Hourman (Rex Tyler)

Origin

Rex Tyler, one of the original founders one the JSA, started out as a biochemist. During his work in his college years at Bannermain Chemical he accidentally discovered a miracle-drug that could give one super human strength, super speed, and durability only for an hour; He called this new drug Miraclo. He decided to keep the drug a secret so he could test on himself without anyone else knowing. In order to further test the power of this drug he decided to patrol the city of Appleton as Hourman. At first he went by name The Hour-Man but later changed it to Hourman. He got his start by placing an ad in the newspaper stating The Man of The Hour would help anyone in need. The first adventure he went on as as a superhero was when a woman contacted him to stop her husband from falling in with the wrong crowd as she put it. During that time he stopped his first robbery. In November of 1940 he became a founding of the newly formed Justice Society of America along with the Green Lantern, The Spectre, the Atom, Doctor Fate, The Flash, Hawkman, and Sandman.

Character Evolution

In 1941 Rex left the JSA for Uncle Sam‘s Freedom Fighters and later joined the All Star Squadron. Later on Rex Tyler would find out that he was addicted to Miraclo. Since this discovery Rex has found different ways to access his powers without addictive risks. He first beat his addiction by developing a non-addictive formula of Miraclo. Then later, he began to use a black light lantern (similar to Alan Scott‘s) to activate the residue of Miraclo dormant in his body, but thanks to Johnny Quick he realized that his power now came from his metagene. Now all he needs to do say, “Man of the Hour!” to activate his super-powers, but it still will last for an hour.

Because of the physical and emotional stress placed on him when he used the Miraclo drug he decided to retire in 1943, thought he still helped the JSA occasionally. While the drug may have granted him superpowers it was not without it’s side-effects , on one occasion his system was poisoned due to the toxic effects of the drug though Kent Nelson, who was the Doctor Fate at the time was able to save him by using his mystical powers. Rex is now a retired hero, he currently lives with his wife and has passed the mantle to his son Rick.

Major Story Arcs

In Zero Hour Rex Tyler would be killed in a battle with the ex-hero Extant but was saved at the last minute thanks to Hourman III ( Matthew Tyler, the android) taking his place.

Alternate Versions

Earth 21

Rex was killed along with four police officers chasing him; after continuing to operate as a superhero despite that President Eisenhower had put out a warrant for his arrest. After his death, the Justice Society was given the option to disband and hang up their capes or register their identities with the government; they chose to disband.

Powers

By using the Miraclo drug Rex Tyler is able to become the superhero known as Hourman for one hour at a time.

• Super-Strength
• Enhanced Speed
• Night Vision

Weaknesses

The effects of the drug wear off after one hour and it takes 24 hours to remove all the toxins from his body.

In Other Media

The Rex Tyler version of Hourman has appeared on Batman: The Brave and the Bold in the episode “The Golden Age of Justice!”.