(Takes A Deep Breath...)
Well, we've got a new origin, for one thing. Or maybe it'd be more precise to say it's a bigger origin, encompassing the disparate elements of the Hawkman mythology to form them into a cohesive whole. It takes us all the way back to ancient Egypt, to the kingdom of Prince Khufu Katar and his consort, Shayera (I'm pretty sure it was Shayera). Anyway, one fateful night, way back when, a Thanagarian ship crash landed in this kingdom, depositing a big honking piece of alien technology in old Khufu's lap. He discovered the secrets of the Thanagarian Nth Metal, an alloy which is able to negate the effects of gravity, among other things, and fashioned from it a harness. Thus was born the very first Hawkman. So, Khufu's got an anti-gravity harness, the love of a good woman, and a vast kingdom; happy ending, right? Wrong. A scheming priest, by the name of Hath Set decided he wanted what Khufu had and dispatched both him and his lady love. I can't remember if he died during the commission of the murder or what, but I do know that it wasn't too long after the king and queen had croaked that the priest joined them in the next life. And by 'next life', I mean next incarnation. You see, exposure to the Nth Metal had altered Khufu and Shayera, and presumably Hath Set, so that they were unable to 'move on'. Generation after generation, they would be reborn into new bodies, sometimes aware of their past lives, usually oblivious, but always condemned to repeat the same tragic set of circumstances: Khufu and Shayera would meet, fall in love, and then be cruelly dispatched by Hath Set. Karmically connected, they stumbled down through time, until the twentieth and twenty first centuries...
Now, this is where I start to get a little fuzzy on the details, Manji. I can't quite recall how or when Carter and Shayera Hall bought it, but I'm pretty sure that temporal shenanigans, courtesy of Zero Hour (a Crisis for the 90's), disrupted the whole resurrection thing. I'll have to do a search on Hawkman to get clear on the specifics; here's hoping that some fanboy's been paying closer attention than I have and has thought to put together a chronology or something.
I do know that things were finally put right in the Return of Hawkman arc in JSA (also in TPB), in which the Justice Society, including the latest incarnation of Shiera Saunders, Kendra Saunders, journeys to Thanagar to take on some evil mofo, only to be reunited with Hawkman, who, thanks to a little temporal tweaking, has been 'reassembled'. With the looks of Katar Hol, and the memories and personality of Carter Hall, Hawkman is once again on track to continue his tragic destiny. Or maybe not. Check out the Hawkman monthly, courtesy of Gray, Palmiotti, and Sook to get the current skinny on the Hawks.
There now, Manji...aren't you glad you asked? I'll try and address your Green Lantern and Doctor Light questions tomorrow...unless anybody else would like to take a run at them. Feel free...and feel free to correct any facts I might've gotten wrong here; Hawkman's tricky, and I'm no expert.
This "Everything You Wanted To Know About Hawkman" moment was brought to you by Sinestro, and made possible by the fact that he has no life whatsoever. Night all...
Well, we've got a new origin, for one thing. Or maybe it'd be more precise to say it's a bigger origin, encompassing the disparate elements of the Hawkman mythology to form them into a cohesive whole. It takes us all the way back to ancient Egypt, to the kingdom of Prince Khufu Katar and his consort, Shayera (I'm pretty sure it was Shayera). Anyway, one fateful night, way back when, a Thanagarian ship crash landed in this kingdom, depositing a big honking piece of alien technology in old Khufu's lap. He discovered the secrets of the Thanagarian Nth Metal, an alloy which is able to negate the effects of gravity, among other things, and fashioned from it a harness. Thus was born the very first Hawkman. So, Khufu's got an anti-gravity harness, the love of a good woman, and a vast kingdom; happy ending, right? Wrong. A scheming priest, by the name of Hath Set decided he wanted what Khufu had and dispatched both him and his lady love. I can't remember if he died during the commission of the murder or what, but I do know that it wasn't too long after the king and queen had croaked that the priest joined them in the next life. And by 'next life', I mean next incarnation. You see, exposure to the Nth Metal had altered Khufu and Shayera, and presumably Hath Set, so that they were unable to 'move on'. Generation after generation, they would be reborn into new bodies, sometimes aware of their past lives, usually oblivious, but always condemned to repeat the same tragic set of circumstances: Khufu and Shayera would meet, fall in love, and then be cruelly dispatched by Hath Set. Karmically connected, they stumbled down through time, until the twentieth and twenty first centuries...
Now, this is where I start to get a little fuzzy on the details, Manji. I can't quite recall how or when Carter and Shayera Hall bought it, but I'm pretty sure that temporal shenanigans, courtesy of Zero Hour (a Crisis for the 90's), disrupted the whole resurrection thing. I'll have to do a search on Hawkman to get clear on the specifics; here's hoping that some fanboy's been paying closer attention than I have and has thought to put together a chronology or something.
I do know that things were finally put right in the Return of Hawkman arc in JSA (also in TPB), in which the Justice Society, including the latest incarnation of Shiera Saunders, Kendra Saunders, journeys to Thanagar to take on some evil mofo, only to be reunited with Hawkman, who, thanks to a little temporal tweaking, has been 'reassembled'. With the looks of Katar Hol, and the memories and personality of Carter Hall, Hawkman is once again on track to continue his tragic destiny. Or maybe not. Check out the Hawkman monthly, courtesy of Gray, Palmiotti, and Sook to get the current skinny on the Hawks.
There now, Manji...aren't you glad you asked? I'll try and address your Green Lantern and Doctor Light questions tomorrow...unless anybody else would like to take a run at them. Feel free...and feel free to correct any facts I might've gotten wrong here; Hawkman's tricky, and I'm no expert.
This "Everything You Wanted To Know About Hawkman" moment was brought to you by Sinestro, and made possible by the fact that he has no life whatsoever. Night all...
