All of the Versions of Hawkgirl, Ranked

To say both Hawkgirl and Hawkman have a complicated history in DC would be an understatement. With both first appearing in Flash Comics #1 and both being created by Gardner Fox, you’d think that where it would end right? Well, you would be wrong. That would only be the beginning of the expansive Hawk-lore and quite possibly one of the biggest confusions among even the most seasoned of comic readers. 84 years and five distinct version of just Hawkgirl alone later, comics fans have several takes on this iconic character to get to know and love — and it was no easy task to take on ranking each one. Let’s take a look at how each version differs as slightly as the next and see who soars to the top of this list.

For the sake of making the list flow as smoothly as possible I’m going to list them all out by their real names first and then which variation of the heroic mantle they held most significantly. I will also be listing the titles you’ve seen each version from in some of their comic appearances just so it can be easily able to tell them all apart. With all of that out of the way, here we go.

5) Sharon Parker Hall, Hawkwoman

The shortest lived Hawkwoman on the list and at the bottom of the ranking is Sharon Parker Hall. Initially believed to be the Thanagarian Hawkwoman Shayera Thal, she turned out to actually an Earth woman named Sharon Parker that was brainwashed by Fel Andar, a Thangarian sleeper agent. Sharon’s time as Hawkwoman was short lived, with but a few appearances in Justice League International, and the 1980’s Hawkman series. Her legacy is left as the Hawkwoman that really wasn’t and she was killed shortly thereafter.

During her time believing she was Shayera, Sharon had all the same weapons and abilities of the real Hawkwoman but was human and not Thanagarian so she had the Nth metal wings as opposed to the biological ones. Shortly before she was killed, Sharon had revealed to Maxwell Lord in the JLI that she and Fel Andar were not Hawkman and Hawkwoman as she had believed and died letting them know to stop Fel, making her a hero.

4) Kendra Munoz-Saunders, Hawkgirl

Hailing from Earth-2 Kendra Munoz-Saunders was the Hawkgirl of her universe. On the list she may be the most different version of Hawkgirl you can get. While she is not believed to have been reincarnated like Shiera Sanders (don’t worry, we’ll get to that,) this version of Kendra became Hawkgirl after discovering an ancient tomb on Earth-2. With this she grew/was given wings, and gained enhanced vision and senses. She also became the only Hawkgirl to actually use firearms as her primary weapons instead of the Nth metal mace.

Since she was based on Earth-2 this version was not directly tied into the Earth-1 continuity but is a nice nod to the silver age explanation of the JSA. Also being created for the New 52 she had the odds stacked against her but proved to be one of the most interesting versions of the character. Sadly she hasn’t been seen since the end of those Earth-2 books but will remain as a unique incarnation. Maybe we’ll see her again someday.

3) Shiera Sanders Hall, Hawkgirl

Shiera Sanders is the original Hawkgirl created during the Golden Age and was a member of the JSA. She and her husband Carter Hall, the original Hawkman, were reincarnated lovers Chay-Ara and Prince Khufu. Both end up being born every generation and find each other with each new life. They were later retconned to being part of the Earth-2 continuity after Crisis on Infinite Earths and we’re put in a state of limbo to fight for eternity. Later on, Sheira’s great niece Kendra Saunders would become the next Hawkgirl and on a specific occasion the two were inhabiting the same body while neither knew.

Shiera, having been reincarnated, does not have organic wings and often uses ones made from Nth metal and weapons created from the same material. She mostly appears in team books such as JSA, and some Justice League appearances to her name but sometimes becomes blended with Kendra far too often, something that makes for a confusing dynamic.

2) Kendra Saunders, Hawkgirl

Now the current holder of the Hawkgirl mantle, we have Kendra Saunders the previously mentioned great niece of Shiera Sanders. Kendra stands out as having the reincarnation aspect of her great aunt as well as a bit of the Thanagarian aspects, making her the best of both world versions of Shiera and Shayera. Taking all of the aspects of the previous Hawkgirls/Hawkwomen before her, Kendra has carving out a path for herself and not let the past of the others block her from being herself.

Kendra has the distinction of being partially infused with the Nth metal substance and has the ability to retract her wings when needed. Out of all the previous mentioned, she may as time goes on have the most appearances currently and has had great fan reception as well. Having appeared in both Dark Knights: Metal and Dark Nights: Death Metal, Kendra was later drafted as a founding member of Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV’s Justice League series following that. On top of all of that, Kendra led her on miniseries in 2023 by Jadzia Axelrod and was one of the most underrated books in the Dawn of DC initiative.

1) Shayera Thal, Hawkwoman

Taking our top spot in Shayera Thal, the Thanagarian born Hawkwoman and former wife of Katar Hol Hawkman. Shayera and Katar both were the modern interpretations of the pair of Hawks from the Silver Age and indirectly caused the confusion among the Hawks as she and Katar took up the names Shiera and Carter as their Earth identities as well as being a nod to the Golden Age (it’s complicated, as all things Hawks are.) Shayera has strictly held the Thanagarian origin and was the first one to have the organic wings.

Shayera, while not having the most appearances has become popular for appearing as the inspiration for Hawkgirl in both the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series respectively. A lot of newer fans grew up with those shows and think of her first when they think Hawkgirl and for good reason, as her portrayal in those series was one of the best written to date and the love story element with John Stewart was not only a fan favorite, but very well done. While she mainly appears in the Hawkman series as the support, she’s recently has made a comeback in Jeremy Adams’ Green Lantern Corp with hints that the love story from JLU could be somewhat canonized. It’s exciting to see her there with that element brought into the comics now and could lead to an even bigger role later on. She makes the top of our list not only because of how beloved this version is thanks to the animated series, but because she’s just cool, too.

Do you agree with our ranking? Let us know in the comments!

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