| “ | Taking my medicine. Super-strength for one hour. So I need to make sure every punch counts. | „ |
| ~ Hourman (Rick Tyler). |
| “ | What's the phrase? "Cometh the hour...?" Cheap joke, sorry. What I mean is... if you want Hourman in your corner, you've got him. God knows I need a purpose I can believe in. | „ |
| ~ Earth-2 Rick Tyler. |
Hourman is a fictional character and superhero from the DC comics and its universe. Hourman is the legacy of a masked vigilante who uses a drug named Miraclo to give him incredible super-powers for exactly one hour. Rex Tyler is the original version, a scientist who created the Miraclo vitamin and fought crime during the Golden Age. Richard "Rick" Tyler is his son and successor, becoming the second Hourman during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Matthew Tyler is a super-intelligent android created in the 853rd Century who traveled back into the modern era and held the position for several years. The character has been involved with the Justice Society.
The character was created by Ken Fitch and Bernard Baily, first appearing in Adventure Comics #48 in March of 1940.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Richard "Rick" Tyler is the son of Rex Tyler, the Golden Age Hourman and the stage actress Wendi Harris, and was was often neglected by his father due to his business and heroics. During his teenage years, Rick looked for guidance and approval from his father, but Rex wanted to push his son towards academics since Rick wasn't interested in science. Though he was disappointed that his son wasn't interested in academics, Rex decided to improve the Miraclo formula for his son and descendants if they wanted to become his successors.
Becoming Hourman[]
During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Rick used one of the Miraclo pills to save Beth Chapel and became the second Hourman despite his father's disapproval. Rex feared that his son would become addicted to the vitamins like he did during his time on the Justice Society, but Rick tried to convince his father and join Infinity, Inc. Rick later became grief-stricken when Beth and Northwind informed him that his father and several JSA members sacrificed themselves to fight Ragnarok in Limbo. Rick was then kidnapped by the Injustice Unlimited, but managed to escape and thought he had killed the Wizard during the process. After giving up the title of Hourman, Rick unmasked himself before a unnamed press photographer, but the adventurer Hippolya Trevor prevented from the photo from being taken and comforted Tyler.
Despite giving up the title, Rick wore the outfit to attend the court hearing of Mister Bones, and feared that he was worst than Bones due to the pills possibly increasing his violent urges. Rick eventually returned to the identity, and reunited with his father when Rex and the JSA members returned from Limbo. During this time, Rick contacted leukemia due to his exposure to Miraclo, but managed to learn to tap into his super powers with the assistance of Johnny Quick. Later on, Rex was killed by Extant during Zero Hour, and Beth was killed by Eclipso, further traumatizing the new superhero. Rick then decided to retire and the android named Houramn, who was engineered by his father and later cured Rick of his cancer, and gave him the ability see one hour into the future. After visiting his father in the Timepoint by the help of the android, Rick resumed the mantle and joined the Justice Society in defeating the Ultra-Humanite.
Rick decided to stay with the Justice Society after defeating Ultra-Humanite, and became close with Jesse Quick, who was acting as the team's business manager at the time. When Hourman and the JSA foguht Black Adam in Kahndaq, Rick was injured by Nemesis' swords, and realized he would die from blood loss. Rick then transported himself to the Timepoint and switched places with his father, and the Timepoint kept Rick's wound in stasis. Rick's life was later saved by the android, who brought Doctor Mid-Nite to assist him and the android sacrificed itself to fight Extant so that Rick and Rex could live.
Incarnations[]
Rex Tyler[]
- Main article: Rex Tyler
| “ | It really galls me to see technology used so thoughtlessly! Wait -- No, it doesn't! I do it all the time! | „ |
| ~ Hourman (Rex-Tyler). |
Rex Tyler was born to unnamed parents on November 5th, 1913, and raised in upstate New York, and found himself interested in field of chemistry and biology at a young age. In 1919, Rex was visited by his future self, who gave him an hourglass and told his younger self that he will ask for it during his final hour. After graduating from college, Rex got a job where he researched vitamins and hormone supplements at the Bannerman Chemical, which led him to discover the "Miraculous vitamin" (Miraclo), and learned that it gave mice great strength and vigor when giving them small doses. Seeing the results from the mice, Rex gave himself a dose and was given increased strength, speed, and vitality, but soon learned that the body could only process the vitamin for only one hour at a time.
Tyler decided to keep the Miraclo vitamin a secret, and decided to use them for good purposes such as helping others, putting an ad to the public with the "The Man of The Hour" would help citizens. After helping one responded to the ad, Tyler found a costume and gave himself the name "The Hour-Man", but later dropped the hyphen for unknown reasons. The Hour-Man helped many people and became noted by citizens as the "common man", and Tyler was eventually recruited into the Justice Society of America. Seeing that his teammates had magical powers, Tyler increased the strength of the vitamins, and slowly became addicted to taking them. When his heart gave out during a case, Doctor Fate cleansed Hourman's body of the side effects of the vitamin, and Tyler decided to leave the Justice Society.
Though Tyler retired from crime fighting and abandoned his alter-ego in 1943, he would occasionally assist the Justice Society but stopped and devoted his time to biochemistry. Rex also purchased Bannerman Chemical and renamed it Tyler Chemical Company (TylerCo) by using his patent royalties, and later started dating an stage actress named Wendi Harris. After helping Doctor Fate defeat the Psycho-Pirate during one of his dates with Wendi, Rex managed to gain the courage to ask her to marry him. The two later married and had a son together named Richard, and Tyler would come at odds with his son due to the latter not taking an interest in science. Despite this, Rex began to secretly tailor the vitamin formula for his son and descendants if they ever wanted to fight against crime, and later forbade his son from using the vitamins. During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Richard took the vitamins and became the second Hourman, and Rex was seemingly killed during the events of Zero Hour. However, he was rescued by the third Hourman, and currently lives with Wendi in retirement.
Rick Tyler[]
Main article: Rick Tyler
Matthew Tyler[]
| “ | I am a diamond generation intelligent machine colony, DNA programmed with Tyler Miraclo gene biosoftware. I am Hourman, I am the master of time... and time is breaking! | „ |
| ~ Matthew Tyler. |
Matthew Tyler is an android from the 853rd Century that was created Tyler Chemorobotics, and the DNA of Rex Tyler was used for the genetic software. Though Matthew was appointed to the New God Metron, he forsook it and traveled to the 20th century to explore his human heritage, and became a member of the Justice League.
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