Hawkman
Entry updated 4 November 2024. Tagged: Character, Comics.
A DC Comics Superhero, usually accompanied by his wife and partner Hawkgirl (sometimes in recent decades called Hawkwoman), who has a similar costume and abilities. First introduced in the 1940s, he was the Reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian priest (see Ancient Egypt in SF) who discovers a mysterious Element, "ninth metal" or "nth metal," that defies gravity and enables him to fly (see Antigravity; Flying). Undertaking to fight crime, he attaches large wings to his back to aid in navigation and creates a costume with a hawk-like helmet that is later replaced by a more conventional cowl. He is aided by an unusually intelligent hawk, Big Red (see Super-Pets), who appears in no later stories featuring the character, and eventually he had a son who also became a superhero, the Silver Scarab. and later adopted the name of another 1940s superhero, Doctor Fate.
In keeping with the zeitgeist of the times, Hawkman was revived in the early 1960s by Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert as a science-fictional character. He is now Katar Hol, an Alien from the planet Thanagar and a member of its police force (his costume being their uniform). Originally a Utopia without crime, Thanagar has recently been bedevilled by the antics of "thrill thieves" who steal solely because they find it exciting (see Crime and Punishment). After travelling to Earth to apprehend a fleeing criminal, and noting that Earth has far more experience in dealing with lawbreakers, Hawkman resolves to remain on Earth to study and learn from humanity's crime-fighting techniques – though he rarely seems attentive to what Earth's police are doing, being seemingly already competent in dealing with criminals. He adopts the name Carter Hall and goes to work as a museum curator in Midway City (also the profession of the original Hawkman).
In addition to his flying powers, Hawkman regularly uses medieval Weapons in battling against evildoers, most commonly a mace attached to a chain, all said to be borrowed from his museum. He can converse with birds using their language, though he lacks Aquaman's ability to Telepathically control them. His Spaceship, which remains in orbit around Earth, also contains the "absorbascon", a device providing him with encyclopedic knowledge, leading some to call it an anticipation of the Internet. He is sometimes said to possess unusual strength, attributed to the nth metal that allows him to fly. Initially unpopular, perhaps because of the rough-hewn artwork of his first artist Kubert, he was more enthusiastically received when he was drawn by the more polished Murphy Anderson for a few appearances in Mystery in Space, and he was soon granted his own Comic title. After disappointing sales, however, this comic was then combined with that of the Atom, a hero he frequently teamed with, before the title was cancelled. He also became a member of the Justice League of America, wherein he developed a personality of sorts as the straight-laced foil to the reinvented Green Arrow's irreverent hipness. He was eventually joined in the Justice League by Hawkgirl, who has occasionally appeared on her own in comics seeking to include more female characters.
After 1985, several of DC's lesser superheroes were regularly and sometimes strangely refashioned, but arguably no character has been abused in these ways more than Hawkman. Among other indignities, comics illogically argued that the original Hawkman of the 1940s had engaged in his 1960s adventures and that Katar Hol only came to Earth later, though there were also attempts to reconcile the two characters as one man who had been reincarnated many times on both Earth and Thanagar. In addition, there were other characters created with different back stories who called themselves Hawkman. Even his entry in Wikipedia, which normally records such nonsense with a straight face, describes his recent lapses in continuity as "confusing". He has also appeared in various DC films, television programs, and Videogames, though never as a prominent figure.
Perhaps the fundamental problem with the character is the incongruity of his sf reinvention; for with his affinity for ancient weapons and a headdress recalling Egypt's animal-headed gods (see Gods and Demons), he seems a superhero best related to Mythology, such as his Justice League colleague Wonder Woman. Making him an alien visitor made no sense, as one cannot imagine such a figure with access to advanced Technology choosing to rely on conversations with Earth's birds or outdated terrestrial weapons (like a modern American moving to the Amazon jungle who abandons his rifle to use a blowgun). However, one hesitates to recommend yet another reboot of this character to impose, probably unsuccessfully, a new and more harmonious version of this repeatedly reimagined superhero. [GW]
links
- Grand Comics Database – 1940 character
- Grand Comics Database – 1961 character
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