This 86-Year-Old Superhero Legend Is Ready for the Next Level, and DC Has the Perfect Opportunity

DC Comics has been putting out superhero stories since 1938, creating some of the biggest icons in the comic industry. Many of their most well-known characters debuted back in the Golden Age, with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman becoming icons and mantles like the Flash and Green Lantern becoming legends in their own right thanks to later holders. However, there’s one Golden Age hero who has been arguably as successful in a lot of ways as any of their fellow Golden Age icons, but never really gets the attention that he deserves, especially after Crisis on Infinite Earths: Carter Hall, the reincarnating warrior known as Hawkman.

Hawkman was Wolverine before it was cool, a winged warrior who battled evil alongside his wife Sheira Hall as one of the first leaders of the Justice Society. Using the mysterious mineral known as Ninth metal to defy gravity, which also gives him superhuman strength, durability, and a healing factor, he deployed the weapons of the ancient world to battle the threats of today, taking advantage of his history. Carter and Sheira were reincarnations of Pharaoh Khufu and his wife Shay-Ara, and would eventually be rebooted in the ’60s as Thanagarians Katar Hol and Shayera, alien police officers armed with Nth metal harnesses and various weapons, with the Golden Age versions with Earth-Two’s debut. Of course, this became a problem after Crisis did away with the multiple Earths, muddying the hero’s origin completely. The character has rarely been popular since then, with creators working for years to fix him. However, DC has reached another level of success lately and it’s about time that the high-flying hero make his return to prominence.

Hawkman’s Wings Have Healed and Now It’s Time to Soar

Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics #1 alongside Jay Garrick in one of the book’s back-up stories. Carter was a weapons collector who found a dagger that changed his life forever. When he touched it he was suddenly flooded with memories of his life in Ancient Egypt, where he and his wife were killed by their foe Hath-Set. He would meet the modern Sheira accidentally immediately after this (because Golden Age comics) and the two hit it off, with Carter creating hawk costumes and flight harnesses out of Ninth Metal, which had anti-gravity properties, for the two of them. This was the character’s beginning, appearing in back-up stories across DC and starring alongside the members of the Justice Society.

Silver Age Hawkman would change the origin, making him and Shayera alien police officers from the planet Thanagar who came to Earth and ended up making their home in Midway City. They joined the Justice League, where Hawkman would start hanging out with the Atom and beefing with Green Arrow, eventually meeting their Earth-Two counterparts, who had a child named Hector, who became the Silver Scarab and later Doctor Fate. The two versions of the character co-existed, but Crisis changed that, with various creators trying smush together their origins so DC history wouldn’t be destroyed. Hawkman was kind of ruined and wouldn’t get fixed until the 21st century, with Geoff Johns and David S. Goyer using the reincarnating origin to make sense of the two Hawkmen. Hawkman (Vol. 5) retconned this origin, establishing the origin of why Hawkman and Hawkwoman were reincarnating and that they did so through space and time, allowing multiple Carters and Sheiras to exist at the same time.

It took nearly 40 years, but DC has finally fixed Hawkman. Currently, the character is appearing in JSA, but him and Hawkgirl (this time not a Sheira, but Kendra Saunders) really haven’t been focused on very much. Meanwhile, Hawkwoman is out there in space, sometimes working with the Green Lantern Corps. JSA is ending and it hasn’t really served the character at all. It’s about time that Hawkman got his spotlight again. Fans loved his last series, which basically perfected the character, and the Absolute version has gotten quite popular, acting as a villain in that universe. Hawkman has gotten some buzz lately and it’s about time that DC took advantage of that.

Right now, DC Comics is doing better than they have in years. DC All-In has done a fantastic job that was started in Dawn of DC – rebuilding the DC Multiverse – and introduced readers to the excellent Absolute Universe. The publisher has found success bringing back classic characters, teams, and ideas, giving us a DC that pays homage to nearly every era of its existence. We’re getting fantastic books about B and C-list DC heroes like Zatanna, Batwoman, Lobo, The Deadman, Fury of Firestorm, and Emperor Aquaman, with Teen Titans, Legion of Superheroes, Doom Patrol, The Demon, Vixen, Static, and more all showing up in the months to come.

DC is seemingly doing everything in their power to rebuild what their publishing line was before Crisis on Infinite Earths, rebuilding icons that have fallen to the wayside over the decades. Hawkman, though, doesn’t need to be rebuilt. The character has been completely fixed and is ready for another shot. It’s a unique time in his history – two different Sheiras are out there, which could lead to some cool stories. He has numerous great villains that haven’t been seen lately, like Shadow Thief, Ominar Synn, and Gentleman Ghost (okay, we last saw him not that long ago, but Jim Craddock is awesome and should always be somewhere). The character has connections to every era of DC, allowing him to be taken in many directions, which is perfect for the company right now. DC is on fire and Hawkman would be perfect to make it blaze hotter.

This Hawk Needs to Hunt

Hawkman is a character with an amazing history (sure, it can be confusing, but there’s Joe Kubert stories in them there hills and numerous other great comics) with way cooler villains than he gets credit for having. He has numerous entertaining relationships with various DC heroes and villains and his origin allows creators to explore any era of DC they want to. Hawkman is basically a perfect comic character in a lot of ways and DC could finally do him justice.

DC has been putting out hit after hit lately. Books like Absolute Martian Manhunter, Absolute Green Arrow, The Deadman and Fury of Firestorm are all miniseries that got extended, showing that fans want more B and C-list hero books. We’re getting the returns of numerous fantastic characters. Hawkman has been ready for his close-up for years now and DC is at the best place possible to ensure his success. While getting another volume of Hawkman would be perfect, it would be just as cool to get Absolute Hawkman. DC has two versions of the character that they could make into stars and it’s about time they let the character take off and soar.

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