Absolute Hawkman Redemption in Absolute Superman No. 20

Absolute Hawkman / Carter Hall in Absolute Superman No. 20 (August 2026)

   SPOILER ALERT! As a Hawkman fan, it has been very difficult to like what DC Comics is doing to the character in their Absolute Superman series. Hawkman first appeared in Absolute Evil No. 1 last year, and there is absolutely nothing to like about this character as a hero or a person. He is a murderer and a traitor, and he has become the muscle for the villains of this universe's Earth. So when this issue kicked off the way it did, I'm left with conflicting feelings, most of them not so good. This review is a spoiler, so please come back after you have read the issue. 

Absolute Black Adam, who is called King Shazam in this universe, has awakened and he's pissed off. He killed Ra's al Ghul without a second thought and pretty much manhandled Superman pretty easily in their first confrontation. Hawkman and Steel join in the fight for reasons, and that's where this issue picks up. 

   The first two pages give us our first real look at Carter Hall without the costume. He's an older man with greying temples, but a lot younger-looking than the 100-something that he probably is by now. I suppose the Nth metal is extending his lifespan, but it could be something else that hasn't been revealed yet. 

   His encounter with Superman has left him believing in something again, and writer Jason Aaron may be trying to let us know that this guy isn't all bad and may be regretting some of the things he has done in his long life. Talia al Ghul orders him to kill Superman, but he no longer intends to do so. 

   He joins in the fight between Superman and King Shazam and tries to talk to Shazam, even using ancient Egyptian. Carter became Hawkman when he discovered the Nth metal mace in Shazam's grave, and we find out that he knows all about Theth-Adam and his history of how he became King Shazam. I may be wrong here, but these two have been created by Brainiac or the Father Box, so I thought Hawkman would be able to talk Shazam down and figure a way out.

 
   Shazam has no interest in letting up and pretty much wipes out all three "heroes." I use that term loosely with Hawkman. They appear to be about dead when they tell Superman to take the Nth metal mace and Steel's hammer to defeat Shazam. Superman is against killing, but Steel tells him, "If you want to survive, sometimes you have to swing the hammer." Superman proceeds to knock Shazam all the way to the moon with the mace and hammer, and is all decked out in his armor and ready for the final showdown. To be continued.

   A lot of fans predicted that Hawkman's redemption would start up sooner or later, and sure enough, here it is. He is still horribly flawed, but it is interesting to see how Superman has affected him. However, I do not see how this character can be redeemed. He apparently has killed many heroes in the past, including Green Arrow, as we saw in Absolute Evil. The only ending that would redeem this character is for him to go out in a blaze of glory.

   I'm starting to doubt that it will ever happen. DC loves to milk a cash cow when it sees one, and this Absolute Superman is finally starting to take off after a rather sluggish start. Superman is rather bland as a character, and the characters around him are what make him really stand out as a hero. That's why the Superman-Batman combo has worked so well over all these years. In a way, I'm starting to see Hawkman becoming the contrast to Superman that Batman is in the mainstream universe. Of course, Batman and Superman haven't run into each other yet, and I'm sure they have something major planned for that. But Hawkman and Superman have played off each other really well. It's entertaining to see Hawkman incredulous at Superman's approach to things, and vice versa. And while we're on the subject, I'm curious to see how Hawkman and Batman would react to each other as well.

   Judging from the reviews and fans' reactions, it appears that the Absolute Universe fans want to see more of these two. I'm even willing to bet that the reaction to this chemistry between Superman and Hawkman has caught DC and maybe even Jason Aaron off guard a bit. I imagine Aaron writing the interactions between the two, and it worked even better than when he first thought of it. I'm probably overthinking it, but I doubt anyone expected this version of Hawkman and Superman to be this entertaining. 

   So where does Hawkman go from here? If we're following the usual DC style, he'll just disappear for a few years or just make some cameos here and there. If DC sees the potential of Hawkman for a change, he may even get his own 6-issue series, and Absolute Hawkwoman shows up. Can you imagine what a brouhaha that would be? 

   As a long-time Hawkman fan, this character is Hawkman in name only, and nothing about him resembles the hero that I know and follow. This character is unlikable, and maybe that's why so many fans are liking him. That doesn't make much sense, but I think most can get my drift. It looks like we could be stuck with this character longer than we thought. For a Hawkman fan, is that good or bad? 

Note: I made an Absolute Hawkman page to follow the character so you can find all the issues he has appeared in and his story arc, as well as a collection of Absolute Hawkman art. LINK