Hawkman III + Hawkwoman II

Paran Katar meets Naomi. From Hawkman v.3 #6 (??); art by .

In post-Crisis continuity, Hawkman was one the most confusing characters in DCU continuity. The retcons to the original Thanagarian Hawks came late after the Crisis and were so drastic that everything had to be overwritten. In Hawkworld, Tim Truman refashioned the Hawks into an unmarried pair and inserted them into the modern-day DC Universe. They were now "new" heroes on Earth (the same as Wonder Woman), which meant that Hawkman and Hawkgirl could not have been members of the Justice League. Later writers fixed this by inserting the Golden Age Hawks — Carter and Shiera Saunders Hall — into this role. They were retconned into having been members of both the Justice Society and Justice League. (JLA: Incarnations #2, JSA Secret Files #2)

Katar Hol's father was a Thanagarian agent named Paran Katar, who arrived on Earth in 1939. Adopting the Earth name Perry Carter, he befriended Carter Hall (Hawkman I). Paran introduced Hall to the astounding Thanagarian "Nth metal" and with it , they fashioned for Carter a harness, which allowed him to defy gravity. After Paran's departure from Earth, their invention inspired him to found the similarly-winged police of Thanagar. (Hawkworld Annual #1) Before returning to Earth, Paran also met and fell in love with a Native American woman named Naomi. Naomi had met Paran through Carter and Shiera Hall, to whom she'd served as a translator for the Cherokee people. Their love was so strong that she agreed to return with him to Thanagar where she gave birth to their son Katar Hol.

On Thanagar, was forced hide her true identity as an Earthling and iIn time, Naomi found their high society distasteful. She decided to return to Earth, but Paran would not allow her to take their son. Young Katar never knew his mother; the two met for the first time many years later, on Earth, thanks Carter Hall. (Hawkman v.3 #)

Though there were times when Thanagar was Earth's ally (The Silver Age), its ways tended towards imperialism. Its government became elitist and corrupt and Paran eventually made enemies with the powerful commander, Byth. (Hawkworld v.1 #1) Byth tricked Katar Hol into killing his own father. For this, Hol was subsequently arrested and imprisoned on the Isle of Chance for ten years. Byth, on the other hand was promoted to Thanagar's highest post: Administrator of Protection.

Katar meets the adult Shayera Thal II (Hawkworld #3)

Before his incarceration, Hol met a woman named Shayera Thal. In a bizarre twist of fate, Thal was killed in an explosion, and Hol saved the life of her illegitimate daughter. This girl was then raised by Shayera's father, Thal Porvis, and given the same name as her mother. (Hawkworld v.1 #2) After Hol's ten-year exile was ended, he met the now-grown Shayera who had become a Wingman herself. Together, they usurped Byth's power. (Hawkworld v.1 #3)

When the original Hawkman and Hawkgirl (Carter and Sheira Hall) left Earth and became trapped in Limbo, a "bogus" pair of Hawks stepped in to infiltrate the super-hero community. Hawkman II was in fact a Thanagarian spy named Fel Andar who posed as "Carter Hall Jr." and wife, Sharon Parker, was his wife, Hawkwoman. Fel Andar's cover was blown during the Dominators' alien invasion when Sharon betrayed him to the Martian Manhunter. (Hawkworld #22) Andar killed Sharon (#23) and escaped back to Thanagar. (#25) NOTE: "Inside DC" #36 also verifies that in post-Hawkworld continuity, the impostors Fel Andar and Sharon were the pair that appeared in the J.L. International v.1 #10, 19-24 and Action Comics 588.

Shortly after this Katar Hol became a hero and was sent with Shayera Thal as ambassadors to Earth. To fill the void, the media dubbed Katar and Shayera Hawkman (III) and Hawkwoman (II). (Hawkworld v.2 #1) They adopted Earth as their new home, but unlike their predecessors, Katar and Shayera were not lovers. They drifted apart; Katar joined the Justice League (Justice League America #0) and Shayera went to work as a civilian policeman in Chicago.

Carter and Shiera returned from Limbo (Armageddon: Inferno #4) and during the events of "Zero Hour," they were merged, along with all other "hawk avatars" into the form of Katar Hol. Shiera did not survive this merge. (Hawkman v.3 #13) When Katar emerged from this transformation, he had the eyes of a hawk, and could grow and retract his wings at will. Also, he possessed semi-mystical abilities that allowed him to sense things in the auras of others. It was also around this time that Katar finally met his mother, Naomi.

Katar met his end after battling a legion of animal avatars. To end their threat and save Katar's soul, he was transported by the sorceror Arion to the "realm of the Hawk God." (#33) Both Katar and Carter's souls drifted there until Hawkman was recalled to life on Thanagar by the Justice Society. In the process, Katar's soul did not survive but Carter Hall lived. (JSA #23) Carter originally possessed all of Katar's memories, but he remarked that they have faded over time.

Shayera Thal remained on Earth after Katar's death but discontinued her career as an adventurer. When next she met Carter — with his new partner Kendra Saunders (Hawkgirl II) — they teamed up to stop Byth again. (Hawkman v.4 #15) Shayera returned to Thanagar after this case and rejoined the Wingmen. When the planet Rann destabilized Thanagar's orbit, Shayera fought in the Rann/Thanagar War. During the war, Carter and Kendra returned to Thanagar, too, but sided with Rann (because Thanagar was being led by the devil-god Onimar Synn). Eventually Shayera joined the Hawks but was killed by Blackfire. (Rann/Thanagar War #5) After the hostilities cooled and the great Crisis was ended, Carter vowed to achieve justice for Shayera's death. He remained on Thanagar, compiled evidence against Blackfire and found a way to strip her powers. (JSA Classified #22)

In Other Media

The Justice Leauge cartoon's Shayera Hol

Hawkgirl was a main character on the Justice League animated cartoon. This character was the Thanagarian, Shayera Hol. She bore the name Hol though she was not married.

This character grew up in the downside slums under a great hovering city. Eventually she became a Wingman and an undercover police detective and was the champion of those people. She was sent to Earth as a spy; her cover story was that she was hit by a weapon that mysteriously and irreversibly transported to Earth. On Earth, she became fascinated with ancient Egyptian tales of hawk-like beings and later joined the Justice League. Her powers are innate: the wings are a part of her body and her eyes are super-keen. She can also communicate with birds. There was never officially any Hawkman, per se. Instead, there was Rho Katal (an anagram for Katar Hol), Shayera's former lover who would not side with her to befriend Earth. Much of this was revealed in "Starcrossed: The Movie," available on DVD.

Later in Justice League Unlimited, Shayera met Carter Hall when he became Earth's first Hawkman. Though the two of them were supposedly destined to be lovers, Shayera only ever pursued a relationship with the Green Lantern John Stewart.

Notes

Spectre #54 (June 1997) erroneously depicts Carter and Katar together in a JLofA/JSA team-up. Possibly an editorial blunder, this story was nonetheless written by John Ostrander — the same writer as the Hawkworld series. Also, Legends of the DCU #12-13 and JLA 80-Page Giant #2 (11.99) both erroneously depict Katar as the JLA's Hawkman.

Powers

At first, neither Katar nor Shayera possessed any superhuman abilities. They used the power of the Thanagarian Nth metal to various ends. Most notably, the metal allows the user to defy gravity. They wore artificial wings to help control their movements during flight. The metal also extends a modest level of strength, invulnerability and healing ability to the user.

Both Hawks were also expert hand-to-hand combatants.

During Zero Hour, Katar underwent a transformation which gave him the eyes of a hawk, and retractable wings. Also, he possessed semi-mystical abilities that allowed him to sense things in the auras of others.

Appearances + References

» FEATURED APPEARANCES:

• Deathstroke #49
• Hawkman v.4 #15
• Justice League America #0, 93-112
• Warrior #32-33

» SERIES:

• Hawkworld v.1, 3-issue limited series (1989)
• Hawkworld v.2, 32 issues (1990-93)
• Hawkman v.3, 32 issues (1993-96)
• Rann/Thanagar War, 6-issue limited series (2005)

» SEE ALSO:

• Hawkgirl II
• Hawkman & Hawkgirl of Earth-Two (Golden Age)
• Hawkman of Earth-One (pre-Crisis)
• Monitor Duty: Hawkman