 01 - 'All Star Comics Archives * Volume 1' HC vol. 02 - 'All Star Comics Archives * Volume 2' All-American Comics (1999)
All-Star Comics (1940)
#1#2#3#4 - 'For America And Democracy!' #5#6 - 'The Justice Society Of America Initiates Johnny Thunder!' #7 - '$1,000,000 For War Orphans' #58 - 'All Star Super Squad' #62 - 'When Fall The Mighty' #63 - 'The Death of Doctor Fate' #64 - 'Yesterday Begins Today!' #65 - 'The Master Plan Of Vandal Savage' #66 - 'Injustice Strikes Twice!' #68 - 'Divided We Stand!' #69 - 'United We Fall!' #70 - 'A Parting Of The Ways!' #74 - 'World On The Edge Of Ending' All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant (1999)
#1 - 'All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant' All-Star Squadron (1981)
Annual #2 - 'The Ultra War!' Annual #3 - 'Justice Society of America' #31 - 'Uncle Sam Wants You!' #32 - 'Crisis on Earth-X! The Prequel' #33 - 'The Battle Of Santa Barbara - - Times Two!' #34 - 'The Wrath of Tsunami!' #35 - '...That Earths May Live!' #38 - 'Detroit is Dynamite!' #39 - 'Nobody Gets Out Of Paradise Valley Alive!' #40 - 'The Rise And Fall Of The Phantom Empire!' #41 - '--Catch A Falling Starman!' #42 - 'Oh, Say, Can't You See...?' #44 - 'Night And Fog!' #46 - 'Philadelphia-- It Tolls For Thee!' #47 - 'The Secret Origin Of Dr. Fate' #48 - 'Camelot 1942!' #49 - 'Death-Sword At Sunrise!' #50 - 'Crisis Point!' #51 - 'Monster Society of Evil!' #53 - 'Worlds In Turmoil' #54 - 'The Crisis Comes To 1942! (And Vice Versa)' #57 - 'Kaleidoscope' #58 - 'I Sing The Body Robotic!' #59 - 'Out Of The Ashes...Mekanique!' #67 - 'The First Case Of The Justice Society Of America' America vs. the Justice Society (1985)
#1 - 'I Accuse' #2 - 'Trial By Congress' #3 - 'Hostile Witness' #4 - 'D-Day For Degation' Armageddon: Inferno (1992)
#3 - 'The Last Hope' #4 - 'The Gathering of Heroes' Avengers/JLA (2003)
#4 - 'The Brave...and the Bold' Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps (2010)
HC vol. 02 - 'Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Volume Two' TPB vol. 02 - 'Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Volume Two' Blackest Night: JSA (2010)
#1 - 'Lost Souls' #3 - 'White Lightning' Countdown (2007)
#43 - 'The Funeral' #46 - 'Weapon of War' #48 - 'Death From Above' Countdown to Mystery (2007)
TPB - 'Dr. Fate: Countdown To Mystery' #6 Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985)
#5 - 'Worlds In Limbo' #9 - 'War Zone' #10 Crisis on Multiple Earths: The Team-Ups (2005)
Day of Judgment (1999)
DC 2000 (2000)
DC Comics Presents (1978)
DC Comics Presents: Superman - Sole Survivor (2011)
DC Comics Presents: Teen Titans (2011)
DC Retroactive: JLA - The '70s (2011)
DC Sampler (1983)
DC Special (1975)
#29 - 'The Untold Origin of the Justice Society' DC Universe Holiday Bash (1997)
DC Universe: Origins (2009)
TPB - 'DC Universe: Origins' DCU: Legacies (2010)
Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint (2011)
#1 - 'This Is the World We Live In' Golden Age Secret Files (2001)
Green Lantern Corps Quarterly (1992)
Green Lantern Secret Files (1998)
Green Lantern: Fear Itself (1999)
OGN HC - 'Green Lantern: Fear Itself' Hawkman (1993)
Hawkman (2002)
#23 - 'Black Reign, Part 2' #24 - 'Black Reign, Part 4' #25 - 'Black Reign, Conclusion' History of the DC Universe (1986)
Hourman (1999)
#5 - 'The Death of Hourman' #6 - 'JLAndroids' #9 - 'Family Feud' #12 - 'Metron's Brain' #13 - 'The Perfect Crime' #23 - 'The Unbelievable Truth' #24 - 'Minutes to Go' Impulse: Bart Saves the Universe (1999)
Infinite Crisis (2005)
Infinity Inc. (1984)
Annual 01 - 'Green Dreams & Precious Illusions' #1 - 'Generations!' #2 - 'Generations Part 2: A Gauntlet Hurled!' #19 - 'Last Crisis On Earth-Two!' #20 - 'Crisis On Infinitors' Earth' #21 - 'Shadows At Midnight!' #22 - 'Uncivil Wars!' #25 - 'Business As Usual...' #27 - 'Memories' #30 - 'What Private Griefs...' #32 - '--You Can Call Me Psycho!' #39 - 'The Saga of Solomon Grundy' #40 - 'A Flash of Thunder' #48 - 'The Making of A Man' JLA (2001)
#5 - 'Justice Leagues Teil 4: Herr über das Irrenhaus' JLA - Die neue Gerechtigkeitsliga Sonderband (1997)
#8 - 'Aus den geheimen Archiven 2' #15 - 'JSA Band I' #16 - 'JSA Band II' #17 - 'Das jüngste Gericht' #18 - 'Kingdom' #19 - 'Erde 2' #20 - 'Der dritte Weltkrieg' #21 - 'Young Justice: Sünden der Jugend' JLA Gallery (1997)
JLA in Crisis Secret Files (1998)
JLA: Incarnations (2001)
#1 - 'The Justice League of America is Dead!' JLA: The Nail (1998)
JLA: Year One (1998)
#4 - 'While You Were Out...' #11 - 'Stalag Earth' #12 - 'Justice For All' JSA (1999)
#36 - 'Stealing Thunder, Part 4: Time-Bound' #38 - 'Father's Day' #56 - 'Black Reign' #58 - 'Black Reign' #59 - 'Time and Time and Time Again' #60 - 'Redemption Lost, Part 1' #61 - 'Redemption Lost, Part 2' #62 - 'Redemption Lost, Part 3' #63 - 'Waking the Sandman, Part 1: Insomnia' #64 - 'Waking the Sandman, Part 2: Night Terrors' #65 - 'Out of Time, Part 1' #66 - 'Out of Time, Part 2' #67 - 'The Autopsy' #70 - 'JSA/JSA, Chapter 3: High Societies' #71 - 'JSA/JSA, Chapter 4: Past Mistakes' #72 - 'JSA/JSA' #81 - 'My Heroes' JSA 80-Page Giant 2011 (2011)
JSA All-Stars (2010)
JSA Secret Files (1999)
JSA Strange Adventures (2004)
#1 - 'It was a Dark and Stormy Night' #2 - 'Ray Guns and Bug-Eyed Monsters' #3 - 'The Lurker in the Clouds' #4 - 'All in Color for a Dime' #5 - 'Life of a Madman' #6 - 'Thunder and Lightning' JSA: All Stars (2003)
#1 - 'Legacy' #5 - 'An Hour at a Time' #8 - 'And Justice for All' JSA: Classified (2005)
#4 - 'Power Trip, Part IV' #16 - 'Double or Nothing: Conclusion- Busted!' #17 - 'The Venom Connection Part 1' #18 - 'The Venom Connection, Part 2 of 2' Justice League of America (1960)
#21 - 'Crisis on Earth-One' #22 - 'Crisis on Earth-Two' #55 - 'The Super-Crisis That Struck Earth-Two!' #56 - 'The Negative-Crisis on Earths One-Two!' #64 - 'The Stormy Return of the Red Tornado!' #65 - 'T.O. Morrow Kills the Justice League - Today!' #82 - 'Peril of the Paired Planets' #83 - 'Where Valor Fails... Will Magic Triumph?' #91 - 'Earth -- the Monster-Maker!' #100 - 'The Unknown Soldier of Victory!' #101 - 'The Hand That Shook the World' #102 - 'And One of Us Must Die!' #107 - 'Crisis on Earth-X!' #108 - 'Thirteen Against the Earth!' #113 - 'The Creature in the Velvet Cage!' #123 - 'Where On Earth Am I?' #124 - 'Avenging Ghosts of the Justice Society' #160 - 'Crisis From Tomorrow!' #195 - 'Targets On Two Worlds' #196 - 'Countdown to Crisis!' #197 - 'Crisis in Limbo!' #219 - 'Crisis In The Thunderbolt Dimension!' #220 - 'The Doppelganger Gambit' Justice League of America (2006)
#0 - 'Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow' Justice League of America: Another Nail (2004)
Justice League Task Force (1993)
#10 - 'The Purification Plague, Part One: Dark Convictions' #11 - 'The Purification Plague, Part Two: Children of Ignorance' #12 - 'The Purification Plague, Part Three: Angel of Injustice' Justice League Unlimited (2004)
Justice League: Cry for Justice (2009)
Justice Leagues: JLA (2001)
#1 - 'Justice Leagues Part VI: Dawn's Early Light' Justice Society of America (1992)
#1 - 'Home Again' #5 - 'Only Human' #6 - 'Give Me Liberty...' #8 - 'Whispering Death!' #9 - 'Hearts Of Darkness, Eyes Of Hate' #10 - 'JSA No More?' Justice Society of America (2007)
#1 - 'The Next Age, Chapter 1' #8 - 'Belles & Whistles' #16 - 'One World, Under Gog, Part 1: He Came, and Salvation with Him' #50 Last Days of the Justice Society Special (1986)
Special - 'The Last Days Of The Justice Society' Legends of the DC Universe (1998)
#1 - 'U.L.T.R.A. Humanite, Part 1: Madness and Science' Legends of the DCU: Crisis on Infinite Earths (1999)
Legionnaires (1993)
Power Girl (2006)
Sandman Mystery Theatre (1993)
TPB vol. 06 - 'The Hourman and The Python' #29 - 'The Hourman - Act One' #30 - 'The Hourman - Act Two' #31 - 'The Hourman - Act Three' #32 - 'The Hourman - Final Act' #69 - 'The Hero - Act One' #70 - 'The Hero - Final Act' Secret Origins (1986)
#9 - 'Starring The Golden Age Flash And The Star-Spangled Kid' #16 - 'Golden Age Hourman, The Warlord and 'Mazing Man' #26 - 'Starring Black Lightning And Miss America' #31 - 'The Secret Origin Of The Justice Society Of America' #50 Showcase (1956)
#55 - 'presents Doctor FATE and HOURMAN' #56 - 'presents Doctor FATE and HOURMAN' Showcase '95 (1995)
#1 - 'Alan Scott - Argus - Supergirl' Smash Comics (1999)
Solo (2004)
Starman (1994)
#11 - '13 Years Ago: Five Friends' #37 - 'Talking With David, '97' #49 - 'Fighting With Grundy; Talking With David '99' #76 - 'Talking With David (and Ted)' #77 - '1951, Part One: --Who?' #78 - '1951, Part Two: --What?' #79 - '1951, Part Three: --Why?' Starman Secret Files (1998)
Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. (1999)
#0 - 'A Chilly Day in Opal' #9 - 'The Final Hour for the 7 Soldiers of Victory' The Amazing World of DC Comics Special Edition (1976)
The Brave and the Bold (1955)
#115 - 'The Corpse That Wouldn't Die!' The DC Comics Encyclopedia (2004)
HC - 'The DC Comics Encyclopedia' HC - 'The DC Comics Encyclopedia: Updated And Expanded' The Flash (1987)
The Golden Age (1993)
#1 - 'The World Was at Peace.' #2 - 'We Had the Bomb.' #3 - 'We Had Prosperity.' #4 - 'We Had it All' The New York World's Fair Comics (1939)
The Spectre (1967)
#7 - 'The Ghost That Haunted Money!' The Vault of Michael Allred (2006)
Trinity (2008)
Triumph (1995)
#1 - 'The Machine' #3 - 'Billy Mac' War of the Gods (1991)
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe (1985)
#1 - 'Abel to Auron' #10 - 'Gunner & Sarge to Hyena' #12 - 'Jonny Double to Kong' Who's Who: Update '87 (1987)
#1 - 'All-Star Squadron to Catalyst' #5 - 'Reaper to Zymyr plus Appendix' World's Finest Comics (1941)
Young All-Stars (1987)
Annual 01#3 - 'A Call To Arms' #7 - 'Somewhere In This Favored Land...' #25 - 'Armageddon '42' #27 - 'Meanwhile...' #30 - 'When Titans Make War...' #31 - 'Men...and Super-Men' Zero Hour: Crisis in Time (1994)
#2 - 'Zero Hour' #3 - 'Zero Hour' #4 - 'Zero Hour' Group Affiliation(s): All-Star Squadron (DC)(Earth-2 - Pre Crisis) All-Star Squadron (DC)(Post Crisis) Freedom Fighters (DC) Justice League Task Force (DC) Justice Society of America (DC) Famous Quotes: - Add a Famous Quote None.
< Previous Character | Next Character >

Add this character to a run of issues in a title
Suggest an image for this character
View the contribution history for this character
|