The Guide to the History of Hawkman and Hawkgirl/Hawkwoman: Chapter Five (Katar Hol III and Kendra Munoz-Saunders, 2011-2018)

 Chapter 5: Katar Hol III and Kendra Munoz-Saunders (2011-2018)

First Appearance: Hawkman (Katar Hol III), The Savage Hawkman No. 1 (November 2011)
                             Hawkgirl (Kendra Munoz-Saunders), Earth 2 No. 2 (August 2012)
Origins: Thanagar (Hawkman), Egypt (Hawkgirl)
Base: New York (Hawkman)
Team: Justice League of America, Justice League United

   The New 52 Hawkman began with Carter Hall trying to get rid of the Nth metal by burning it in a forest outside of New York City. The Nth metal comes flying out of the blaze and attaches itself to Carter, much like the Venom character does in Marvel Comics. Carter gives up and returns to his apartment in New York. It is revealed that he is Carter Hall, a cryptologist who lives alone in New York and works for Professor Ziegler. It appears that he has some sort of amnesia and cannot remember much of his past. He also has a love interest named Emma, the daughter of Ziegler. His memory returns when Shayera Thal and the Thanagarians come looking for him. 

The Savage Hawkman #1 (November 2011)

   It is revealed that his true name is Katar Hol. He was a gladiator champion of Thanagar who was taken in by Lord Thal Provis, the ruler of Thanagar, as one of his advisers. Katar soon falls in love with Provis’ daughter, Shayera and they are betrothed. During a peace conference with other planets, the Daemonites release a virus on the Thanagarians and it causes many of them to lose their wings. It also kills Lord Provis, so his son Corsar takes over and vows to take revenge. The Thanagarians begin to mine for the Nth metal and many lives are lost. Corsar and Katar are like brothers but they begin to disagree on how the Nth metal should be mined. During a quarrel, the Nth metal attaches itself to Katar and he regains his wings. Corsar tries to take it from him but is accidentally killed. Shayera calls Katar a traitor and orders his arrest. Katar escapes Thanagar in a ship that crashes in the Hudson River on Earth. When he is rescued. he only vaguely remembers his name but his rescuers mistake Katar Hol as Carter Hall, so he goes by that name on Earth.

The Savage Hawkman #0 (November 2012)

   The Thanagarians finally catch up to him and begin the journey to take him back to Thanagar. Corsar is revealed to still be alive and tries to extract the Nth metal from Katar’s body but is unsuccessful. During a battle on the ship, Shayera realizes that her brother is mad and helps Katar escape as the ship crashes into the sun, killing Shayera, Corsar, and everyone else on board. 

The Savage Hawkman #12 (October 2012)

   Soon after returning to Earth, Hawkman is invited to join a new Justice League that is set up by Amanda Waller. This league is set up to be a guard against the real Justice League, and Hawkman is added as a member to fight Aquaman if necessary. The league soon falls apart and Hawkman decides to return to Thanagar. Hawkman's time with this version of the Justice League was short but it gave a page that is one of the favorites of many Hawkfans. 

Justice League of America #2 (May 2013)

   During his journey back to Thanagar, he joins the Justice League United in the battle against Byth and sacrifices himself to save the Rannians from destruction. The Nth metal in his body eventually brings him back to life and he returns to Thanagar where he joins the police force.

   At the beginning of the Death of Hawkman series, we find Hawkman living a miserable existence; butting heads with the officers over his brutality, drinking at bars, and having one-night stands. Adam Strange appears before him and tells Katar how he has discovered that Despero is trying to pull Thanagar and Rann into another war. Despero destroys Thanagar during the battle, once again forcing Thanagarians and Rannians to live on the same planet. In the battle to stop him, Katar shoots all of the Nth metal in his body into Despero’s head as Adam Zeta-beams them to the edge of the universe. The last we see of Katar are his bones floating in space. 

Death of Hawkman #6 (May 2017)

   In an alternate universe, Kendra Munoz-Saunders was regarded as one of the best treasurehunters in the world. During a mission in Egypt for the World Army, an unidentified entity attached wings to her back for a reason yet to be revealed. She broke away from the World Army and met the new Flash (Jay Garrick). During a fight with Solomon Grundy, they also ran into the new Green Lantern (Alan Scott). Together with Green Lantern, the Flash, and Doctor Fate, Hawkgirl formed the Wonders of the World. Their world was eventually destroyed by Apokolips and they settled on a new Earth, with only two million of the former Earth 2's survivors. Hawkgirl joined the Wonders on the new Earth and tried to make a new life there. 

Earth 2 #4 (October 2012)

   Kendra Munoz-Saunders is considered one of the best treasure hunters and detectives on Earth 2. She is easily able to track down whoever she is looking for. She is also able to handle many weapons, but she was often seen with a handgun and a crossbow. She's basically a combined version of Hawkgirl, Batman, and Dawnstar in this series. 

Earth 2 #12 (July 2013)

   The New 52 Hawkman and Hawkgirl never actually met, but they were one series together. The New 52 Futures End was a series about an alternate future where Brother Eye takes over the world. Hawkman and Hawkgirl both had a part in the story and even appeared in the same issues at times but Hawkman was in outer space and was killed before he made it back to Earth, while Hawkgirl was on Earth so they never meet. (*)

Sept 2014

Oct 2014

Nov 2014

   The story of Munoz-Saunders ends in early 2017, right as the Rebirth event was getting ready to take off. Katar Hol III as well as Shayera Thal of the Savage Hawkman series was rewritten for the Rebirth event. We'll cover that in the next section. 

Important Moments:

2011: Hawkman (Katar Hol III) first appearance (*) 
2012: Hawkgirl (Kendra Munoz-Saunders first appearance (*) 
2012: Shayera Thal first appearance (*)
2012: Origin of Savage Hawkman revealed (*)
2013: Hawkman joins the Justice League (*)
2014: Hawkman dies saving the Rann and the Justice League United (*)
2014: Hawkman is resurrected by Byth with the Nth Metal (*) 
2017: Hawkgirl (Kendra Munoz-Saunders) last appearance (*)
2017: Hawkan dies to defeat Despero (*) 

Crossover Events 
   Justice League Throne of Atlantis (2012): Hawkman joins the fight against Atlantis
   Justice League Trinity (2013)
   Forever Evil (2013) 
   The New 52 Futures End (2014) 

Comics series to find Katar Hol III and Kendra Munoz-Saunders:
   The Savage Hawkman (2011-2013)
   Earth 2 (2012-2015)
   Justice League of America (2013-2014) 
   The New 52 Futures End (2014-2015) 
   Justice League United (2014-2016)
   Earth 2: World's End (2014-2015)
   Earth 2: Society (2015-2017) 
   Death of Hawkman (2016-2017)

Click here to go to the other chapters. 
Prelude: The Origin of Hawkman and Hawkgirl/Hawkwoman
Chapter 1: Carter Hall I and Shiera Sanders (1939-1994)
Chapter 2: Katar Hol I and Shayera Hol I (1961-1987, 2015)
Chapter 3: Katar Hol II and Shayera Thal (1989-1996, 2003-2005)
Chapter 4: Carter Hall II and Kendra Saunders I (1999-2010)
Chapter 5: Katar Hol III and Kendra Munoz-Saunders (2011-2018)
Chapter 6: Carter Hall III, Shayera Hol II, Kendra Saunders II (2018-present) 
Or you can read the complete guide!