Hawkman #5 (Spoilers)

[Hawkman]

I think I’ve said this about every issue so far, but best issue yet! The Titan and the Fury, together again!

First, a recap:

• Carter and Ray reunite in the Microverse in epic visual fashion (see below).
• After returning to Ray’s HQ, “The Nucleus,” they go over the details of Carter’s findings so far.
• The logistics of reincarnation over space and time are covered.
• Ray puts forth the hypothesis that Carter’s arrival means he had a life as a Microverse resident.
• They also conclude that the symbol on the back of the disk that brought Carter there is the atomic symbol for Nth Metal.
• Reasoning that Nth Metal is the key to stopping the “Deathbringers,” Ray searches for the largest deposit of the stuff in the Microverse.
• It leads them Moz-Ga, a sentient “planet” of the Microverse.
• Moz-Ga does not like trespassers, and lashes out at our two heroes.
• After a slightly impetuous opening move, Hawkman incurs Moz-Ga’s wrath, forcing our heroes to knuckle up and fight their way out.
• To be continued…

This was the most well balanced issue so far. A lot of exposition for sure, but I liked it. Served as something of a recap for everything that’s come so far.

It was also nice to get some formal explanation on the nature of Carter’s reincarnation ability, even if the one putting it forth—in this case, Ray—is somewhat sketchy on the details himself. And I thought Venditti used the opportunity to also showcase a more human side to Carter, something I know some readers have felt he’s thus far lacked.

On art, Hitch just keeps getting better and better. The splash-page featuring Hawkman and the Atom is poster-worthy, in my opinion. Seems like every issue has one truly great visual, and this is easily the one for me here. Also really liked his designs of “The Nucleus” and Moz-Ga, as well as his interpretation of the Microverse.

Finally, I’d be remiss without mentioning Hawman’s invocation of “Seven Hells!” Just awesome!

The issue hit on all the bases for me. Great to see the Titan and the Fury together again as friends, scientists, and superheroes. Glad it wasn’t limited to just one issue, too. I can’t wait to see more shenanigans shared between them next month.

Until then, I’ll leave you all with the above-mentioned epic piece of artistry:

[Clairaudient Freedom Soldier]

Venditti and Hitch are 5 for 5, another excellent issue! Hawkman is firmly established as a top 3 title across the DC/Marvel landscape. Wonderful work!

[DrNewGod]

It was good. But seriously, I think it worked too hard at tugging heart strings.

Still great to see The Atom again.

[Robotman]

Really fun issue. It had modern emotional depth but a lot of fun Silver Age craziness. I had really given up on Hitch after his Justice League run but he is knocking it out of the park with this book. Does he have a different inker? The splash page with Atom on Hawkman’s shoulder was awesome.

[Godlike13]

Nice to see someone for Hawkman to work off of.

[protege]

The more i read this book, the more confused i get. I thought they were supposed to make carter’s origin easier to understand, not more convoluted!

[scary harpy]

Venditti and Hitch are 5 for 5, another excellent issue! Hawkman is firmly established as a top 3 title across the DC/Marvel landscape. Wonderful work!

Really fun issue. It had modern emotional depth but a lot of fun Silver Age craziness. I had really given up on Hitch after his Justice League run but he is knocking it out of the park with this book. Does he have a different inker? The splash page with Atom on Hawkman’s shoulder was awesome.

Agreed. Fun from the first page to the last.

The more i read this book, the more confused i get. I thought they were supposed to make carter’s origin easier to understand, not more convoluted!

What do you understand?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I am still enjoying this series despite Carter himself still being a mystery to me. Perhaps that's the point. Carter is a cypher this time, gradually being fleshed out by his past lives.

However, from a practical standpoint, this still leaves me a bit unsatisfied. Five issues in and I don't really have any solid idea how I would describe him aside from 'superhero with wings'

I suspect Vendetti is falling into the same trap he did with Hal Jordan & The GLCorps, in which the characters were thinly stretched and spectacle was the main draw.

[DrNewGod]

Okay. Read it again.

The whole Reincarnation Can Be Simultaneous Since Time Only Looks Linear thing makes my head hurt, but it's probably the cleanest answer that anybody could possibly make out of the mess that is Hawkman's history in a continuity where Everything Happened. It actually makes interplanetary reincarnation sound reasonable in comparison.

There's still a problem: Hawkman is a viewpoint rather than a character. They tried to overcome that with a Nostalgia Sledgehammer of Buddy Moments. I'd have found that easier to buy from Katar Hol than Carter Hall.

All that said, anything that brings The Atom back can't be too bad.

On the other hand, there was a meta-textual laugh line that just hit me wrong: "We're way past crooks and bank robbers now...". Maybe we don't need it to be that simplistic. In fact, maybe we need comics to give us a look at the difference between Crime and Evil these days that Action Comics gave us back in 1938.

But, to be less heavy, not a bad issue.

[Flash Gordon]

I love seeing Hawkman and the Atom together.

[The Odd Man]

My current favourite title.

[caj]

The DC January solicitations show Shayera Hol showing up in Justice League #15 and #16. Hopefully, she eventually will show up in this book as well.