Hyena (DC)

Hyena is a supervillain in the DC Comics universe and is primarily an enemy of Firestorm but has clashed with other superheroes. There are six individuals who have used the Hyena persona. They are Summer Day, Jivan Shi, and four unnamed criminals.

Summer Day
Summer was the first child born to Bert and Helen Day. Bert was deeply disappointed not to have a son, and so to earn his love, Summer spent her youth trying to excel in academia and athletics. In many ways she felt pushed into being the son her dad never had, especially after the Day's second child, Doreen, was born.

Over the years, Summer tried but never measured up to the expectations of her police officer father. The final blow came when she failed as a police cadet and he never said a word. Her frustration turning to hatred, Summer left home and joined the Peace Corps. While in Africa, Summer found a native wounded by an arrow. As she began to treat the wound, he turned on her and bit her face. She later learned that the native was actually a ferocious were-hyena who would have killed her had not a fellow Corpsman shot the beast.

Back in America under a full moon, Summer turned into a living were-hyena herself and set out to create havoc in Manhattan. Her scavenging was cut short by Firestorm and she was driven off. Over time, the Hyena reappeared and devoted herself to revenge against the Nuclear Man, even teaming up with Multiplex for a short while. Firestorm eventually discovered Summer Day's diary and learned that she was in fact the Hyena. They faced each other a few more times, and Firestorm was finally able to contain her. The Day family had Summer admitted into a special medical clinic in Arizona. She spent several months at the facility struggling to overcome the bouts of stress that led towards her transformations. She worked closely with a physician named Doctor Jivan Shi. Over the course of several weeks, Summer and Jivan developed a romantic interest in one another. One evening, in the throes of a passionate embrace, Summer reverted into her Hyena identity and bit Jivan Shi. She passed the curse along to him and he eventually transformed into a were-hyena himself.

Doctor Shi and Summer relocated back to Manhattan. Shi became a resident physician at the exclusive Eastside Medical Center. He kept Summer at the hospital as a patient and the two continued to work with one another in the hopes of assuaging the symptoms of the curse. Shi's employment at Eastside Hospital was wrought with frustration. The chief resident, Dr. Barry Gleason, was an arrogant, spiteful man and treated Shi as a second class citizen. Before long, Shi succumbed to his animal passions and began terrorizing New York as the new Hyena.

Meanwhile, Firestorm learned that Summer had returned to Manhattan. She continued to suffer from bouts of depression and was given to memory loss and sleepwalking. When Summer turned up missing one evening, Firestorm feared that the Hyena had struck again. He encountered the Hyena at Eastside hospital, but this version of the monster was Dr. Shi. Summer eventually learned that Shi was now attacking people and voluntarily transformed back into the Hyena to face him.

Unlike on prior occasions, Summer's personality was stronger now. Instead of attempting to attack Firestorm, she actually sought to save him. Summer and Jivan began battling one another and their fight carried over to the top of the World Trade Center. Firestorm attempted to stop both of them, but accidentally turned his powers against Summer. A blast of nuclear energy struck her in the chest sending spiraling off of the top of the building. Firestorm realized his error in judgment and successfully saved her from slamming into the concrete below. While Firestorm turned his attention back towards Jivan, Summer made her escape. Firestorm had been bitten by Shi during the fight and afterwards went to Africa where a magician removed his curse. He later captured both Hyenas but they eventually escaped.

Jivan Shi
Doctor Jivan Shi was a psychological therapist working out of a special facility in the desert of Arizona. There he met a young woman named Summer Day – a patient suffering from a bizarre variant of lycanthropy, which transformed her into a were-hyena. Jivan worked with Summer for many months and helped her to suppress the emotional triggers that prompted the transformation into the Hyena. Over time, Summer's condition improved and the two became romantically involved. One evening in the throes of passion, Summer reverted to her Hyena state and bit Dr. Shi across the throat. She passed the curse along to him and within days he too transformed into a were-hyena.

Doctor Shi and Summer kept their conditions a secret from the general populace. He eventually relocated her to the Eastside Hospital in Manhattan, New York. While employed at Eastside, Jivan worked under the chief resident, Dr. Barry Gleason. Gleason was an arrogant, bitter man and treated Dr. Shi as a second-class citizen. Shi suspected that Gleason resented him because he was a foreigner. His rage towards Gleason and other members of the Eastside staff grew, and before long he willfully allowed his Hyena persona to take control of him. He began rampaging throughout the hospital and ultimately came into conflict with the super-hero known as Firestorm.

The Hyena evaded capture and eventually learned that one-half of Firestorm's secret identity belonged to a teenager named Ronnie Raymond. He tracked Raymond to Summer Day's home and raked his claws across the back of Ronnie's neck. This act transmitted the curse onto Ronnie, but with strange permutations. The curse did not affect Ronnie directly, but instead took root in the Firestorm entity. Firestorm did not transform into a were-hyena directly, but slowly evolved into one over the course of several nights. Believing Firestorm no longer posed a threat to him, the Hyena resumed his attacks against Eastside. He kidnapped Dr. Gleason with the intent of ultimately killing him. Firestorm tracked him down once again and the two adversaries fought each other on the roof of the World Trade Center.

By this point, Summer Day had developed a small measure of control over her transformations and she was able to maintain her intellect while in her were-hyena form. She transformed into the Hyena and ran to the World Trade Center to assist Firestorm. The two were-hyenas engaged in a massive fight with Firestorm caught in the middle. During the melee, Firestorm accidentally blasted Summer off of the roof of the building and had to abandon his fight with Dr. Shi in order to save her. Dr. Shi took advantage of the hero's distraction and escaped.

Hyena (Dr. Shi) later joined Alexander Luthor, Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains, under the command of Deathstroke and among one of his first missions, he was sent to Gotham City to aid the new recruit and crime lord, Black Mask on his war against Red Hood. During the fight, Hyena was dosed with tranquilizer darts that put him to sleep. However, he was then dosed with an adrenaline injection that caused him to go berserk. Batman attacked Hyena with a piece of clothing from Count Vertigo, who was Hyena's partner and caused Hyena to attack Vertigo, failing his mission.

Deaths of the two Hyenas
In the end, one of the two Hyenas was shot by Deadshot in Villains United in order to send a message to the Secret Society while the other Hyena was killed on Planet Salvation when one of the Parademons shot him/her through the chest.

The Curse of the Hyenas
Back on Earth, the Hyenas had mauled and bitten several people. These victims were exposed to the same Were-Hyena venom that transformed Summer and Jivan into the Hyena. The Justice League dispatched Black Canary, Vixen and Zatanna to handle this Hyena problem. The Hyena pack headed towards New Orleans to wreak havoc. Black Canary used her supersonic scream and Vixen used the animalistic skills of a lion (lions are the only creatures that hyenas are terrified of) to take down the Hyena pack. Zatanna finished the job by removing the curse of the Were-Hyena from the Hyena victims.

New 52
As Ronnie and Jason learn to cope with their new powers, they're attacked by ZitherTech's most savage team, the Hyena Squad. The Hyena Squad consists of four soldiers who take an enhancing drug, making them feral, strong, increasing their speed and agility, and enhancing their senses. A side effect makes them giggle uncontrollably. As Ronnie and Jason fight, one of the Hyenas shoots Jason's girlfriend. Enraged, Jason unleashes his transmutation powers, transforming one soldiers armor into barbed wire, another's gun into a snake. They eventually defeat them.

Later, in the series, Multiplex kidnapps Ronnie Raymond's mom and hires Killer Frost, Black Bison, Typhoon and a Hyena. Hyena is now one of the Hyena squad members who somehow turned into a Were-Hyena monster. Whether this is from Firestorm, the drug or other means is never explained. Hyena is the last enemy standing and is ready to devour Jason's girlfriend and father, when he is blasted into a street light pole by Major Force.

Hyena and his team are now seen working with the Secret Society, Plastique shown attacking Madame Xanadu and kidnapping her. Hyena and the team are later seen at the Crime Syndicate meeting. They leave and try to comfort Killer Frost (who is depressed because Firestorm is supposedly dead and he was her one hope of returning to normal) but give up and lets her sulk. Hyena and his group are later seen in Central City, tasked with destroying what remains of the city. The Rogues clash with them, deciding that they won't help the Syndicate. Hyena battles the Trickster, who simply toys with him. After chasing Trickster and dodging his explosives, Hyena manages to take a massive bite from his shoulder. He is then defeated by Trickster. Hyena is also mentioned in Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. when Steve Trevor's partner tells him about how their undercover agents have been revealed and are being killed. She says that after their undercover squad was exposed in France, they were killed by the Hyena, who is rumored to eat people whole. The fact that the Trickster hasn't shown any symptoms of becoming a Were-Hyena likely means the Hyena's transformation was due to the drug.

The Hyena later teamed up with Mindboggler, The second Enforcer (DC), and Multiplex to battle local officers in Pittsburgh. They are quickly dispatched by a passing-by Cyborg. It has not been revealed if this is a completely different Hyena or one of the earlier Hyenas.