William Dalrymple (historian)

Hector Hall
Hektor Hol as Changeling. Art by Fico Ossio.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	All-Star Squadron #25 (September 1983)
Created by	Roy Thomas (writer) Jerry Ordway (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Hektor Hol (current) Hector Sanders Hall
Species	Thanagarian (as Changeling) Human (originally)
Team affiliations	Infinity, Inc. Justice Society of America Lords of Chaos and Order Sentinels of Magic Justice League
Partnerships	Hawkman Hawkwoman Hawkgirl Fury (Lyta Trevor) Hawk and Dove
Supporting character of	Hawkman
Notable aliases	Silver Scarab, Sandman, Doctor Fate, Changeling
Abilities	Reincarnation abilities which, upon deaths, allows him to live through various lifetimes with different experiences.

Hector Sanders Hall (also known as Hektor Hol) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway, he made his first appearance in All-Star Squadron #25 (September, 1983). While having adopted various codenames, the character is frequently associated with Hawkman-related characters.

The original incarnation of the character was the son of Carter Hall and the original Hawkgirl, Shiera Sanders Hall, who operated under the codename Silver Scarab and Sandman, a member of Infinity, Inc., and was a love interest of Fury. While ultimately killed twice, the character is reincarnated as the son of Dawn Granger and Hank Hall (no relation to Carter Hall), becoming the fifth incarnation of Doctor Fate from the machinations of supervillain Mordru, succeeding Jared Stevens and becoming a notable member of the Justice Society of America until his death during the "Day of Vengeance" storyline.

The newest incarnation of the character, Hektor Hol, is introduced in a backup of Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow. This version, known as Changeling, is seemingly Thanagarian in origin and possessing similar equipment often adorned by Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Hawkwoman. This version of the character and is the son of Katar and Shayera Hol.

Hector Hall makes his first media appearance in the first season of the Netflix drama series The Sandman (2022), portrayed by Lloyd Everitt. This version takes inspiration from his histories concerning his lifetime as the Silver Scarab and Sandman.

Thomas spoke on the character's genesis, stating:

At any rate, in his case we decided to use a different motif identified with his parents: ancient Egypt. (The Golden Age Hawkman was the reincarnation of an Egyptian prince.) Thus Hector became the Silver Scarab--no relation to the Scarlet Scarab, an Egyptian villain I'd created five years earlier for my Invaders series at Marvel, except that both were homages to the Nile-spawned, scarab-related, first Charlton Comics incarnation of the Blue Beetle, about whom I had written my second professional comics story back in 1965.^{[excessive quote][1]}

Hector Hall first appeared in All-Star Squadron #25 and was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Jerry Ordway.

Hector Hall is the son of Carter and Shiera Hall, the Golden Age heroes known as Hawkman and Hawkgirl.^[2] Carter and Shiera were reincarnations of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh and his wife, both of whom had been killed and cursed by their rival Hath-Set. Unbeknownst to either of them, however, Hath-Set's curse also concerned any children that might be conceived by the pair. The curse of Seketh, the Ancient Egyptian God of Death, prophesied the combination of the Silver Scarab and the Eye of Ra, which would practically mean the end of the world. As such, when Hector was born during an archaeological dig near Cairo, he was born without a soul, destined to be a vessel for the Silver Scarab, an agent of vengeance called forth by Hath-Set.^[3]

To further anger Hector, his parents would frequently visit the city of Feithera and spend time with their godson Norda Cantrell (who would become Northwind). Although the two children would be playmates as well, Hector carried a grudge against Norda for his wings and the attention he got from Hector's parents. It turned out later that, as Hector had been prophesied to become an agent of Hath-Set, Norda's destiny would be to stop him.^[4]

Young Hector Hall would sometimes also play with the other children of the Justice Society, such as Al Rothstein (godchild of the first Atom), Lyta Trevor (child of the first Fury, who would grow up to marry Hector) and Rick Tyler (the son of the first Hourman). During one of these meetings, the kids ended up flying a jet, and almost crashed into the White House, where they were of course stopped and reprimanded by their parents.^[5]

Feeling neglected by his crime-fighting parents, in college Hector constructed a suit out of the Nth Metal that granted his parents the power of flight, while also adding some solar improvements. Hector had enrolled at UCLA and met his childhood friend, Lyta Trevor. The two quickly fell in love and began to date. Lyta wished to follow in her mother's footsteps and become the next Fury, and Hector shared the secret of his Silver Scarab suit with her. As such, the two decided to apply for membership in the Justice Society of America, the group their parents had helped form. Inviting Al Rothstein to apply with them as well as Norda Cantrell, who would codename himself Northwind, all four were turned down due to their age and inexperience. Before the four could further plead their case, Jenny Hayden and Todd Rice, both Alan Scott's children, showed up and also applied. The six of them left, but shortly after, Henry King Jr. came to apply, using the illusion of his father, Brainwave. He quickly told them that he was the son of the original Brainwave and didn't want a fight, but the JSA attacked him regardless. Feeling pity on the youngsters, Star-Spangled Kid decided to leave the JSA with Brainwave Jr. in order to create a new group. They were joined by Power Girl and the Huntress, and called themselves Infinity, Inc.^[6]

After battling their parents and mentors (who were under the influence of Koehaha, the River of Evil) the team publicly divulged their secret identities (revealing those of their parents in the process), and Hector also announced his engagement to Lyta.^[7] The Ultra-Humanite had already revealed Hawkman and Hawkgirl's secret identities, and Hector chose to confirm the rumor. They had little time to enjoy their happiness as the entity that had been within Hector since his birth came forth, thanks to the manipulation of Hath-Set.^[8] The reincarnated Silver Scarab fought Infinity, Inc. alongside Hath-Set and summoned the Eye of Ra. The heroes managed (largely thanks to the help of the returned Northwind) to win, but at the cost of Hector's life. As he died, he learned that Lyta was carrying his child, the one thing that was his undoing, for the child carried with him the purity and goodness of Hector Hall, resulting in the Silver Scarab being unable to fully control the Eye.^[9]

Hector Hall cheated death like his parents before. His consciousness had been cast into the Dreaming, where it was discovered by Brute and Glob, former servants of Morpheus, Dream of the Endless. Left at a loose end following the imprisonment of Morpheus in the early 20th century, Brute and Glob had taken to recruiting mortals as surrogate "dream kings", which they hoped to use as a means to seize control of the entire Dreaming. Hector was one such pawn, and he adopted the costumed identity of the Sandman. In his new persona, Hector could only leave his "dream dimension" for one hour a day.

He increasingly made use of this time to visit Lyta in her dreams, where he discovered that she had become pregnant with his child. This pattern continued for a long time before Hector was finally "caught" by his friend Al Rothstein, who had come to visit Lyta and propose to her. He told Lyta of his new role and asked her to marry him. She agreed, and the two of them departed for the dream dimension.^[10]

The "Dream Dimension" was nothing more than a part of the Dreaming inside the mind of a young boy named Jed Walker which Brute and Glob had severed.^[11] Inside, Lyta slowly started to drift off, becoming less and less in touch with reality, and her pregnancy had completely halted for nearly two years. Hector became more and more obsessed with his role as the Sandman, and devolved from a serious superhero to one who fought nonsensical battles against weak villains. It was only a short time later that Morpheus escaped his captivity and set about putting the Dreaming back into order. Eventually, his attention fell on Brute and Glob. Ending their schemes, Morpheus returned Hector to the realm of the dead, and laid claim to his yet-to-be-born son, Daniel, who was destined to become the next Lord of Dreams.^[12]

In the 1999 JSA ongoing series written by Geoff Johns, Hector Hall undergoes a reincarnation cycle that enables him to return years later as the next individual to assume the mantle of Doctor Fate. Shortly after his birth, the sorcerous supervillain Mordru, who seeks to seize the power of various Lords of Chaos and Order, becomes involved in a series of conflicts. Mordru's schemes include the killing of Jared Stevens, confrontations with the Justice Society, and attempts to claim the artifacts associated with Doctor Fate. To further his plans, Mordru accelerates Hector's aging process to adulthood, intending to usurp his power as Doctor Fate. In the ensuing conflict, Hector, and the Justice Society face off against Mordru. With guidance that appears to come from Kent Nelson, they succeed in defeating Mordru, who is subsequently imprisoned within the Amulet of Anubis.^[13]

As the new Doctor Fate, Hector is embroiled into several dilemmas; he seemingly uncovers Lyta as his biological mother in his reincarnated lifetime but is induced in a mystical coma and seeks to wake her from it and attempts to bond with Kendra Saunders, the reincarnation of his own mother and current Hawkgirl. During a mission to Thanagar, he also meets his father once more in his current lifetime.^[14] While adapting to his role as Doctor Fate despite self-doubt, Hector Hall faces the Curse, a powerful demi-god sorcerer Nabu once struggled to defeat and has bonded with Justin Guilder, a occult thief who competes with Hector for the affections of a local diner maid interested in him. Critically injured in battle, Hector’s spirit confronts Nabu in the helmet. After enduring Nabu’s criticism and striking back, Hector revives himself and with help from a local Wccan cult, defeats the Curse and saves Salem, gaining more confidence in his role.^[15]

In the "JSA: Princes of Darkness" storyline, Hector travels to Gemworld on the advice of "Nabu" to learn how to break Mordru's spell upon Lyta. Undoing his spell, he instead learns the woman was not Lyta but in fact Dawn Granger (whom was sexually assaulted by Hank Hall while under Mordru's mind control to produce a progeny capable of wielding powers of order and chaos) and Mordru switches places with Hector. While in the Amulet of Anubis, he learns several major revelations: Mordru is a Lord of Chaos who requires hosts and currently inhabits inhabits Arion, whose soul is key to giving him a window of opportunity to defeat He also learns that Mordru deceived him by posing as Nabu previously to get him to Gemworld, wherein the real Nabu has been in the Amulet. Finally, the various Doctor Fate incarnations (Kent, Inza, Jared, etc.) within the amulet were imagined by Hector due to his desire to fit in the Fate Legacy, dissipating when he subconsciously realized this and Nabu clarifying while pointing out his grief has made him vulnerable. Hector gathered his strength and managed to return to reality to confront Mordru. After showing Mordru his future, a future of humiliation and failure, Hector imprisoned Mordru within the Rock of Eternity at the end of the universe.^[16]

On a later adventure to Kahndaq with the JSA, Hector and Nabu clash as the latter argues the legitimacy of Black Adam's current agenda and accused him of blindly following his father. Nabu later takes control of Hector and imprisons his spirit in the Amulet of Anubis. Within it, he is reunited with both Ltya (revealed to have been trapped by Nabu to control Hector) and the real previous bearers of Doctor Fate, Kent Nelson, Eric Strauss, and Linda Strauss. Together, from within, they instead trap Nabu inside the Amulet.^[17] Lyta and Hall returned to the Tower and lived happily,^[18] until they were trapped in a section of Hell by the Spectre, who was on a rampage to destroy all magic.^[19] The two were stranded on a frozen mountain, where Hector was forced to fend off various demons that threatened him and Lyta.^[20] Meanwhile, an unconscious Lyta was communicating with their son Daniel, Lord of the Dreaming. Daniel proposed they join him in the Dreaming and when Lyta woke up, Hector had collapsed near her, close to death. She decided to take him up on his offer. Together with Hector, they entered the portal to the Dreaming. As their physical bodies froze to death atop the mountain, their spirits joined their son.^[21]

Following the New 52 reboot in 2011, the histories of previous Doctor Fates, including Hector Hall, was erased from continuity.^[22]In "Infinite Frontier", Hector Hall as the Silver Scarab appears in a portrait of the Infinity Inc. members.^[23] In a short backup story in the conclusion of Superboy: Man of Tomorrow limited series, Changeling appears during a battle between Hawkman, Hawkwoman, and various alien creatures. He introduced himself as his son, much to Hawkman's surprise.^[24] Hector's history as Doctor Fate is later restored during Geoff John's Justice Society of America comic book series and run, including stories revolving around his time as Doctor Fate (i.e the "Long Live the JSA" storyline).^[25][26]

As the Silver Scarab, Hector possessed no inherent superpowers; he wore a suit made up of the fictional Nth metal, allowing the wearer to defy gravity and grant them superhuman strength. Further improvement to the suit by Hector also made it solar-powered, enabling him to project blasts of solar energy from his gauntlets.^[27]

As Sandman, Hector possessed the same abilities as his predecessor: superhuman strength, immortality, and flight. He could also reshape matter to his will in the Dream Dimension. Additionally, he carried cartridges of sand in his belt capable of putting people to sleep, a hypersonic whistle that creates shattering vibrations and controls nightmare creatures, and both communicates with and transports others into Earth and the Dream Dimension.^[28]

As Doctor Fate, Hall was classified as a "sorcerer", a magic practitioner that uses enchanted objects to amplify their abilities, protect themselves risks associated with magic, and also serving as protective measures.^[29] With these artifacts on hand, Hall was cited as among the "greatest living sorcerer"^[30] and potentially more capable than his predecessors^[31] and Khalid Nassour.^[32] Chief among his artifacts includes the Helmet of Fate and in his depiction, Hall is described as wielding a vast array of spells and "eldritch formulae", acquiring knowledge from Nabu's suggestions within the helm.^[31] He also wielded the Amulet of Anubis and the Cloak of Destiny, the former containing a separate universe within it^[33] and the latter's properties making it fire-proof and resistant to chaos magic.^[34][35]

Hall had weaknesses as Doctor Fate; disruption to his connection to Nabu through the helm disallowed him access to the helm's spells.^[36] Much of Hector's magical abilities are derived from verbal spells, allowing his magical powers to be cut off if he cannot speak.^[37]

Hector Hall appears in The Sandman, portrayed by Lloyd Everitt.