Hawkman #1 (Spoilers)

[MajorHoy]

Haven't been to a comic book shop yet to look this over; still on the fence about trying it.

Just finished reading it. Really solid start. I think it checks off all of the boxes that Hawkman fans have been longing for for a long time now, . . .

Any mention of the JSA in this issue?

. . . * Finally--and this is the big one, I think--his past lives, both those of fictional character Carter Hall of that of comic book character Hawkman, are all being folded in to one, it looks like.

On that last one: in other words, Carter and Katar are one in the same, the former's past lives spanning not just time, as the book itself reads, but also space. And how this cycle began and the impending doom it seems to spell for Earth is going to be the thrust of this first arc apparently . . .

Not sure I'm thrilled with this concept; despite the overblown multiple reincarnations bit that got thrown in during the +/-1990s or so, I prefer a Carter Hall Hawkman who's more "down to Earth", not one who's also been Katar Hol and other characters from other planets.

[Hawkman]

Haven't been to a comic book shop yet to look this over; still on the fence about trying it.
Any mention of the JSA in this issue?

No, but I get the impression DC are keeping their writers away from the JSA until they're ready to nail down how the JSA will refit within this universe. We see a glimpse of the Golden Age Hawkman in the issue, though, so I've no doubt he'll be tied in with the team again when the time comes.

Not sure I'm thrilled with this concept; despite the overblown multiple reincarnations bit that got thrown in during the +/-1990s or so, I prefer a Carter Hall Hawkman who's more "down to Earth", not one who's also been Katar Hol and other characters from other planets.

I understand your concern, but compared to the alternative of just trying to shoehorn Carter into Katar's historical place in the DC Universe, I believe this is a (potentially) better alternative. Stuff like Carter butting heads with Ollie or being friends with Adam Strange and Ray Palmer never felt right to me. Giving him those memories of Katar's, though, is a more acceptable workaround, I think, than Carter always having been the guy Katar's friends and allies chummed around with.

As far as Carter being "down-to-Earth," he definitely comes across that way in this premiere issue. My interpretation is that Carter will have access to Katar's (and every other Hawkman's) memories, but they won't necessarily influence his personality, or at least not overtly so, anyway. But that's just a guess from me at this point, so take it as you will.

[Jody Garland]

Very thorough and well-done.

One correction: the knight at the top is The Silent Knight, a different Arthurian Adventure character that didn't come along until 1955, and (as far as I know) who never made a trip to our time. I think it was for that reason that he was retconned into the story when it turned out The Golden Age Hawks had more than one reincarnated lives apiece.

You're 100%, of course. Just a stupid mistake on my part.

[Hawkman]

Can someone please identify all the Hawkman variants/incarnations on that awesome spread?!?

Jody already covered it, with the very minor mistake of listing the Shining Knight instead of the Silent Knight (I'm guessing this was just a mental hiccup).

Only one I'd add to Jody's comprehensive list is the Dragon of the Forge, which Carter appeared as during Dark Nights: Metal. He's pictured as such on the far right side of the page.

[MajorHoy]

. . . We see a glimpse of the Golden Age Hawkman in the issue, though, so I've no doubt he'll be tied in with the team again when the time comes.

There's really no guarantee of that; since we're actually having the Khufu/Carter Hall version of Hawkman NOW, who was the only member who appeared in every JSA story in All Star Comics during the Golden Age and was chairman of the JSA when they were at the HUAC hearing in the 1950s in past stories, there's no guarantee that just because he's back there'll be any definite connection to the "JSA" if/when a form of that team actually "returns" some day.

[DrNewGod]

You're 100%, of course. Just a stupid mistake on my part.

Please don't say you were stupid. That means I don't get to feel smart for noticing it.

[FIFTY-TWO (52)]

“A hundred more deaths”?

I knew Carter Hall was the Kenny McCormick of the DCU.

All we need now is to fridge Kendra if she hasn’t been fridged already.

I’ll pass on this title.

I think Kendra's doing okay over in Justice League.

[Kevin Street]

...Presumably, this means that he's also had at least two reincarnations that co-existed at the same time, which now appears to be the case with Carter Hall and Katar Hol.

Y'know, if this is the case I'm completely fine with it.

Overall I liked this comic. It had a giant flying gorilla golem from a lost civilization, and the first version of Hawkman since the beginning of the New 52 that feels right. Good job, Venditti and Hitch.

[Rod G]

I think Kendra's doing okay over in Justice League.

Not for long.

[andersonh1]

I thought there was a nice Golden Age vibe to this issue with Carter overseas and diving into the remnants of a lost kingdom. And the giant stone gorilla golem was a wonderfully bizarre opponent. Carter getting some air from the nautilus showed him thinking on his feet, and I appreciate that he doesn't seem nearly as bloodthirsty as he did in the Geoff Johns series. I'm not sure what to think of the "reincarnated in time and space" idea, but we'll see how it plays out.

[DrNewGod]

...I'm not sure what to think of the "reincarnated in time and space" idea, but we'll see how it plays out.

Agreed. But if I wasn't perfectly happy with that solution to the various Hawk incarnations, it's by far the least messy we've seen since Hawkworld. The trick will be not overdoing it.

[MajorHoy]

Agreed. But if I wasn't perfectly happy with that solution to the various Hawk incarnations, it's by far the least messy we've seen since Hawkworld. The trick will be not overdoing it.

Again, NOT HAVING READ THIS YET, I still question the interplanetary resurrections and whether there was a need to bring back a Khufu/Katar Hol merging.
By the way, when they use "reincarnated" for Hawkman now, is he just always brought back as an adult without being first reborn as an infant each time?

[Koriand'r]

I read it and enjoyed it a lot. I just want to know how Hawk from Hawk and Dove connects to Hawkman?

[DrNewGod]

I read it and enjoyed it a lot. I just want to know how Hawk from Hawk and Dove connects to Hawkman?

Oh sweet mother of mercy, let's hope nobody else thinks of that one to further complicate things.

As far as I know, The Hawk and The Dove got respectively connected to The Lords of Chaos and Order somewhere in the 1980s and have, mercifully, remained clear of the Hawkman's backstory. It was probably a mistake for the editors to let Ditko name them "Hall".

[Koriand'r]

Oh sweet mother of mercy, let's hope nobody else thinks of that one to further complicate things.

As far as I know, The Hawk and The Dove got respectively connected to The Lords of Chaos and Order somewhere in the 1980s and have, mercifully, remained clear of the Hawkman's backstory. It was probably a mistake for the editors to let Ditko name them "Hall".

HAWKMAN 5.jpg

I'm sorry, that's not Hawk in the bottom left corner?