The Savage Hawkman #0, 13-16 + New Talent Showcase

[zapbiffpow]

Spinning out of a few past threads here, here's a post series on anti-versions of the Justice League members who deserve a second chance! First up is New 52 Hawkgirl's origin, presented in Super-Sized Catch-Up form.

 

Plus, apparently there's a current Hawkgirl - but where is she, and what's her deal? Check it! 

 

 

 

Let's begin with the main players in this story, from The Savage Hawkman #0:

 

 

Unfortunately, after a victory-earned truce with the Daemonites and the Czarnians, Thanagar gets pox-blanketed to all hell:

 

 

 

Carter bonds with the remaining Nth Metal from the dismantled mining operation: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure exactly how Corsar died here. It's hilarious. I guess fraternal disappointment causes Thanagarian cells to combust in air.

To be respectful, though, my guess is that he electrocuted himself in that machine there. Anyway, Carter runs, bringing us to the present day of...

 

The Savage Hawkman #13:

 

Shayera and her troops capture Hawkman and his current girlfriend, Emma: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Shayera gets taken out, Hawkman takes down Xerxes while Emma takes Pike at gunpoint, neutralizing all three antagonists. 

 

 

 

 

 

Hawkman destroys both ships and goes on the run, in the knowledge that he really does have an intergalactic bounty on his head. 

 

The Savage Hawkman #15:

 

Hawkman evades some Thanagarian MP's with the separte assistances of Green Arrow and Deathstroke.

After interrogating a Thanagarian who claims Hawkman won't be able to track Shayera down, Carter heads to their hideout: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey, somehow-resurrected brother. 

 

The Savage Hawkman #16:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shayera's pleas fall on deaf ears, and Corsar prepares to teleport the Nth Metal from Carter:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When is a death bright and sunny? Bam. Riddler'd. 

 

So, yeah, her sheet's made up of administrative shadiness, conspiring with intergalactic felons, and violation of theoretical intergalactic extradition. But from the material, it seems like she did all this because she was tricked by her faked-his-own-death brother. All in all, a downer note to end a life on. 

 

Anyway, there's a current Hawkgirl running around, from DC's New Talent Showcase:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Either this is non-canon or a soft reboot, since dying from crashing into the sun normally don't leave you alive for some detectiving months later. In any case, if Rebirth somehow found a way to canon-weld this Hawkgirl, I wouldn't mind, even if it scuppers this little Justice League lineup pitch. She looks like she's in a decent place. 

 

Anyway, I'm a sucker for the DCAU Justice League, so I thought it'd be a nice sentiment to try and keep Shayera's story going beyond her New 52 death...or at least, raise awareness of the hand Hawkgirl got handed.

 

Next is Wonder Woman (swear), and then another part of this series. Stay tuned!

Comments

[shakalooloo]

Looks like Corsar punched the screen behind Katar and got electrocuted. There's a big smashed hole in it in the panel where the guards enter.

[zapbiffpow]

So it is! I figured him for a frier, but I wasn't sure what exactly that machine was that gave him the deadness.

[mastermahan]

So King Corsar tries to murder Katar for saying "Hey, maybe be careful", and then like five pages later tries to murder him again. The first time was a big clue, Katar.

Also, it's weird for Hawkman to be describing Shayera as his "bird-woman ex". He's a bird-person from an entire species of bird-people. It shouldn't be a notable detail to him. That's like a human mentioning their "upright hominid ex".

[zapbiffpow]

The first time was a big clue, Katar.

Heh. On the respectful side, I feel like Katar's goodwill and the resulting hope that the best of his brother might win out may have cowed him from taking action. On the sensible side, though, yeah: probably why his title ain't Lord High Investigator.

Other unsolved Hawkman mysteries include The Mystery of The Stove That Cooks My Food, The Mystery of the Burned Right Hand, and seconds later, The Mystery of the Burned Left Hand.

[randyripoff]

I've long felt it was a mistake when they recreated the Hawks not to focus on Shayera. She was a badass from day one, and much more interesting than Katar ever was.

[zapbiffpow]

Hey, I feel that. In fact, part of me might probably always think of Hawkman as the 'male Hawkgirl' instead of Hawkgirl as the 'female Hawkman'. The DCAU really did her a favor, exposure-wise.

One possible proposal I've come up is to keep Shayera in the League and keep Carter in the Justice Society. Not only does Hawkman have history there, they can both act as liaisons for their respective teams.

[long_silence]

I've been pretty iffy on the canonicity of the New Talent Showcase stories. The first Wonder Woman story for example has her in her Rebirth costume but still calling herself the God of War (she's also really bloodthirsty, violent and arrogant), and then she refers to the Flash as "Wally"
And then the Wonder Girl story straight up ignored that Cassie met Diesel again after she left him buried alive in Cambodia and then killed him to get the armor back.

So for this Hawkgirl story where Shayera is suddenly alive again, but looking like a completely different woman, with a new life on Earth where someone named Warhawk left her weapons, and there's been absolutely no follow up since I'm just going to assume is completely out of continuity.
On a sidenote I believe Shayera Thal was supposed to show up in the Death of Hawkman mini in a more traditional Hawkgirl costume. She was even on one of the covers, but never actually appeared in the story.

Whatever the case I think DC is going to be rebooting the Hawks. Again. The previews for the upcoming Nth metal based event have shown both of them, and what appears to be their ancient Egypt and reincarnation cycle origin.

[zapbiffpow]

Yeah, NTS does seem like it's non-canon. For what it's worth, I did like the Hawkgirl from that special - it was mostly in line with her status quo in the DCAU JL comics.

Whatever the case I think DC is going to be rebooting the Hawks. Again.

Oh! Well, at least they've got a weapon once Dr. Manhattan comes calling. Have J'onn ball up the Hawks and Donna Troy's complex histories into mental bullets and shoot them at the guy's earballs.

That should stun Bigger Blue for a minute or two while he tries to make sense of it all.

[astrakhan42]

The only thing worse than Liefeld's pencils is Liefeld's writing.

[zapbiffpow]

For a saving grace, though, he did have the foresight not to make Shayera truly evil. Not much of a saving grace, but there.

[junipepper]

New 52: Her breast plates! Words fail me.

NTS: The art! Please make it stop.

[stubbleupdate]

I love Sonny Liew.

What's your objection to him?

[laughing_tree]

Agreed.

[zapbiffpow]

Gonna have to split hairs over NTS (I like its crinkily indie art style), but I'm with you with Canned Boobs Hawkgirl up there. Relieved I wasn't the only one to notice that, really.