Dawn's sister Holly is mentioned. Holly Granger was Hawk for a while in the comics.
The private school Don and Hank attend is named for Karl and Barbara Kesel, the married artist and writer team who rebooted Hawk and Dove in the 1980s.
Guest stars Star Trek: The Next Generation's Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi) as Dawn Granger/Dove's mother.
Alan Ritchson played another DC superhero 2005-2010 Arthur Curry aka Aquaman in Smallville.
This is an origin story episode revealing how the characters of Hank and Dawn first came together.