D.L. Hawkins

D.L. Hawkins
Portrayed by	Leonard Roberts
First appearance	Hiros
In-story stats
Known ability	Phasing
Formal name	Daniel Lawrence Hawkins
Gender
Age	31
Date of birth	1976
Place of birth	Clark County Hospital, Nevada
Date of death	2007
Home	Las Vegas, NV
Residence	D.L. Hawkins's home
Occupations	Construction worker, Firefighter
Significant other	Niki Sanders (deceased)
Parent	Paulette Hawkins (deceased)
Child	Micah Sanders
Other relatives	Sisters-in-law: Jessica Sanders (deceased), Tracy Strauss, Barbara Aunt: Nana Dawson Cousins (once removed): Damon Dawson Monica Dawson

Daniel Lawrence "D.L." Hawkins was an unemployed construction worker and part-time associate of Mr. Linderman of the Linderman Group. He lived with his wife and son in Las Vegas and became a fireman. He was an evolved human with the ability of phasing.

About

D.L. is very devoted to his family. After initially deciding to participate in the plan to rob Linderman of the $2 million in order to better provide for Niki and Micah, he backs out of the plan out of fear that Linderman will seek retribution against them. Even after he discovers Jessica set him up, he remains very much in love with his wife, and ultimately succumbs to Micah's pleas to return and help Niki overcome her alter ego.

Unlike some of the others, D.L. seems to actually enjoy using his powers (possibly because they pose no real threat to others) and has made no effort to conceal them from those close to him.

Character History

Season One

For an episode-by-episode summary, see D.L. Hawkins: Season One History.

D.L. protects himself from Jessica.

The estranged father and husband of Micah and Niki Sanders, respectively, D.L. Hawkins is said to have escaped from prison somehow and is on the run from the law. According to Niki, he robbed Linderman of two million dollars and murdered his own crew. He is a high-priority fugitive, and thus the Las Vegas Police Department offer to protect Niki and Micah when D.L. is spotted at a nearby convenience store. This protection fails, however, as D.L. manages to sneak into Niki's house and meets her. D.L. tries to convince Niki that he was framed for his crimes, and he wants to be a part of her family again in order to raise Micah. The couple reconcile and D.L. reunites with his son.

The next morning, D.L. explains to Niki that he knows someone who has some information on the person who framed him. They go to meet these people only to find them ripped apart. Later DL catches Niki listening to Jessica and getting the money from the rafters. They fight, and DL leaves with the money and Micah. They are then on the run. Micah gets angry at his dad and wants to go home, but they keep running. At one point, they stop at a car crash, and DL uses his powers along with Hiro to save the people inside. He and Micah leave again when he learns that Ando has called the police. When they stop another time, Jessica tries to snipe him, and only one bullet hits, the other, he phases through. They then find a cabin in the forest and rest there.

D.L. tries to comfort his wife.

Later, Jessica finds the cabin and they start to fight. Micah tries to break it up, but Jessica pushes him out of the way, slamming him into a rock. DL and a now in control Niki, comfort him, before Niki decides to turn herself in for Jessica's crimes. Over the next few episodes, DL is struggling to be a good parent to Micah until Niki comes back. After she comes back, he becomes suspicious and uncovers Jessica's work as an assassin. Jessica finally comes to terms with DL, and they go to New York to rescue Micah. At the Kirby Plaza building, they temporarily team up with Matt and Noah. They locate Linderman in his office, and Niki resurfaces as DL takes a bullet for her. He then phases his hand into Linderman's head, killing him. An injured DL phases out of the room with Niki as the guards rush in. DL is left in the hallway as Niki goes to find Micah. Later, Mohinder and Molly find him just as Niki and Micah return, and Micah gets them out by telling the elevator to open. When outside, all DL can do is watch the fight and explosion.

Kindred

Niki and Micah visit D.L.'s grave. His tombstone displays his full name: Daniel Lawrence Hawkins.

Niki and Micah say goodbye to D.L.

Out of Time

D.L. appears in Niki's nightmare when Maury gets into her head. D.L. persuades her to try to kill the others, then is shot by Bob, another illusion created by Maury.

Four Months Ago...

D.L. is known to survive the attack on Mr. Linderman. He heals and goes home with Niki and Micah. However, when Niki does not take her pills, she becomes someone else again and goes to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, D.L. uses his phasing ability to rescue a girl from a burning house as a firefighter. D.L. discovers a message in the mirror and immediately heads for L.A. When he arrives, he shows a man at a club a picture of her and the family and is directed to her dancing with another man. He gets her away, and the man punches him in the head, only to find that it phases through. D.L. subdues the man and takes Niki with him. Minutes later, as Niki and D.L. are about to leave the club, the man approaches D.L. and shoots him point-blank in the chest, killing him.

Graphic Novel:Man on Fire

D.L. trains to become a firefighter. For his test, he is paired up with Captain Burke, a firefighter who constantly puts him down. When inside a burning home, the fire causes part of the building to collapse, trapping the firemen. As the firefighters try to escape, D.L. phases into the basement. There, he thinks of Micah and how he would be proud to see his father using his ability to help others. D.L. turns a valve, saving the other firefighters. When he exits the building, Burke welcomes him to the department, and tells him to go home and tell his family that he is a hero.

One of Us, One of Them

Pictures of D.L. are included in a shrine at Niki's funeral in the Dawsons' home.

When Micah's computer searches for information, some of the files are D.L.'s, including his inmate record card from Clark County Prison and an article about his sentencing.

Graphic Novel:The Natural Order of Things

Mohinder remembers D.L. being at the battle against Sylar in Kirby Plaza.

Graphic Novel:Rebellion, Part 5

Micah tells Thompson, Jr. that you can't bring people back from the dead and to trust him because he knows you can't. He is implying that he can't bring his mother or father back from the dead.

Graphic Novel:Rebellion, Part 6

In order to get Molly Walker to help the Rebellion, Micah tries to sympathize with her by saying that he knows what it's like to be all alone because your parents are dead.

Upon This Rock

D.L.'s name appears in Noah's files.

Evolved Human Abilities

D.L. had the ability to phase some or all of his body through solid objects. He had used his ability to walk through walls, pass his arm through a window, open locked doors, and injure other people by phasing through their bodies.

Notes

• Before D.L.'s introduction, mentions of him made him sound like he was a full-time member of Mr. Linderman's organization. However, as of Better Halves it's less clear that this was the case. Based on his conversation with Niki about the robbery, it now seems just as likely that D.L. was primarily a construction worker who did at best a few jobs for Linderman on the side. This has led some fans to question whether D.L.'s "crew" refers, as originally assumed, to a criminal gang, or merely to a construction crew who were involved in only the one robbery. However, Snapshots indicates that D.L. considered his crew a bad influence, which seems to indicate the former context. Stolen Time further reveals that he used to be the gang's safe cracker.
• In Six Months Ago, Niki describes D.L. as an "ex-con" at her AA meeting. This was before Jessica stole Mr. Linderman's money and D.L. was framed for it.
• According to Snapshots, D.L was incarcerated at the Nevada State Penitentiary. However, a inmate record card shows he was jailed at Clark County Prison. Further complicating matters, a deleted scene from Genesis show that D.L. was imprisoned in the Moab Federal Penitentiary. Additionally, the script for the unaired pilot lists him as being in "Sing Sing Prison, New York". It is unclear if he actually spent time at all of these facilities or if these are are just oversights and/or script changes.
• D.L. is on the list.
• In a possible future timeline, D.L. was rescued by Mr. Bennet with the help of Hiro Nakamura. He is subsequently killed, probably by Sylar who possesses his phasing ability. (Five Years Gone) Aron Coleite and Joe Pokaski confirmed this chain of events in an interview.
• As seen in a deleted scene from Genesis, D.L. has the symbol either carved or tattooed into his right arm.
• In another deleted scene from Genesis (available on the Season One DVD), D.L. was sentenced to two life terms in prison. According to a newspaper article, Nathan Petrelli was the D.A. who prosecuted D.L.
• D.L.'s full name, Daniel Lawrence Hawkins, was seen on his tombstone in Kindred.
• According to his inmate record card, D.L. was born in Clark County Hospital.

Trivia

• D.L.'s last name, Hawkins, is of Old English origin and means "little hawk".
• According to a 2002 tax return in Linderman's archives, D.L. lived at 1430 Martel Avenue, Sparks, Nevada 89432. His phone number was 617-555-0187, and his Social Security number is 569-3451-081. (The Hard Part) However, the tax return is filled out incorrectly, as it lists "Hawkins" as his first name and "D.L." as his last name.
• According to D.L.'s inmate record card, D.L. doesn't have more than a high school education.
• D.L.'s firefighter helmet is helmet number 2.
• D.L.'s car has Nevada license plates that end with "5 K30". (Nothing to Hide)

See Also

• For other members of the Hawkins family, see Hawkins (disambig).
• For images of D.L., see Images of D.L. Hawkins.
• For articles related to D.L., see Related Articles:D.L..

Fan Theories

Please refer to Theory:D.L. Hawkins for fan-created theories and other speculation.