A Hawkman Fan's Review of Justice League 2017

   After months of trailers, news, reviews (mostly negative), and trying unsuccessfully to avoid all spoilers, I finally was able to watch Justice League on November 23rd, opening day in Japan. Here is my review and feelings about the film and the whole experience. This article is SPOILER RICH, so if you haven’t seen the movie yet, stop reading!  
   DC Comics is hardly ever seen in the area where I live in Japan. I have never seen a comic book displayed in a bookstore, the nearest Toys’R’Us store with slim DC hero selections is a two-hour drive away, and Marvel has totally outdone DC in almost every area in Japan. So, it was quite a thrill walking into the theater, seeing the Justice League displays, and seeing all the DC merchandise behind the counter and for the first time ever in Japan, seeing a DC book with Hawkman on the cover. This definitely got my adrenaline flowing. 

15 Canceled DC Movies We’ll Never Get To See (Screen Rant)

Sigh... Article from Screen Rank (Link)

Michael Shanks as Hawkman from Smallville

Hawkman is, easily, one of the most confusing heroes in DC’s line-up. The character is full of contradicting backstories, powers and motivations. Yet DC nearly moved ahead with a movie with the confusing hero at the center back in 2011, putting him ahead of other more popular characters like Wonder Woman, Aquaman and The Flash.The logline for the movie was nearly as complicated as the character itself being described, as “Indiana Jones meets The Da Vinci Code meets Ghost.” This makes slightly more sense when it’s considered that Carter Hall AKA Hawkman has usually been depicted as a constantly reincarnated hero that dates back to Ancient Egypt.Still, unsurprisingly, the movie never moved past the development stage. Carter Hall’s only live-action appearances amount to two very underwhelming television roles on Legends of Tomorrow and Smallville. Some things work better on the page than the screen and, for now, Hawkman seems to be one of them. 

Desire for a Comic Book

In this day and age
Of superheroes taking the stage
Flying across the screen
Making us feel like we're fifteen

That's swell and all
Seeing our heroes in a brawl
Fighting to save us
From a villain so monstrous

But don't think we need
Nor will we stampede
To blockbusters and a trilogy
For us to experience an epiphany

It may seem so great and fine
To see our heroes shine
But we find ourselves with a dream
However ironic it may seem

Not on screen or Internet
That's not where we met
Of our heroes we got our first look
On the pages of a comic book

Just once in a while
It would give the greatest smile
To run to the comic stands
And hold our hero in our hands

From Den of Geek!: Justice League: The Greatest Rosters in DC History

It all started with the Justice Society! Hawkman and Hawkgirl have been involved with the Justice League since 1964! Hawkman joined the JLA as the 10th member in 1964, and Hawkgirl became the 15th member in 1977! Den of Geek Article Link 

Hawkgirl and Hawkman by Ed Benes

Hawkgirl and Hawkman by Ed Benes (Justice League of America No. 9, July 2007)