Hawkman/Characters

Numerous people have worn the mantle of the Hawk over the years. Here's a run-down on the Hawkmen, Hawkwomen, and other assorted Hawkpeople who have flown the skies of the DC Universe since 1940, plus their friends and enemies.

Hawkman
Despite his reputation as a big, flying Continuity Snarl, Hawkman's history has been more or less sorted out. (For now.) Here is, more or less, how the Winged Wonder's history works out in the current DC Universe.

Hawkman I
"AKA: Carter Hall"

In Ancient Egypt, Prince Khufu discovered a crashed alien vessel from the planet Thanagar. Using the "Nth metal" that powered the craft, he and his beloved, Princess Chay-Ara, crafted golden wings that allowed them to become Egypt's greatest heroes, but the jealous priest Hath-Set killed them with an Nth metal knife. This began a cycle of reincarnation as Khufu and Chay-Ara were reborn throughout the ages, always to meet and fall in love, and always to die at the hands of the reincarnated Hath-Set.

In the early 20th century, Khufu was reincarnated as American archeologist Carter Hall, who became the costumed hero Hawkman alongside Shiera Saunders as Hawkgirl. Hawkman became one of the founders of the Justice Society of America and later its chairman. He retired with the rest of the Golden Age mystery men, but when the Silver Age began, he joined the Justice League of America as a mentor to the younger heroes. After Crisis On Infinite Earths, he and the rest of the JSA were banished to Limbo to stave off Ragnarok, but were rescued during Armageddon 2001; during Hall's absence, Fel Andar and Katar Hol assumed the mantle of Hawkman in succession.

During Zero Hour, Carter Hall merged with Shiera, Katar Hol, and the Hawkgod to become a composite Hawkman, who was later killed. Years later, a cult of Thanagarian priests resurrected Carter Hall, who now retains the memories of his past lives and Katar Hol's. Hall remains active as the current Hawkman.

(Before Hawkworld, Carter Hall lived on Earth-Two and had remained a member of the JSA throughout the Silver Age and Bronze Age.)


 * Adventurer Archaeologist
 * Badass Bookworm
 * Battle Couple: With Shiera.
 * Happily Married: With Shiera.
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold
 * Love Triangle: Between Carter, Shiera, and Mavis Trent; and Carter, Kendra, and Red Arrow.
 * Mentor: To the JLA.
 * Red Baron: "The Winged Wonder". (Green Arrow likes to call him "the Flying Fascist").
 * Reincarnation
 * Reincarnation Romance
 * Stalker With a Crush: He came off this way at first toward Kendra Saunders.
 * Weapon of Choice: An Nth-metal mace.

Hawkman II
"AKA: Fel Andar / Carter Hall, Jr."

Fel Andar was a Thanagarian agent in deep cover on Earth, gathering information for an invasion. After Crisis On Infinite Earths, when Carter Hall was trapped in Limbo with the rest of the JSA, Andar posed as Carter Hall's long-lost son and, with a duped human woman as "Hawkwoman", joined Justice League International as Hawkman. Hawkwoman learned the truth and exposed Andar, who killed her and fled back to Thanagar, where he was imprisoned for failure.

Years later, during the Rann-Thanagar War, Fel Andar tried to reuinite with his son Charlie Parker and atone for his crimes, but was killed by the Tamaranian warlord Blackfire (sister of Starfire).

(Before Hawkworld, Fell Andar--two "l"s--was a Thanagarian spy who fought Katar Hol in The Shadow War of Hawkman, which was rendered out-of-continuity. The JLI's Hawkman and Hawkwoman were Katar and Shayera Hol.)


 * Heel Face Turn: During Infinite Crisis.
 * Killed Off for Real
 * The Mole
 * Not Quite Dead: It is implied that Fell Andar survived following The Shadow War of Hawkman.
 * Redemption Equals Death

Hawkman III
"AKA: Katar Hol / Carter Hall (pre-Hawkworld)"

In the 1940s, Thanagarian nobleman Paran Katar visited Earth. Here, he met Carter Hall, who inspired him to create a corps of winged police officers called the Wingmen. He also fell in love with a Native American woman named Naomi, with whom he had a son, whom he named Katar Hol after Carter. Paran took his son back to Thanagar.

Katar became a Wingman, and after stopping the criminal Byth with the aid of his partner, Shayera Thal, they were sent to Earth as ambassadors not long after Fel Andar was sent as a spy. Katar was dubbed the new Hawkman by the press. He met Carter and Shiera Hall and learned of his half-human heritage, but due to their troubled relationship, Shayera broke away from him.

In Zero Hour, Katar was merged with Carter, Shiera, and the Hawkgod to become a composite Hawkman, but the conflicting voices in his mind drove him mad. He was banished to Limbo by Martian Manhunter and the sorcerer Arion. Years later, Carter Hall was resurrected on Thanagar with both his and Katar's memories. Katar lives on today in Carter Hall.

(Before Hawkworld, Katar and Shayera were married, arrived on Earth in the Silver Age, and were members of the Justice League through to the International era. After Hawkworld, their place in the pre-International League was taken by Carter and Shiera Hall and in the JLI by Fel Andar and Sharon Parker.)


 * Affectionate Nickname: Shayera calls him "peacock".
 * Battle Couple: With Shayera, until she broke up with him.
 * Fan of the Past: On Thanagar, he collected a lot of Thanagarian artifacts before his culture assimilated with those they've conquered.
 * Half-Human Hybrid
 * Happily Married: With Shayera, pre-Hawkworld only.
 * Killed Off for Real
 * Missing Mom: Naomi.
 * My Species Doth Protest Too Much
 * Self-Made Orphan: A drugged Katar Hol killed his father because his soon-to-be archenemy Byth told him he was smuggling weapons. Katar found out his dad was smuggling food and medicine to the oppressed lower-class citizens. Katar was around 18 at the time.
 * Space Police
 * Speaks Fluent Animal: In the Silver Age, he could talk with birds as a side-effect from the device that gave him knowledge of Earth.
 * Strawman Political: In the Bronze Age, the JLA writers used him as a conservative strawman for Green Arrow to knock down. Post-Hawkworld, this trait was passed to Carter Hall.
 * Weapon of Choice: Pre-Hawkworld, a mace. Post-Hawkworld, a katar.
 * Winged Humanoid: Of the "Vanishing Wings" subtrope in Post-Zero Hour before he died.
 * You Can't Go Home Again

Golden Eagle / Hawkman IV
"AKA: Charlie Parker / Ch'al Andar"

Charlie Parker was an orphan in Midway City who lived a troubled life of crime, but when he turned 18 he was taken in by Carter Hall, who gave him a job at his museum. Charlie idolized Hawkman, who gave him a Thanagarian battlesuit and trained him to fight crime as Golden Eagle. During an adventure with the Teen Titans, Charlie was apparently killed.

Years later, when Carter had apparently fallen in battle, Charlie resurfaced and took the identity of Hawkman and tried to seduce Kendra Saunders, the new Hawkgirl. She refused his advances and he tried to kill her, but Carter returned and stopped him. Charlie revealed that he was Ch'al Andar, the son of the impostors Fel Andar and Sharon Parker, and wanted revenge on Hawkman in the name of his father. Carter defeated Charlie and brought him to Thanagar for trial.

On Thanagar, Charlie was pardoned and became an officer on the Wingmen. During the Rann-Thanagar War, he was reunited with his father, who pled with him to give up his plans of revenge just before he was killed by Blackfire. He is currently living on Thanagar and has apparently abandoned his crusade against Carter Hall.


 * Ascended Fanboy
 * Blond Guys Are Evil
 * Blue Eyes
 * Face Heel Turn
 * Half-Human Hybrid
 * Hero Worshipper
 * I Just Want to Be Special
 * Parental Abandonment
 * Secret Keeper: Before he became Golden Eagle.

Hawkgirl I / Hawkwoman I
"AKA: Shiera Saunders Hall"

The modern-day reincarnation of the Egyptian princess Chay-Ara, Hawkwoman (originally known as Hawkgirl) has been reborn throughout the ages with her lover, Hawkman. She was a member of both the Justice Society and the League, though she was denied League membership until the move to their sattelite because she was deemed redundant with Hawkman.

Shiera was exiled to Limbo with Carter after the Crisis On Infinite Earths, and escaped with him as well. She was merged into the composite Hawkman during Zero Hour, trapped in Limbo again, and resurrected in the body of her cousin, Kendra Saunders; Kendra died in Blackest Night, and Shiera was resurrected in her original body in Brightest Day.

(Before Hawkworld, Shiera lived on Earth-Two and remained a member of the JSA throughout the Silver and Bronze Ages; the JLA's Hawkwoman was Shayera Hol.)


 * Action Girl
 * Back From the Dead: In Brightest Day.
 * Battle Couple: With Hawkman.
 * Distaff Counterpart: To Carter.
 * Fusion Dance: In Zero Hour, she was merged with her husband (Carter Hall) and the Thanagarian Hawkman (Katar Hol) into the Hawkgod, killing her.
 * Killed Off for Real: In Zero Hour.
 * Retcon: In addititon to the Hawkworld mess, her name was originally "Sanders", but was changed to "Saunders" with the JSA relaunch to tie her to Speed Saunders.
 * Depending On the Writer: Her name remained "Sanders", since some relatives tend to spell their surnames differently.

Hawkwoman II
"AKA: Sharon Parker / Sharon Hall"

When Fel Andar infiltrated Earth, he fell in love with human woman Sharon Parker, and together they had a son, Charlie. He never told her about his Thanagarian origin. After Carter Hall disappeared following Crisis On Infinite Earths, when Charlie was four years old, Thanagar activated Andar. They brainwashed Sharon, and with Andar she joined Justice League International as Hawkwoman. Charlie was abandoned.

Eventually, Sharon discovered the truth about her husband and exposed him to the Justice League. For this betrayal, Andar murdered her.

(Before Hawkworld, the JLI's Hawkwoman was Shayera Hol.)


 * Unwitting Pawn

Hawkwoman III
"AKA: Shayera Thal II / Shayera Hol (pre-Hawkworld) / Shiera Hall (pre-Hawkworld)"

The daughter of disgraced Thanagarian noblewoman Shayera Thal I, Shayera conceived when her mother was only 13 and abandoned in Thanagar's Downside slums as an infant. She worked her way up into the Wingmen police, where she met Katar Hol.

Shayera and Katar traveled to Earth to apprehend the shapeshifting criminal Byth. They succeeded, and after working together on Earth for some time, they fell in love and decided to leave the corrupt Thanagar behind them. Earth's media dubbed them the new Hawkwoman and Hawkman.

When Katar was merged into the composite Hawkman during Zero Hour, the new Hawkman broke off his relationship with Shayera, who retired from the superhero life to become a police officer in Detroit. Years later, she took up the mantle of the hawk again to aid the resurrected Carter Hall and the new Hawkgirl, Kendra Saunders, to catch Byth one last time, after which she returned to Thanagar. She later aided the Hawks against Thanagar during the Rann-Thanagar War, but was killed by Blackfire.

(Before Hawkworld, Shayera Hol was Katar's wife, came to Earth in the Silver Age, and joined the JLA in the Bronze Age. Post-Hawkworld, her place in the JLA was taken by Shiera Hall and in the JLI by Sharon Parker.)


 * Action Girl: Probably the best example of the trope among the Hawk-ladies.
 * Affectionate Nickname: Katar calls her "magpie", which she hates, in return for "peacock".
 * Deep-Cover Agent: She was secretly assigned to watch over Katar as he's becoming increasingly independent.
 * Fiery Redhead
 * Green Eyed Red Head
 * Redheaded Hero

Hawkgirl II
"AKA: Kendra Saunders"

When the composite Hawkman died after being banished to Limbo, Shiera Hall's soul was not reincarnated as usual. Her young cousin Kendra Saunders attempted suicide, and Shiera's soul took up residence in her body. Her grandfather, adventurer Cyril Saunders, encouraged her to become the new Hawkgirl, but she had no memory of any of her past lives.

Kendra resisted the advances of the resurrected Carter Hall, of whom she had no memory. As time went on, however, she regained bits and pieces of her memories and reluctantly restarted her relationship with Carter. At the beginning of the Blackest Night, Carter and Kendra were attacked and killed by Black Lanterns; with her dying breath, Kendra admitted her love for Carter.


 * Love Triangle: With Hawkman and Red Arrow.
 * Weapon of Choice: A spear.

George Emmett

 * The Commissioner Gordon
 * Deep-Cover Agent: From Thanagar (Pre-Crisis only)
 * Race Lift: From white (pre-Hawkworld) to black (post-Hawkworld).
 * Reasonable Authority Figure
 * Secret Keeper
 * Smoking Is Cool: He is occasionally seen smoking a pipe.
 * Two First Names

Joe Tracy
A public relations man who worked with Hawkman and Hawkwoman.


 * Dogged Nice Guy: To Mavis Trent (Pre-Hawkworld).

Mavis Trent
An archaeologist who worked for a Chicago museum. She flirted with Hawkman constantly.


 * Killed Off for Real: Pre-Hawkworld, she was killed by Thanagarian Wingmen in The Shadow War of Hawkman. This was rendered out-of-continuity by Hawkworld.
 * Love Triangle: With the Hawks, pre-Hawkworld.

Northwind
"AKA: Norda Cantrell"


 * Winged Humanoid

Silver Scarab
"AKA: Hector Hall"


 * Cursed With Awesome/Blessed With Suck
 * Hair of Gold
 * Parental Abandonment

Speed Saunders
"AKA: Cyril Saunders"

An American adventurer, detective, and secret agent. Speed was Shiera Saunders's first cousin and grandfather of Kendra. He was also a life-long friend of Wesley Dodds, the Sandman. Though now in his 80s, he remains as hale as ever.


 * Badass Normal
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Kindhearted Cat Lover
 * Mentor: To Kendra.
 * Private Detective: In the Sam Spade mold.

Faraway Woman
"AKA: Naomi Carter"

A Cherokee medicine woman and the biological mother of Katar Hol.


 * Magical Native American
 * Missing Mom: Katar thought his mother died.
 * Old Master

Byth Rok
Former Wingman commander-turned-thief.


 * Arch Nemesis: To Katar and Shayera.
 * Bald of Evil
 * For the Evulz: He steals for the thrill of it. He doesn't care much for the stolen objects' value.
 * Shape Shifter

Fadeaway Man
"AKA: Anton Lamont"


 * Villain Teleportation: With the Cloak of Cagliostro

The Gentleman Ghost
"AKA: James Craddock"


 * Anti-Villain: He tends to help out the heroes occasionally.
 * Gentleman Thief
 * Our Ghosts Are Different
 * Put On a Bus: pre-Hawkworld, he was finally be able to rest in peace along with a restless spirit of a woman. This was rendered out-of-continuity.

Hath-Set
"AKA: Anton Hastor"


 * Arch Nemesis: To Carter and Shiera Hall.
 * Depending On the Writer: In early comics, Hath-Set was reincarnated countless times, along with Carter and Shiera. Though some comics claims that he's a disembodied spirit that can possess/manipulate his descendants.
 * Grand Theft Me

I.Q.
"AKA: Ira Quimby"


 * Super Intelligence: Thanks to a modified Zeta Beam which triggered his metagene.

Lion-Mane
"AKA: Ed Dawson"


 * Magic Meteor
 * Our Werebeasts Are Different

The Manhawks

 * Feathered Fiends

Matter Master
"AKA: Mark Mandrill"


 * Alliterative Name

The Monocle
"AKA: Jonathan Cheval"


 * High-Class Glass: He wears a weaponized monocle.

Onimar Synn

 * Demon Lords and Archdevils: The ruler of one of the Seven Hells in Thanagarian religion.

The Shadow Thief
"AKA: Carl Sands"


 * Living Shadow
 * Ninja/McNinja

Konrad Kaslak

 * Joker Immunity: He's able to get away with the crimes he committed by claiming he was under the magic's influence.
 * Robe and Wizard Hat