Hourman

Origin:  Rex Tyler was a respected chemist, called "Tick-Tock" by friends and acquaintances for his punctuality. He developed a drug called Miraclo, which would give a man superstrength for an hour. Naturally he decided to use the Miraclo pills to fight crime. He designed a costume and became the mystery man called "Hourman." In his first adventure he he helped a woman named Mrs. Kenton, whose husband had just recently turned to crime because he had been unemployed. The gang of which Kenton was a member was in the midst of robbing a high society ball when Hourman stopped them. He retrieved Kenton and convinced him to stay on the strait and narrow path. Hourman would often be aided in his fight against crime by  by Jimmy "Minuteman" Martin and a group of boys, the Minutemen of America.

Hourman would be one of the first superheroes to battle supervillains, although they were generally of the mad scientist type. Typical of his opponents was Dr. Darkk, a villain who utilised robots to commit his crimes.

Powers: By taking one Miraclo pill Hourman has increased strength, increased dexterity, and a higher endurance for one hour. Without the Miraclo pills, Tyler is as vulnerable as any normal man, if not more so.

History:  Hourman was created by Bernard Bailey, the artist who co-created The Spectre with Jerry Siegel. The idea of a hero whose powers were limited in duration perhaps grew out of the quest by comic book creators in the early Golden Age to somehow limit the powers of their characters. One problem which developed in writing stories about the superhuman characters who inhabited comic books is that it was difficult to develop opponents who give them a good fight. After all, superheroes as powerful as Superman or Captain Marvel could defeat the average gangster with ease. To overcome this problem, many characters were either created with inherent limitations or given weaknesses later in their run. Kryptonite was developed on the Superman radio show so that the script writers could put the Man of Steel out of commission once in a while. Green Lantern's ring was ineffective against wood. Hourman was a character whose weakness was already built into the character--once he had taken a Miraclo pill he would only have his powers for one hour.

Hourman debuted in Adventure Comics #48, March, 1940. He also appeared in the first two issues of All-Star Comics and was a charter member of the Justice Society of America in All-Star Comics #3, winter 1940. Unfortunately, Hourman did not prove to be a popular character. In All-Star Comics #7, October-November 1941, he took a leave of absence from the JSA and never returned. His place and that of the Green Lantern (who received his own title and so was no longer eligible for full membership) was taken by two more popular characters, Dr. Mid-Nite and Starman. In Adventure Comics, Hourman did not last much longer. His series ended with issue 83, February 1943.

Despite this, Hourman would be among the first JSA characters revived in the Silver Age. He appeared in the first JSA/JLA team up in Justice League of America #21, August 1963. He would go on to appear in the majority of JSA/JLA team ups in the Sixites. Dr. Fate and Hourman received a try out as a team in Showcase issues 55, April-May 1965, and 56, June-July 1965. Hourman would also be featured in the revival of All-Star Comics in the Seventies and the Justice Society revival of the Eighties.

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 Unless otherwise stated, all text on this site is © 1999 T. L. Canote