Are You A Fan Of Hawkman's New Origin?

[C_Miller]

I don't really care for it in theory, but I'm enjoying the ride. It's a very well written book. Probably my favorite being released right now.

[Flash Gordon]

By the way, here are some of the numbers for this series based on orders placed by comic book shops with Diamond:

* Dec. 2018 = 96th - HAWKMAN #7 - 20,625 copies
* Nov. 2018 = 97th - HAWKMAN #6 - 21,818 copies
* Oct. 2018 = 84th - HAWKMAN #5 - 30,171 copies
* Sep. 2018 = 91st - HAWKMAN #4 - 24,687 copies
* Aug. 2018 = 90th - HAWKMAN #3 - 27,331 copies
* July 2018 = 56th - HAWKMAN #2 - 30,781 copies
* June 2018 = 33rd - HAWKMAN #1 - 42,123 copies

NOTE: Hawkman #5 in October had the special foil cover.

Oh dang, looks like those adventures aren't going to make it out the gate this time.

[Flash Gordon]

I like the idea that Hawkman & Hawkgirl are reincarnating across time and space, but the whole Deathbringer reveal was...fine. I thought Johns idea of basing the characters on a doomed love affair across history was more interesting than a redemptive arc for Hawkman and whatever it is they’re doing with Hawkgirl.

Either way, it doesn’t much change my feelings about the character in that he has a dynamite visual and not much else of interest to me.

What exactly is going on with Hawkgirl? I picked up the recent Justice League issues (Mera was on the cover, but not in the story...scam), and there's 2 Hawkgirls?

[Rod G]

Honestly, as someone who's always preferred the Thanagarian origin over the Egyptian one, I actually really like this new one.

You don’t say . . .

[CaptCleghorn]

Oh, no...is DC tinkering with Hawkman's origins AGAIN? Hasn't DC learned anything?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Again is the wrong word to use here. It implies DC actually stopped at some point and restarted. the word you should be using is STILL. As in Is DC STILL tinkering with Hawkman's origins?

[AdamFTF]

[Sigh]

If anyone asks me to explain Hawkman, I'm still just going to say he's a police officer from the planet Thanagar who came to Earth to study our police methods.

The Silver Age Hawkman is pretty much the only one I like anyway.

[married guy]

I thought Geoff Johns did a BRILLIANT job of taking every version of Hawkman and making him viable.
The reincarnation angle with Hawkgirl WORKED.
It was a good read with great artwork..... and then the curse hit again.

I honestly believe DC LIKE Hawkman as an undecipherable mess.
Where's Zuriel anyway?......

[lemonpeace]

Not a fan of Hawkman in general so my opinion doesn't hold much weight but i dig the new origin. It seems like a nice culmination of all his origins. He was a space dude, did some bad ****, wants to atone, gets reincarnated across space and time; cool. It doesn't mess with any of his other origins and it gives him a new starting point to work with. Also, I never cared for the whole bound lovers angle, I'm not a fan of them lumping the two [Hawkgirl and Hawkman] together that intrinsically, but maybe that's just because i grew up on JLU so i always saw Hawkgirl as her own character rather than a matching set. While they are definitely still connected (have they revealed the deal with the Shayera looking lady in his first life?) this origin leaves more room for agency, which i appreciate.

[DrNewGod]

It's no worse than anything else attempted since they tried reconciling Hawkworld into what went before without thinking it thru 20+ years ago. Its major flaw (IMO) is that it immunizes Hawkman from consequences.

Solomon Grundy rips Carter Hall in half? No sweat. Contemporarily reincarnated Hatar Kol is already en route to Earth from some never-before-mentioned Thanagarian colony planet.

Matter Master drops a mountain on Hatar Kol? Fine. Contemporarily reincarnated Halston Carter suddenly recalls his destiny.

Hath-Set backstabs Halston Carter? Cue Koltar Hal of Rann, and so forth, and so on, ad nauseum.

My issue with the approach is the same one I have with Green Lantern. Making Being Hawkman a gimmick makes Being Hawkman meaningless. He becomes a mere passenger, rather than a pilot of his journey. (IMO) That's something Johns didn't think all the way thru before making The Hawks all about reincarnation.

Still, as I said, it's no worse than any other attempt to fix the mess made in 1986 that no one cared about until it was too late.

My real issue is that this series is Max Plot and Min Character. He's a cypher moving thru challenges in a video game, rather than a character (supporting cast included) moving thru a story. There's good stuff here, for sure, but it doesn't make my (admittedly meaningless) list of Hawkman's Best.

[Vordan]

I like it a lot. It lets us have Carter and Katar at the same time, as well as Shayera and Kendra. The new origin is cool and I really am loving Venditti’s run so far.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

What exactly is going on with Hawkgirl? I picked up the recent Justice League issues (Mera was on the cover, but not in the story...scam), and there's 2 Hawkgirls?

Yes, Snyder's explained the reasons for the Hawkgirl/Hawkwoman split as part of his overarching Perpetua storyline. Aparently, her soul was split in order to disrupt the resurrection cycle because she posed a threat to the big bad. Presumably, this is why the Khufu/Chay-Ara Hawks were co-existing with the Thanagarian Hawks and why Katar & Shayera's histories were rebooted with Hawkworld.

If I had to guess, Perpetua was behind the Deathbringers and the proto-Shayera that Ktar kept seeing was trying to get him to rise up against her.

[mmurphy1968]

Well, this new origin is better than some Hawkman has had. To be honest, Geoff Johns did a great job fixing the character's back story but couldn't just let it stand.

[bat39]

I personally loved it! If they were going to go down the route of giving Hawkman a new origin, then this is probably the best possible one they could have. It respects the original Egyptian reincarnation origin, while also paying a tip off the hat to the Thanagarian origin.

In general, I love what Venditti has done with the character and his mythos. He's taken Hawkman's convoluted and complex backstory and turned it into a strength. The idea of making Carter and Katar the same person reincarnated is one I've long had, so I'm glad to see it being made official. And some of the new incarnations are pretty interesting too. I loved seeing Carter interact with Catar Ol, the Kryptonian incarnation, and I look forward to potentially seeing Karan Thul, the Ranian incarnation, soon.

There are a few things I am curious about though. Venditti implied in a recent interview that Hawkman reincarnating across time and space also means reincarnating across the Multiverse. By that logic, does it mean that the various different versions of Carter Hall and Katar Hol across different continuities are the same version reincarnated? One of the Hawkman issues had a 'Get Carter' section which lists all the major Hawkman reincarnations. Along with lives with Khufu and Nighthawk, the Silver Age Thanagarian cop Katar Hol is listed separately from Hawkworld Katar Hol, and the current Carter Hall is listed separately from the Golden Age Carter Hall?

If this is the case, then does this mean that potentially, in the context of the current story-arc, Carter could be whisked back to the Silver Age to meet the Katar Hol who served on the JLA alongside the Silver Age Superman? Or that he could be whisked away to the DCAU to meet the animated Carter Hall who was stalking the Justice League founder Shayera Hol? And what does this mean for the larger DC Rebirth story involving the mystery behind the JSA? Can current Carter potentially remember the JSA from a previous life?

The possibilities are truly endless...

[CentralPower]

The new origin is kind of stupid. More pointless baggage and asterisks. But, Hawkman is more or less defined by baggage and asterisks at this point. I would probably view it more charitably if DC seemed to have any editorial discipline otherwise.

[protege]

So if katar was reincarnated throughout history to kill as many deathbringers as he could, just how far along is he in his mission by now? Because he’s had five or six books, snd this is the first i’ve heard of them.