Hawkman was Set Up Beautifully, and DC Comics Put It Away

Art by Stjepan Sejic, Bryan Hitch, Mikel Janin

  The day was March 15, 2018. That was an exciting day in the history of Hawkman. Washington Post announced the return of our favorite winged wonder. It was going to be written by Robert Venditti and drawn by Bryan Hitch. It was the beginning of a wonderful adventure that lasted almost three years. Hawkman Twitter blew up that day, with many Hawkman fans talking about the new series that was announced. Even Venditti and Hitch were surprised by the reception the news received. 

  It actually started a bit earlier for me. There was an ongoing series called Metal by Scott Snyder at the time, and one of the tie-ins was Hawkman Found, written by Jeff Lemire. After the issue came out, I contacted Lemire about the issue and a possible series. He told me that there would be a series the following year and that he was scheduled to be the writer. I was super excited because it was Lemire, one of the best writers in the business. However, a few weeks later he DM'd me to let me know that he would not be writing the series. I was pretty disappointed but he assured me that I would be very pleased with who they had given the new Hawkman series to. I had no idea who it was until the Washington Post came out. 

Robert Venditti

  To be honest, I was not familiar with Venditti's writing, but I was told he did X-O Manowar and Green Lantern so I checked out those issues and was very impressed. Venditti (and Hitch) gave me a follow on Twitter and I had the opportunity to do a couple of podcasts with Venditti before the series was released. I was incredibly honored when he told me that he had used my list of Hawkman comics on Hawkworld to do his research for the series. I was super-excited to see what Venditti would come up with and boy did he deliver over the next three years. 

  Before, during, and after the series, I had a few opportunities to be guests on some podcasts with him to talk about the run and there was one thing that he said that has always stuck with me. He knew he would eventually leave or end the series, but he wanted to leave a solid foundation for Hawkman, and leave the toybox full of toys for future Hawkman writers. The series ran for 29 issues from June 2018 to November 2020, and during the run, Venditti really did set up the story and legend of Hawkman in a beautiful way. It was left wide open and ready to take off again whenever DC decided to give Hawkman another run. 

  Let's take a look at what exactly Venditti left behind in that toybox. As I write this list, it amazes me that DC Comics has decided to not build on it, or even forgotten about it. But it has aged very, very well, and will probably be one of the fans' favorite Hawkman runs as long as Hawkman is around. 

Hawkman Vol. V No. 7 (February 2019)

New Origin
  Almost every article you read about Hawkman talks about how confusing and convoluted the hero is, how his history is one big jumbled mess. To be honest, the entire DC Universe is one big jumbled mess, and every time DC tries to streamline it, it just gets worse. It's always amusing when some ask why there are two different Hawkmen running around, and who is Egyptian and who is Thanagarian. Batman seems to be doing just find with twelve different versions or stories running around every month, not to mention the 3, 4 (? I lost count) Robins in the stories. 

  Venditti ironed it all out with the phrase "Across Time and Space." He gave Hawkman a new origin, one that came long, long before Egypt or Thanagar. He was a being called Ktar and he was created to serve an evil entity called the Lord of the Void. Ktar was the general of an army called the Deathbringers, and it was their job to conquer planets, sacrifice lives to their creator, and bring him the power that he needs to enter this universe and destroy it. However, something happened, Ktar started to question what he was doing. One of the catalysts of his awakening was a Herald angel named Shrra (Hawkwoman). She appeared before him and helped him realize that what he was doing was wrong. He sacrificed his life to defeat the Deathbringers and send the Lord of the Void back into the realm he was trying to excape from. 

  Ktar awakened at his judgement. He was going to be sent into oblivion, but the entity sensed the same thing that Shrra had seen in him, a desire to atone for what he had done for the Lord of the Void over thousands of years. He gave Ktar a choice; disappear into oblivion and cease to exist, or enter into a journey of redemption. He must be reincarnated and live life after life until he had saved as many lives as he had taken. Shrra, who had disobeyed her god and assisted Ktar, was given the same fate. They both entered into reincarnation together, with Shrra vowing to stand before her maker again some day. And so began the story of Hawkman and Hawkwoman, their steadfast love for each other bringing them back together in life after life. They were reborn not only on Earth but also in many other places, such as Rann, Krypton, New Genesis, the Microverse, Thanagar, and other places over thousands and thousands of years. 

Hawkman Vol. V No. 23 (June 2020)

The Love of Hawkman and Hawkwoman
  Carter and Shiera, Katar and Shayera, Ktar and Shrra, Prince Khufu and Chay-ara, Brian Kent and Lady Celia Penbrook is one of the greatest love stories in DC Comics. The total love, devotion, and commitment to one another is the foundation of Hawkman and Hawkwoman's story. While the introduction of Kendra Saunders was interesting, the story of Hawkman lost something when Hawkman and Hawkwoman were not together. It was like reading half of a story, without one of the two central characters. 

   When Venditti brought Hawkman (Carter Hall III) and Hawkwoman (Shayera Hol II) back together. It was like someone had turned on a light in a room that had been dark for two decades. Seeing these two back together, in love and fighting side by side was something that had been missing for far too long. The story of Hawkman began with their love story and Venditti brought that back with no restrictions or mind games. These two were a pair, no if, and, buts about it. Every writer who takes them apart for good misses the foundation that these characters are built upon. 

Hawkman Vol. V No. 26 (October 2020)

"The Years Will Be As Days"
When Hawkman and Hawkwoman defeated the Lord of the Void, Hawkman had finally atoned for his sins. He stood once again in front of the entity who gave him the power of reincarnation. The entity welcomed Carter into Heaven and Shayera was once again a herald of the god. But the entity sensed they did not wish to be apart. So it gave them a choice, they would be welcomed into the afterlife, or they could have one last life and then they would disappear into oblivion when it was over. However, this last life would be extremely long. "The years will be as days." We later see Carter and Shayera in the 40th century, still together and gradually growing old. 

Hawkman Vol. V No. 29 (January 2021)

  In the final scene, it showed Carter as a historian, and Shayera was an instructor/teacher at what appeared to be the Legion. So they are alive and still together for at least the next 2000 years. The cop-out story line of how they'll be reborn anyway so killing them off has been way overdone. They are no longer reincarnating, but they are as close to immortals as you can get. The possibilities are limitless. 

Hawkman Vol. V No. 8 (March 2019)

Time Slips
The time slip appeared in the very first Hawkman story by Gardner Fox in 1940, when Carter Hall came into contact with the Nth metal knife and it caused him to remember his past. Venditti used this a few times in the series when Carter came into contact with things from his past or went to locations connected to his past. A hieroglyphics staff led him to Ancient Egypt and Prince Khufu. A planetarium on Dinosaur Island took him to Thanagar and he met Katar Hol of Hawkworld. An artifact with a glyph led him to the Microverse. The ruins of Krypton took him back to Krypton right before it destructed and he met Catar-OL, the Kryptonian Hawkman. These time triggers probably came from Hawkman's connection to the reincarnation cycle. This could easily be a plot device for stories about his past lives. And some of Hawkman's best stories have been of his past lives. (Hawkman Vol. 4 No. 27, Hawkman Vol. V No. 13 for example). 

His abilities with the Nth Metal 
Hawkman has always had different powers from the Nth metal; flight, healing, super-hearing, super-vision, and  super-strength. During the Vol. V run, Hawkman displayed some new powers and to be honest, I wonder why no one thought to give them to him before. 

Hawkman Vol. V No. 1 (August 2018)

  In the very first issue, we find out how Carter makes a costume change. There are no more Hawk-closets or Hawk-medallions. It appears that Carter wears his harness underneath his shirt, but the medallion in the center is separate. Carter pulls it out of his bag, attaches it to the harness on his chest, turns the medalion, and Bam! He instantly changes into Hawkman, The wings are no longer organic, but they come out of the harness. 

Hawkman Vol. V No. 1 (August 2018)

  The mace is super cool. Hawkman has just a simple rod on the side of belt, but when the Wingor started attacking, he grabbed the rod like a Star Wars light saber, it turned into a mace and he felled the giant Wingor with one blow. I would imagine the rod can turn into other weapons, like a spear or an axe. Extremely handy weapon! 

Hawkman Vol. V No. 1 (August 2018)

  Hawkman had wings that could retract and expand. As Hawkman dove into a cave during his first adventure in the series, his wings retracted and became smaller. When he came to a large cavern, his wings immediately spread out again. In one of his interviews, Venditti mentioned that his vocation is the exact opposite of who he is as a superhero. As Hawkman, he spreads his wings and flies freely into the open skies. As Carter Hall, he crawls into dark, cramped, underground spaces, searching for history. But he is both, so it makes sense for him to have the ability to spread his wings or retract then when he needs to. This should be used more often. 

Hawkman Vol. V No. 3 (October 2018)

  The mace was mentioned earlier, but Venditti introduced another ability of the weapon. During his fight with the Feitherans, Hawkman dropped his mace and thought it was gone, but it flew back to him. Over the years, we've seen instances where Hawkman had a psychokinetic connection to the Nth metal. As a superhero who flies high up in the sky, it would make perfect sense for him to have the ability to control the mace with his mind. After that discovery, we saw Hawkman using it almost like a boomerang against the Feitherans and even Katar Hol of Hawkworld. 

The Soarship
  Hawkman has had some amazing spaceships over the years. The Thanagarian Star Cruiser, The Brontadon, and many others were always a part of Hawkman's stories from the Silver Age till now. In this series, Venditti gave Hawkman a ship to end all ships; the Soarship. Here's an excerpt from my article about the spaceship. 

The ship is absolutely astounding in what it can do and what it has onboard. It is a ship with an Nth metal reactor core. It is equipped with a Zeta Beam Drive for instant transportation. Since it was found in the Microverse, it has shrinking powers similar to the Atom's powers. It houses Hawkman's museum of his past costumes, weapons, a library, documents detailing his past lives, and much more. Hawkman built it himself and hid it in the Microverse so that he could go back to it when the Deathbringers came after him.

The ship was incredible and perfect for Hawkman and Hawkwoman. Sadly, we have not seen it since. 

Art by Bryan Hitch and Pat Olliffe

The Friend Network
  During the series, some of Hawkman/Carter Hall's friends and aquaintances were introduced. The interesting part of these friends was that all of their ancestors had worked with or helped Hawkman in a former life and they were all continuing the family tradition of assisting Hawkman. Yiannis of Greece had a father who Hawkman had helped during the Greek Civil War in the late 1940s. In England, Gertie's ancestor was saved by Hawkman during the battle against Napoleon at Waterloo. Indonesians Joyo and Murni's ancestors were also saved by Hawkman, before they were born. Hami of Kenta had a great-great-grandmother who was friends with Hawkman. 

  I found it fascinating that these friends all had connections with Hawkman from the past. Because of what Hawkman did for their ancestors, they considered Hawkman almost like family and did whatever they could when he needed assistance. I menitoned the time slips or time triggers earlier, but this is also another brilliant way to introduc the countless stories that could be written about Hawkman and Hawkwoman's previous lives. 

Art by Bryan Hitch, Fernando Pasarin, Pat Olliffe

Friends
  Venditti also used the series to reintroduce Hawkman's great friendships and even introduced an interesting new one. It was quite a thrill when Atom/Ray Palmer showed up in issue No. 5. Their reunion and parting in the next issue was very well done. Hawkman and the Atom remain one of the best friendships in comics. Hawkman's friendship with Adam Strange was established way back in the Mystery in Space run (#87-90). These two have often been thrown into the wars between their planets and have had a respect for one another as fellow archaeologists. It was also very cool to see these two recruited by Hawkwoman to save Hawkman. 

Hawkman Vol. V No. 16 (November 2019)

  The third friend was very interesting. In a short sequence from 1948, we see Hawkman and The Shade (Richard Swift) battling the Gentleman Ghost. After the battle, Carter gives The Shade a cane with a handle shaped like a hawk's head. I was not too familiar with The Shade, so I googled him a bit and found that his cane does resemble a Hawk. This was a brilliant idea from Venditti because the Shade is an immortal. Venditti mentioned in an interview that Hawkman was always reincarnated, but he had to watch his friends die. His offer of friendship to the Shade was from a desire to have a friend who would still be there when he came back in his next life. Some more stories with this new friendship would be amazing. 

Art by Fernando Pasarin, Pat Olliffe

Villains
  Hawkman has a rather interesting Rogues Gallery. It may not be as famous as Batman or the Flash's but there are many villains who have a long history with Hawkman; Hath-Set, the Gentleman Ghost, Shadow Thief, Lion-Mane, Fadeaway Man, Matter Master, Byth, Manhawks, Onimar Synn, Hyanthis, and many others. During the 29-issue run, Venditti introduced us to some new villains, but also made sure he used some of the classic villains as well. He probably used the three most famous of Hawkman's villains; Hath-Set, the Gentleman Ghost (no, he is not a Batman villain), and Shadow Thief. When it comes to Hawkman, there is no shortage of villains to chose from. 

Hawkman Vol. V No. 2 (September 2018)

Dr. Carter Hall, World-Renowned Archaeologist
  One part of Hawkman's story that is rarely touched on is his civilian career as a archeologist. With his knowledge, he should be one of the world's leading archaeologist. Venditti touched on that just a bit in the series. Carter Hall was referred to as Dr. Hall and he was free to come whenever he liked, into the British Museum, the largest museum in the world. His career as a archaeologist and curator of Midway City Museum or Stonechat Museum in St. Roch would also be a base for countless stories and creating interesting new characters. This one part of Hawkman's life and sadly never really been establish, and it's high time it was. 

Lives Across Time and Space
   Hawkman's reincarnation cycle may be over, but Venditti introduced many of Hawkman's former lives, especially during the first 12 issues of the series. Here are just a few:

Catar-Ol (Krypton)
Airwing (New Genesis)
Arion (Microverse)
Katarthul (Rann)
Gold Hawk (Andrino)

  All of these sound amazing, especially Airwing (a New Genesis god?!), Catar-Ol (history tutor of Supergirl before Krypton exploded). There are so many great stories to be told about Hawkman and Hawkwoman's past lives. One of the best issues during the entire run was issue No. 13. It was a one-issue story about how he stopped a war that had continued for centuries. The way he did it was truly one of the most emotional moments I have ever experienced in a Hawkman comic. 

So...how about it, DC Comics? 
  It's been a bit of a rough five years since then. We are still waiting for the next series. Hawkgirl had a 6-issue mini-series back in 2023, but it was IMHO badly written and used more as a promo for the writer's original character. Since 2020, Hawkman has showed up here and there in some anthologies, cameos, the current JSA series, and finally in the Absolute series that DC is doing now. But sadly, it appears that Venditti's Hawkman has been shoved to the side. So many interesting concepts and ideas were created and introduced during this amazing 29-issue run, but DC Comics has decided to shove it aside and dummy Hawkman down. This is especially mind-blowing when the current Editor-in-Chief is Marie Javins. She was also the editor of the Hawkman Vol. V series through the first 12 issues. 

  Someday, Hawkman and Hawkwoman will get another series. If we're lucky, the new writer will discover this amazing series full of amazing potential for the characters. Robert Venditti set it up perfectly. Now let's see a writer open up the toy box and have a blast with it.