Art by Prentis Rollins (2017, Commissioned by Tim Board)

The Guide to the History of Hawkman and Hawkgirl/Hawkwoman: Chapter Two (Katar Hol I and Shayera Hol I, 1961-1987, 2015)

 Chapter 2: Katar Hol I and Shayera Hol I (1961-1987, 2015) 

First Appearance: The Brave and the Bold #34 (February-March 1961)
Origin: Katar Hol and Shayera Hol of Thanagar
Team: Justice League of America


   Katar Hol was born on the planet Thanagar, a utopian-like planet that had not seen any crime for centuries. His father was Paran Katar, a leading scientist and ornithologist. Nth metal gave them the power to negate gravity, so Paran invented wings to be able to fly with more speed and agility. When Katar was 18 years old, the planet was attacked by Man-Hawks, giant Hawk creatures with masks. Patar devised a helmet to help Katar and others defeat them, and this led to the creation of the winged forces of Thanagar. (*) A few years later, Katar was an officer on the winged police force, and he was paired up with a rookie officer named Shayera Thal. They gradually fell in love and Katar proposed to her in front of the Veil of Vallmora, a giant waterfall on Thanagar. (*)



   A few years later, a criminal named Byth escaped to Earth, and Katar and Shayera, who were now married, were assigned to capture him and bring him back. During their trip to Earth, they used the Absorbascon to learn Earth's culture, languages, and history. Byth was a shapeshifter so Katar figured it would take them a long time to capture him. With the help of Midway police commissioner George Emmett, they went undercover as Carter and Shiera Hall, museum curators for the Midway City Museum. They eventually captured Byth, but Katar was impressed by Earth's police force, so he decided to stay and learn more about their police methods. (*)
   They eventually caught the attention of the Justice League and Hawkman joined them in 1964 (*), but Hawkgirl was not invited until 1977 because of their similar powers. (*)

Justice League of America #31 (November 1964)

   In 1974, Hawkman and Hawkgirl were called back to Thanagar and Katar resigned from the Justice League. (*) After they returned, Thanagar was hit by the Equalizer Plague, a disease that stole everyone's individuality. Hawkman and Hawkgirl eventually got help from the other Justice League members to be cured of the disease and returned to Earth. (*) In 1978, they were caught up in a war between Thanagar and Rann. During the war, they discovered that the villain Hyathis had cured the Thanagarians of the Equalizer disease but had also become their ruler. During the battle, Hawkman saved Hyathis' life and ended the war. Hawkman refused to accept her as his ruler and the Hawks were banished from Thanagar. They settled on Earth permanently. (*)

Justice League of America #109 (Jan-Feb 1974)

   In 1982, Hawkman enlisted the help of Superman and Batman to finally overthrow Hyanthis (Hyathis). After defeating Hyanthis, the Thanagarians wanted Katar to take her place, but they wanted a dictatorship, so Katar refused the offer and returned to Earth. (*) Thanagar lost most of their science and technology during the Equalizer plague, so a group of Thanagarian spies came to Earth to steal the Thanagarian technology that Katar and Shayera had brought with them. This started the Shadow War of Hawkman and eventually led to the ruling council of Thanagar being overthrown again. The people of Thanagar once again asked Katar to be their ruler. Katar refused and left Thanagar for good. (*)


   At the same time, the Crisis of Infinite Earths threw everything into chaos. Katar and Shayera were on Earth-One (later retconned as Earth-1985). They discovered the coming Crisis (and the Convergence event). After stopping the enemies from destroying Gotham, they saw the apparent end of all things and flew up to meet it. This ended the story of Hawkman and Hawkwoman of the Silver-Bronze Age (1961-1987). (*)

Convergence Hawkman #2 (July 2015)


   This version of Hawkman and Hawkwoman is considered the most difficult to fit into DC continuity mainly because of two events: the Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985) and Hawkworld (1989-1993). The Crisis on Infinite Earths was published after The Shadow War of Hawkman and the Hawkman Special had been written. After CoIE, Hawkman Vol. 2 was released. Writer Tony Isabella has said that he wrote this as a stand-alone, with CoIE having no effect on the story. 
   Then in 1989, the Hawkworld series by Tim Truman was released. It was meant to be a darker, retro retelling of the Silver-Bronze Age Hawkman. The 3-issue series was a hit, so Hawkworld Vol. 2 started in 1990. But instead of being placed in the 1960s when the Silver Age Hawkman began, it was placed in current times. So now we had two Hawkmen from Thanagar. Since then, DC Comics has done four things to make it fit. (sorta)

Doomsday Clock #12 (February 2020)

1. The Golden Age Hawkman (Carter Hall I) and the Silver-Bronze age Hawkman were the same guy. He came out of retirement in the 60s to serve as an adviser for the Justice League. Paran Katar came to Earth in the 1930s and met Carter Hall I. Paran showed Carter how to use the Nth metal, and Carter inspired Paran to create the winged police force after returning to Thanagar. Paran also married a Cherokee Indian woman named Naomi and took her back to Thanagar with him, where she gave birth to Katar Hol II (the Hawkman of the Hawkworld series). (Source: Hawkman Vol. 2 Annual #1, 1990)
2. The Hawkman and Hawkwoman who appeared on Earth between 1987 and 1992 were revealed to be Fel Andar, a Thanagarian spy, and Sharon Parker, an Earth woman whom Andar brainwashed into believing they were the true Hawks. She was also the mother of New Earth's Golden Eagle. She discovered the truth and was murdered by Andar, but not before she revealed everything to the Martian Manhunter and Amanda Waller. (Source: Hawkworld Vol. 2 #23, 1992) 
3. Parts of Hawkman Vol. 2 now overlapped with the Fel Andar story, so Hawkman from the Vol. 2 series was placed on Earth-85, a non-continuity Earth. 
4. In the Doomsday Clock series, Earth-One which appeared during the Silver-Bronze age is now called Earth-1985, another reboot. (Source: Doomsday Clock #12, 2020)
Note: My own interpretation is that Earth-One (Earth-1985), Earth-85, and Convergence Hawkmen are one character. It's also good to remember that all of the Hawkmen and Hawkwomen are connected through the reincarnation cycle of Ktar the Deathbringer and Shrra the Herald. 

Important Moments:
1961: First appearance of Katar Hol I and Shayera Hol I (*)
1961: First appearances of Byth, Commissioner Emmett, Mavis Trent (*)
1961: First appearances of the Matter Master, Shadow Thief (*) (*)
1961: First appearance of the Absorbascon (*)
1962: Katar earns his Honor Wings (*)
1962: First appearance of the Man-Hawks (*)
1963: First meeting with Atom (Ray Palmer) (*)
1963: First meeting with Adam Strange (*)
1963: First appearance of I.Q. (*)
1964: Hawkman joins the Justice League (*)
1965: Carter Hall I and Katar Hol I in the same issue for the first time. (Don't meet!) (*)
1967: First appearance of Lion-Mane (*)
1974: Hawkman resigns from the Justice League (*)
1974: First appearance of the Golden Eagle (*)
1975: Equalizer plague hits Thanagar (*)
1975: Hawkman rejoins the Justice League (*)
1977: Hawkgirl joins the Justice League (*)
1978: Hyathis cures the Equalizer disease and becomes the ruler of Thanagar (*)
1978: Hyathis banishes Hawkman and Hawkgirl from Thanagar (*)
1979: Hawkman fights Superman with his Polaris Punch (*)
1979: Carter Hall I and Katar Hol I on the same cover for the first time (*)
1981: Hawkgirl saves Superman (*)
1981: Hawkgirl changes name to Hawkwoman (*)
1982: Hawkman, Superman, and Batman overthrow Hyanthis (*)
1986: First appearance of Deron Ved (Darkwing) (*)
1987: Thanagarians ask Katar Hol I to rule them but he refuses (*)
1987: First appearance of Hawk imposters Fel Andar and Sharon Parker (*)
2015: Katar Hol I and Shayera Hol I disappear with the apparent destruction of their universe (*) 

Crossover Events
   Zatanna's Search (1964): Zatanna debuts in Hawkman No. 4 (Oct-Nov 1964).
   Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985): Carter Hall I, Shiera Sanders, Katar Hol I and Shayera Hol I      end up on the same Earth after the event.
  
Comics series to find Katar Hol I and Shayera Hol I:
   The Brave and the Bold (1961-1982)
   Mystery in Space #87-90 (1963-1964)
   Hawkman Vol. 1 (1964-1968)
   Justice League of America (1964-1984)
   The Atom and Hawkman (1968-1969)
   Detective Comics (1972-1981)
   Showcase #101-103 (1978)
   World's Finest Comics (1979-1982)
   The Shadow War of Hawkman (1985)
   Hawkman Special (1986)
   Hawkman Vol. 2 (1986-1987)
   Convergence Hawkman (2015)


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