Hans Hendrickson (Earth-One)

The eldest Blackhawk, the walrus-mustached Dutchman had seen the most combat of them all, and was considered the wise old man of the group. Hans Hendrickson lived in the village of Aikmaanen, Netherlands, until September 11, 1939, when he enlisted in the Dutch army. His wife, Violet, died shortly later, when the Nazis overran Rotterdam.^[1]

Hendrickson and a handful of other refugee volunteer aviators teamed up to form the Blackhawk Squadron, which spent the following few years inflicting severe casualties on the Luftwaffe and other Axis armed forces. When the postwar world proved to be just as dangerous as wartime, Hendrickson stayed with the team, combating a wide variety of Communist, terrorist, and criminal menaces.

Hendrickson was an expert with many weapons and a superb marksman. In the late 1960s, Hendy used his skill with weapons to briefly adopt the guise of the Weapons Master, when the team adopted "secret identities".^[2]

By the 1970s, Hendrickson's age had caught up with him and while the rest of the team still went on occasional missions, he lived in virtual retirement on Blackhawk Island.^[3] He suffered an apparent heart attack when his daughter, Elsa, appeared but was still alive when last seen.^[4]

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

Aviation
Aerial Combat Hendrickson was an incredibly talented air-to-air fighter.
Falconry: Hendrickson worked patiently with Blackie, the team's amazing hawk mascot, and taught him to recognize alphabet letters, and to spell his own name.^[5]
Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)
Marksmanship: Hendrickson was proficient with any type of weapon, from handguns to antiaircraft rockets. Blackhawk considered him the Squadron's top marksman.^[6]

Weaknesses

According to the G.E.O.R.G.E. intelligence agency, Hendrickson was blind in his right eye, and kept this fact secret for a long time.^[7]

Paraphernalia

Transportation

Lockheed F-90

Weapons

In ground combat, Hendrickson typically carried a Thompson submachinegun and a semiautomatic sidearm.

Notes

Hans Hendrickson first appeared in Quality Universe continuity in Quality Comics' Military Comics #2 by Will Eisner and Chuck Cuidera. He first appeared in Earth-One continuity in DC Comics' Blackhawk #108 by Robert Bernstein and Dick Dillin.
This version of Hans Hendrickson, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the Dark Crisis of 2022-2023. Even though other versions of the character may have appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.

Hans Hendrickson (Earth-One)

Contents

History