Hawkman/Hawkgirl

[Ring Slinger]

I'm just a very casual reader at this point in my life: has DC finally straightened out Hawkman and Hawkgirl's continuity mess and history? From what I understand, they are, and always have been, human beings from Earth that have been reincarnated over and over again since Ancient Egypt, and they are not, nor ever have been, Thanagarians but use Thanagarian technology to fly-- is this correct in the latest DCU continuity? If so:

1. How did the Hawks come to start using Thanagarian technology?
2. Are wings and flight essentially artificially created? Wings are removable? No other "hawk" abilities? (Hawkman, I know, at one time had "hawk senses" and could even talk to birds!)

If my understanding of the continuity as it is now is not correct, can anyone explain?

[Mr. Kent]

1. As I understand it, their ancient Egyptian selves, Khufu and Chay-ara, found a crashed Thanagarian ship in the desert. It was the properties of the Nth metal they were exposed to that caused them to be reborn again and again. I think. (Weren't they killed with Nth metal daggers? Or is that a different version of the story?)

2. Wings are removable -- the wing harness has Nth metal that allows flight. No other "hawk senses" that I know of.

I think your understanding is accurate. I'd say the Hawk History has been cleaned up tremendously.

[Shellhead]

I believe that the current Carter Hall was reincarnated in his current adult form under peculiar circumstances on Thanagar, and his memories of previous lives include those of Katar Hol, the Thanagarian police officer, as well as those of his previous incarnation as the Carter Hall who was the original Hawkman. Katar Hol himself was not a reincarnation of Carter Hall, but he got thrown into the mix as the result of a bizarre incident that caused him to be merged with the original Carter Hall.

[Hawkman]

Seems like there's been a few Hawkman topics popping up lately, and being a longtime fan, I finally felt compelled to register. :)

Mr. Kent basically nailed both of your questions outright. There was once a Thanagarian Hawkman and Hawkwoman, but both have since been killed off (although the current HM has the Thanagarian HM's memories in his head along with many, many others, but that's neither here nor there).

1. As Mr. Kent said, they stumbled across a Thanagarian ship in their first lives in Egypt as Prince Khufu and his princess, Chay-Ara, and soon thereafter discovered the Nth metal's interesting properites, primarily flight. They were later murdered and cursed by a priest named Hath-Set with an Nth metal dagger, thereby intertwining all three's fates for all eternity.

2. Pretty much. Along with flight, their strength is also augmented to 20xs what it would normally be, they're rapidly able to heal from wounds, their body temperature is left virtually unaffected by their surroundings, their eyesight is partially enhanced, and memories of their past lives are able to be tapped into (this mainly only applies to Kendra, however, as Carter is already well aware of all of his past lives). In addition, it was recently shown that Hawkgirl has limited use of her abilities even without her harness, assumingly due to her prolonged exposure to the metal. It's unclear at this point, though, if this will be a reoccuring theme.

[Heraclevs]

There was once a Thanagarian Hawkman and Hawkwoman, but both have since been killed off (although the current HM has the Thanagarian HM's memories in his head along with many, many others, but that's neither here nor there)
.

How did the Thanagarian HM get killed? Was this covered in a story? If so, which one?


Thanks!


- Romans 9

[Hawkman]

It was in the last issue of Hawkman Vol. 3. I suppose he didn't really "die" so much as he was zapped out of our reality. It's been a while since I've read it, so my memory is a little foggy, but it basically goes like this:

Katar became a Hawk Avatar, infused with the abilities of the Hawk God (and also merging with Carter and Shiera during Zero Hour, but again, that's neither here nor there). In so doing, though, he was overwhelmed by the voices of past avatar souls, which eventual drove him mad. They broke loose, ran amok, and Katar decided the only way to get rid of them was to die himself while fused with them.

Then a socerer (I think it was Arion, but again, my memory's foggy) pops up and tells Katar that he can instead merely banish him to the realm of the Hawk God along with the legion of souls that has infected his mind. He accepts, Shayera cries, and the next time we hear of him is as a part of Carter in his JSA resurrection.