Hourman - Routine - P. A. Nolte

1/ The apartment of Rex Tyler.  The focus is on the recliner and side table in front of a small television set, and the news report just starting up, but Rex is up and pulling his hood on as he walks out of frame.  He's headed off on another adventure.

TV Anchor: Good evening. I'm Ken Bernard and this is the Channel 48 10 O'Clock News.

2/ A fire escape overlooking an alley.  Rex is perched high, looking down to where an elderly couple have been escorted into an alley by a thug with a knife.

Hourman (Cap): Been at this a long time.  Longer than most.

3/ Hourman drops the thug with a kick and the purse goes flying.  His cape billows out behind him, making his actions look more dramatic than they really are.

Hourman (Cap): Now they make movies.

Hourman (Cap): Throw out statistics like people only using 10% of their brains.

SFX: WHAM

4/ Hourman victorious.  At his feet is the thug.  He silences the alarm on his watch, casually talking over his shoulder to the elderly couple behind him.  The woman has had her handbag returned to her.

Hourman (Cap): Dumbest thing I ever heard.

SFX: deet deet

Hourman: Get home safe, folks.

Elderly Man: You too, Hourman.

Elderly Woman: Thank you...

5/ The apartment of Rex Tyler. Rex has returned home, showered, and donned a robe.  He rushes to answer the phone on the table beside his recliner.  Behind him, the television continues its broadcast.

SFX: bring bring

Rex: Hello?

Rex: Hey, Wes.

Rex: No. I've got time.

TV Anchor: --you for joining us.  Up next is Carr@11 with Snapper Carr.  Good night.

Hourman - Wrinkles in Time - Luke Babad

1. Dr. Freehill stands next to a leather chair on the right side of the frame. A notepad and pen are on the table next to him. On the left side of the frame, an aged Rex Tyler, hair disheveled, is half-way through a door.

Dr. Freehill: Have a seat, Rex. Thanks for coming in today. How can I help you?

2. Rex is now slumped across a leather couch. In this panel Dr. Freehill is not visible but his speech bubbles come from the right-hand side of the frame.

Rex: How much time do we have?

Dr. Freehill: Sixty minutes, Rex, the same as always. Did you tell Wendi you were coming in today?

3. This shot has a bird’s-eye view on Rex. Rex has his hands clasped together nervously and his watch is visible.

Rex: I’ve told you, she won’t understand. How much time do I have left? I only have an hour – she’ll be home in an hour.

Dr. Freehill: We have fifty eight minutes remaining, Rex. Why don’t you tell me what specifically has brought you in today?

4. This panel shows the same bird’s-eye view, but with Rex slumped over again. A patch of sunlight can be seen on the floor.

Rex: I think I need it again – the old stuff. None of the modifications ever made it work as well.

Dr. Freehill: You’ve been doing so well, Rex - Why do you think you need it?

5. A nearly identical panel. In this one, the patch of sunlight has shifted, suggesting time has passed.

Rex: I need to help. I used to mean something. It’s not like I want it – I’m supposed to help.

6. Zoom in on Rex’s watch, where the minute hand is almost at 12.

Rex: I used to help. How much time do we have left?

Hourman - An Unpleasant Surprise - Perry Kent

Panel 1

Exterior, night, dark alley. Rex Tyler walks down a dark alleyway searching for a place to change. He has one hand in his pocket as he tries to find his Miraclo pill that will provide him his powers. In the alleyway there are several dumpsters.

1. REX: I'll just pop a Miraclo, change, then head over to the burning--

Panel 2

A vagrant steps out behind Rex, with a knife in his hand.

2. VAGRANT: Yo, buddy. Hand over yer wallet and I'll let ya walk.

Panel 3

Rex pops a pill into his mouth as the vagrant becomes more irate.

3. VAGRANT: Give it up already! I'll stab ya if I gotta.

Panel 4

Exterior, night, just outside of a dark alley. The vagrant sails through the air and out of the alley. The few people walking on the sidewalk watch with astonishment.

4. VAGRANT: AAAAaaaaahhhhhh!

Panel 5

Hourman, Rex Tyler in full costume, steps out of the alleyway into the light. The vagrant lies on the ground completely stunned.

5. HOURMAN: There is a burning orphanage that needs me, so I'm letting you off with a warning.

6. HOURMAN: But if you return to your vagrant ways, I'll be back.

-END-

Hourman – The Hour of DOOM! – MK Stangeland Jr.

(1 Panel)

Panel 1: SPLASH PAGE! Page should be stylized like a retro-teaser page.

The setting is over a city somewhere. HOURMAN (MATTHEW TYLER android version) is in the foreground, looking shocked by what is happening nearby – a version of HOURMAN’s Viking timeship has appeared, crewed by a vast number of other HOURMAN androids. Most of them look like they’ve been killed and resurrected in some form. One of them, their leader (REAPER HOURMAN), looks like he’s taken on a Grim Reaper/Death look, though he’s still recognizable as a version of the HOURMAN android.

NARRATION: From across existence as we do not know it they come! The Hourmen of countless nows, with a single mission in mind!

HOURMAN: No! My powers have become everything I feared!

REAPER HOURMAN (1): Yes, Matthew Tyler!

REAPER HOURMAN (2): And to preserve the entirety of the Space-Time Continuum...

REAPER HOURMAN (3): Hourman!

REAPER HOURMAN (4): Must!

REAPER HOURMAN (5): DIE!

(END PAGE)

Hourman - By Any Other Name - Grant McLaughlin

1 - Golden-Age style panel of Rex Tyler in his lab working with chemicals and the like.

REX (1): Gee whiz!  I really want my date with Wendi to go well, but I get so tongue-tied around her.

REX (2): Maybe there's some way to focus my brain's control of language...

2 - Present day.  A grandfatherly Rex Tyler sits on an easy chair in his living room, regaling two grandkids with his fantastic tale.  Rick Tyler sits on a couch in the background, smiling.  Wendi looks in at the living room doorway, smiling.  The grandkids look over to her interjection.

REX: And so I--

WENDI (interrupting): Are you telling that Lyriclo story again?

3 - Wendi walks in and kisses the top of Rex's head.  Rex is somewhat embarrassed.

WENDI: I seem to remember you admitting you were actually hoping to create Desirablo.

4 - Wendi walks back towards the doorway, smiling to herself.  Rex covers his face a bit to try to hide his blush / embarrassment.  Rick and the grandkids laugh heartily.

WENDI: You're lucky you have such a winning personality...

Hourman--“Hourmen vs the Hour-Killer” --David Press

PAGE ONE.

1.1: RICK TYLER and his partner MATTHEW TYLER, the android Hourman, step out of their beater police car into a deserted Grain silos plant on the edge of the docks in HAPPY HARBOR. They’re walking towards a crime scene.

            What I mean by mill-worker’s dock is similar to what is a deserted part of downtown Buffalo—here’s what I mean.

            It’s mostly a tourist spot for geo-cachers and is almost always deserted. In the far bottom corner of the panel there is a taped off-area.

1. CAPTION [TIME/LOCATION]:    Happy Harbor, NY. 08:32am.

1.2: RICK and TYLER step through the police tape and regard the body of a young woman. There’s a PATROL OFFICER next to the Android Tyler, scratching the back of her head.

2. OFFICER:          Third one in as many days. With the same tag--

1.3: The officer points up towards the cement wall of a grain silo right next to the crime scene. Rick is in the panel making an uncomfortable face. I think we should have the Hourmen in plain-clothes. Android Tyler is more formal—in a suit, and Rick is the less-straight guy, the sarcastic, constantly hungover, perhaps substance-abusing sidekick.

3. DISPLAY LETT [Graffiti]:    Time is running out, Hourmen. 

1.4: Android Tyler crouches down to look at the body. He’s scanning it.

4. TYLER:            Perished little more than an hour ago; strangled. Name is Bethany Navarro.

1.5: Android Tyler looks up at Rick who checks his watch. It’s a funky large format watch, think of a slightly souped-up Apple Watch but this one injects Miraclo into his veins and gives Rick his hour of power. Rick’s tapped it and it displays the time as 07:22am in digital format.

5. RICK:             Scumbag is killing morning joggers.

Why Hourman?

 by J.H. Williams III

There are so many variations of the character and I love variety. In my previous attempts on why posts I’ve always liked legacy characters because they breathe new light into heroes who have been around for a while. I love the fact that Jane Foster is Thor now, and Miles Morales is Spider-Man, and generally feel sad when we go back to the same-old same-old characters like Barry Allen and Hal Jordan. Part of it is I didn’t grow up with those Silver-Age iterations of the characters, and I like new takes and new characters occupying a similar look.  

            Here’s some background for those of you not familiar with Hourman: The original Hourman was Rex Tyler, a pharmaceutical executive who developed the drug Miraclo, the drug gives Tyler an hour of strength, speed, and invulnerability. Sound familiar? For those of us who are baseball fans, this character presents a unique opportunity to talk about doping.

            Then there’s Rex’s son Rick, who—well—he’s had a pretty complicated history. And I’ll just leave hisWikipedia entry here to give you the scope of it.

            Probably the most significant take on the character for me was the Hourman of the 81^st century. Created by Grant Morrison during the DC One Million event of the early 2000s this Hourman has the ability to manipulate time itself. But that’s not why he’s interesting. He got his own series—the only one that ever happened for the character—written by Tom Peyer and drawn by Rags Morales. The series only lasted about a year, and it was about the near-omnipotent android reducing his power just so he could try to connect to his human side. It was a beautiful, weird, series that is hard to find. I still have the original issues and I treasure them. Mostly because between that and Transmetropolitan—they were the only comics I had access to in college.

            As always, feel free to leave your scripts in the comments below and I look forward to reading your take on the character. There’s a lot of fun to be had.