13 THINGS You Didn’t Know About HAWKMAN

Metal #2 is out 9/13 from DC — and Hawkmaven Tim Board has your back (and wings)…

DC’s Metal megaevent by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo is a lot of things. One of them is that it’s a vehicle to bring Hawkman back to a central role in the DC Universe.

My money is on a new ongoing title next year written by Jeff Lemire, who’s writing the Hawkman Found tie-in issue that’s due in December, with art by Bryan Hitch and Kevin Nowlan.

Jim Lee variant for Hawkman Found

In that spirit, we’ve been spending a lot of time on Hawkman lately — and will continue to in the months to come.

For example, did you know that Sept. 9 is International Nth Day? As in, Nth metal? It’s true. It’s the brainchild of Tim Board of the great Hawkworld Facebook group (join here). He’s tweeting Hawkstuff even more than usual (twice an hour) to celebrate the day.

Anyway, I’m fairly certain that Tim is the biggest Hawkfan on the planet and he’s here to provide you with 13 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT HAWKMAN (though maybe you know some of them). Seven hells, maybe Snyder or Lemire will steal an idea or two from the list. (Keep in mind, we’re talking the Hawkman of multiple, convoluted continuities.)

Oh, and make sure you check out Tim’s piece on Why Hawkman Matters, complete with 13 of his favorite Hawkcovers. (Click here.)

1. Before Aquaman debuted in 1941, Hawkman went into the ocean and met Poseidon. Poseidon granted Hawkman the power to live and breathe underwater. Source: Flash Comics #9 (Sept. 1940, Writer Gardner Fox, Penciller Sheldon Moldoff)

2. Hawkman had the ability to talk to birds during the Golden Age. Not only that, he taught the language to the other Justice Society members. Source: All-Star Comics #10 (April 1942, Writers Gardner Fox/Sheldon Mayer, Pencillers Sheldon Moldoff and others)

3. According to Thanagar’s custom, women wear earrings instead of a ring to signify that they are married. That is the reason Shayera always wore the round earrings. Source: Mystery in Space #88 (Dec. 1963, Writer Gardner Fox, Penciller Murphy Anderson)

4. Hawkgirl once caught an airplane and set it down by using the full power of her Nth metal. Source: The Atom and Hawkman #39 (Nov. 1968, Writer Bob Kanigher, Penciller, Murphy Anderson)

5. In 1941, Hawkman, Hawkgirl and other Justice Society members were blasted by a magic spell from Ian Karkull that prolonged their youth. This stopped their aging until Zero Hour in 1994. Source: All-Star Squadron Annual #3 (June 1984, Writers Dann Thomas and Roy Thomas, Various Pencillers)

6. It has been said that the Thanagarian life span is three times as long as a human’s. A 100-year-old Thanagarian would look to be about 30 in Earth years. Source: The Shadow War of Hawkman #2 Letter Column (June 1985, Writer Tony Isabella)

7. Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths, Carter and Shiera Hall were retconned so that their careers extended from 1940 to 1986. So the Hawkman and Hawkgirl from 1961-1986 were never Thanagarians, but the Golden Age versions extending their careers. Source: Hawkworld Annual #1 (Oct. 1990, Writer John Ostrander, Penciller Gary Kwapisz)

8. Hawkworld’s Katar Hol’s father was Paran Katar. He traveled to Earth back in the ’30s to scout Earth for Thanagar. He met Carter Hall and showed him how to use the Nth metal, enabling Carter and Shiera to become Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Carter and Shiera introduced their co-worker, Naomi, to Paran and they were eventually married. Their son became Hawkworld‘s Hawkman in the ’80s. Source: Hawkworld Annual #1 (Oct. 1990, Writer John Ostrander, Penciller Gary Kwapisz)

9. When Hawkman was the Egyptian prince Khufu, he had two advisers: Teth-Adam and Nabu. Teth-Adam would become Black Adam and Nabu would become Doctor Fate. Source: JSA #20 (March 2001, Writers David Goyer and Geoff Johns, Penciller Stephen Sadowski)

10. It was revealed that Kendra Saunders had died in a suicide attempt and after flat-lining for 10 minutes, Shiera Hall (Kendra’s great aunt) took over her body. One of the oddest stories in the history of DC Comics. Source: JSA #22 (May 2001, Writers David Goyer and Geoff Johns, Pencillers Michael Bair/Rags Morales)

11. Hawkman was an ordained priest in a former life. He used his power to make holy water and defeat a group of vampires. Source: Hawkman #26 (May 2004, Writer Josh Siegal, Penciller John Byrne)

12. One of Hawkman’s previous lives was as an English knight in the 6th century. His name was Brian Kent — the Silent Knight. He is the ancestor of Jonathan Kent, the adoptive father of Clark Kent. Source: The Brave and the Bold #10 (April 2008, Writer Mark Waid, Penciller George Perez)

13. Hawkman and Hawkgirl share a grandson with Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor. Their son Hector Hall married Lyta Trevor and they had a son, Daniel. Daniel became the Dream, who recently appeared in Metal #1. Source: JSA #80 (Feb. 2006, Writer Keith Champagne, Penciller Don Kramer)

Author: Dan Greenfield

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4 Comments

    • That’s true! Wonder Woman, Superman, and now we’re finding out that Batman and the Wayne Family has some connection with Hawkman in the past as well!

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  1. I appreciate Dan’s comment but there are lots of Hawk fans on Hawkworld that are way bigger fans than me and much more knowledgeable! It’s a great group to learn everything about the greatest winged warriors in comics!

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  2. 12 Things I already knew about Hawkman, and 1 thing I have a vague recollection of but had mostly forgotten.

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