<span class="SFPTagline">
From SCIFIPEDIA
</span>
(Redirected from
Hawkman)
Hawkman is a fictional superhero character owned by DC Comics.
Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl
The time is 1940 and the place is New York City. Carter Hall, museum employed archeologist, has been having recurring dreams of late. In them, it is the time of ancient Egypt. He is an Egyptian Prince Khufu. His lover is a beautiful woman named Princess Shiera. Together, the two of them are murdered by usurper Hath-Set in the shadow of the Hawk-God Horus with a special crystal dagger.
These dreams are driving him to do strange things. He felt compelled to make a strange hawk-mask that he saw in one of those dreams. He is somehow lead to discover what he has called "Ninth Metal", a strange substance that seems to defy gravity and respond to his mental command. He even made a belt with the stuff, as well as a set of artificial wings laced with the same substance.
Later that day, he passes a subway station. People are screaming and fleeing up the stairs and out the exit. When Carter makes his way down, he finds a number have people have been electrocuted by some kind of ultra-powerful electric blast that was shot through the track system. One of the survivors is a woman named Shiera Saunders, who looks exactly like the Princess Shiera that he has been dreaming about.
Somehow, he knows it is time to act. Taking Shiera back to the museum, he finds out that she too has been having the same dreams. Somehow he feels it is his job to track down the perpetrator of the subway murders. He puts on the mask, the wings, and the belt. It is all clear to him now. He is the reincarnation of Prince Khufu. With the metal and the wings, Carter`is able to fly!
He traces the electric charge to the estate of Dr. Anton Hastor. When he sees Hastor, he recognizes him as the reincarnation of Hath-Set. Hastor also recognizes Carter as Prince Khufu.
During the battles which ensue, Carter employs ancient weapons such as the quarter staff and the crossbow to defeat Hasor. Hastor ends up being electrocuted by the same device he was testing out on the subway platform.
And so, Hawkman is born. It is not long before Shiera joins him as his partner Hawkgirl, and Hawkman joins the Justice Society of America.
Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman
Hawkman was part of a slew of Golden Age characters, like Flash or Green Lantern, that DC Comics wanted to bring back and re-design with a more science fiction feel to it.
Kartar Hol and his wife Shayera Thal were police officers on the planet Thanagar, where there is an Elite Hawkmen Force that flies around with a winged harness and an anti-gravity metal. They traveled to earth to study our police methods, and fell in love with earth history enough to remain on earth and become museum curators in their "secret identities" as Carter and Shiera Hall. They took to using the museum weapons (like the mace and quarter staff) for battle. When they want to help bring about justice on their adopted planet, they put on their Thanagarian police outfits and harnesses, and become Hawkman and Hawkwoman.
Hawkman is soon invited to join the newly formed Justice League of America, and supported his own popular comic book for a few years. Drawn by Joe Kubert, Hawkman was said to have some of the best art and stories of the early Silver Age. Poor sales resulted in the book being merged with the Atom's for about a year, but was then cancelled. A favorite among creators and a small group of loyal readers, he continued to be featured in the Justice League, and had his own specials and limited series throughout the years.
Enemies
Hath-Set, Byth, Shadow Thief, Gentleman Ghost, Fel Andar
Continuity Problems
The two Hawkman characters made perfect sense during the Silver Age and the Bronze Age of Comics. At that time, each was said to live on a different parallel Earth. Then the major maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths sought to reset the DC Universe continuity. In the Crisis, the multi-verse was said to be destroyed, and the two parallel Earths were combined into one. The Justice Society heroes and the Justice League heroes were now supposed to exist on the same Earth. The Justice Society heroes were the originals, having the bulk of their career in the 1940s, and the Justice League were the new young heroes of the day. This made sense for most of the heroes, but not for the Hawkman characters. How could they have almost the same names, powers, female partners, secret identities, etc. and yet have such totally different origins?
Attempts were made to explain or resolve this, the results of which has been that the history of the different Hawkman characters have become so convoluted and jumbled, that it is still not clear what is, and what is not, part of the current continuity. Various Hawkman revamps were attempted during the Modern Age of Comics, but none of them really worked. For a while, DC decided to discontinue the character, forbiding his use by any of the current creators.
Finally, with the re-launch of a new Justice Society of America comic, Hawkgirl Kendra Saunders was created. Hawkman was soon to follow.
The Modern Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl
Kendra Saunders as the new Hawkgirl.
The current Hawkman and Hawkgirl characters are Carter Hall and Kendra Saunders.
They are said to be, this time quite literally, the latest incarnations of the characters.
The current theory now is that each of the Hawkman and Hawkgirl incarnations were literally the reincarnation of ancient Egyptions Prince Khufu and his wife Chay-Ra who were murdered by an Egyptian sorceror Hath-Set. Each are fated to be reincarnated, then murdered again by the reincarnation of Hath-Set and then reincarnated again. In each reincarnation, they are also fated to find each other again and fall in love.
The current Carter Hall is yet another reincarnation of his past self. Kendra Saunders is the niece of the late Shiera Saunders (the Golden Age Hawkgirl), and did not start out as a reincarnation. A troubled young woman, Kendra tried to kill herself, but was instead inhabited by Princess Chay-Ra's spirit, which saved her life and gave her a much stronger personality and inner drive. It is for this reason that Kendra has no memory of her previous lives (she retains her own memories) and is not at all sure how she feels about Hawkman. She feels attracted to him, but does not buy into the "destined to fall in love" part of the story. She has become Carter's partner as the new Hawkgirl.
In issue 66 (2007), the last issue of the book they both shared (it was called Hawkman until #50, and was then was changed to Hawkgirl for the last sixteen issues) Hawkgirl, with Hawkman's help, finally defeats Hath-Set forever with the memorable send-off line, "Give our regards to Osiris." The cycle now broken, Chay-Ra leaves Kendra's body, and she and Carter are free to find their own destiny.
You can look for the further adventures of Hawkman in the series Justice Society of America, while Hawkgirl will continue to appear in the comic book series Justice League of America.
2008, SCI FI. All rights reserved.
