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Retcons in comics are as common as fleas on a dog. They've been doing it forever and it seems like they need to do it once every two or three years lately. Hawkman has been a part of, and often a victim of that process. He has been retconned numerous times over the past few decades and it takes a comics book fan with a doctorate in Hawkology from the University of Thanagar to sort it all out. Seven hells, that's part of the fun of being a Hawkfan.
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| Hawkman Vol. 3 No. 11 |
However, some retcons are worse than others. After they made the mistake of placing the Hawkworld storyline in current time, they had a problem on their hands. The Golden Age Hawkman returned from Ragnarok, but Katar Hol of the Hawkworld/Hawkman Vol. 3 series was still on Earth. The Silver Age Hawkman and Golden Age Hawkman had been retconned into being the same person, and he was running into the new Hawkman now. DC Comics had a problem on their hands.
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| Zero Hour: Crisis in Time No. 3 |
Comicbook.com put out a list of the seven worst retcons in comics' history, and DC's retcon to solve their Hawkman problem came in at number 5.
Hawkman’s entire history had to be changed. This was an ongoing process, and basically ruined Hawkman for years of fans. Zero Hour was a mid ’90s DC event that was meant to clean up some of the messes of post-Crisis retcons. One of of its targets was Hawkman, and it ended up combining all of the various versions of Hawkman into one version.
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So basically, Carter Hall, Katar Hol, and a Hawk avatar were merged into one being to try and bring it all together. Shiera Hall was also thought to be merged with them as well, but we find out later that she was actually killed and her soul went into Kendra Saunders, the new Hawkgirl, because...comics. So we had a new Hawkman, which was basically a "Hawkgod."
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| Hawkman Vol. 3 Annual No. 2 |
So far so good. We had a new start for Hawkman. But after being proclaiming to be a "Hawkgod," what did he do during the rest of the event? Absolutely nothing. I think there were a couple of panels of him flying with the other heroes, but for a new character who supposedly was a "Hawkgod," he went completely unused. The event ended and Hawkman's series would continue for another two years.
But truth be told, the writers had no idea what to do with him. They immediately wrote Hawkwoman out of the series. This was the biggest mistake of the entire series. Shayera Thal is one of the most interesting characters to ever come out of a Hawkman series, and they tossed it aside. Hawkman was left to battle his inner demons brought on by merging with the Hawk avatar, and it slowly drove him insane.
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| Hawkman Vol. 3 No. 27 |
There was so much potential. He had new powers. He was reunited with his Cherokee Indian mother, Naomi. He inherited Carter and Shiera Hall's penthouse in Chicago. He had a cool new look. But it was wasted. It was done so badly that they finally ended the series by sending Hawkman into the Hawk Realm, basically his death. Hawkman pretty much disappeared from comics for the next five years. It would take Geoff Johns and then Robert Venditti to clear up the muddled story that DC had gotten themselves into.
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| Hawkman Vol. V No. 29 |
I often don't agree with some of these rankings, especially where Hawkman is involved, but comicbook.com got this one right. Robert Venditti finally untangled it all for us in Hawkman Vol. V (2018-2021) and as far as I can tell, that Hawkman still stands. It's been almost five years since that last Hawkman series ended. I just hope and pray that the next Hawkman writer will decided to BUILD on what we currently have, instead of destroying it all again without a clear plan for Hawkman's future. If you must write a wacky Hawkman story, go do that Absolute thing that DC is doing and keep the current Hawkman intact. It took over two decades, but Hawkman is soaring again with Hawkwoman in his life. Let's hope they keep it that way. We don't need to be making anymore worst retcon lists.
If you want to read my thesis for my doctorate in Hawkology from the University of Thanagar, you can find it here: The Complete Guide to the History of Hawkman and Hawkgirl (1940-2025).
Happy Soaring!
Bill Loebs told me this was his most disappointing run and claims the editor had his hands tied. Tough to put out good stories with a new inexperienced editor.
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