When Was Thanagar First Depicted As A Police State?

[Timothy Hunter]

In the first few adventures of the Katar Hol Hawkman in the pages of the Brave and the Bold, Thanagar was portrayed as a laid back, utopian society. However Swamp Thing 57-58, the Invasion miniseries, and Hawkworld portray Thanagarians as militaristic fascists.

When was this change brought about?

[Jim Kelly]

The way I remember it, Katar and Shayera came to the end of their extended stay on Earth (they were there to study police methods) and went back to Thanagar in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 109 (January-February 1974). However, as revealed in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 118 (May 1975) - 119 (June 1975), all of Thanagar was exposed to a virus called the Equalizing Plague. Hawkman and Hawkwoman returned to Earth from the infected Thanagar and were cured of the disease (that made everyone unexceptional--writer Elliot Maggin based the idea on a Kurt Vonnegut story), but Thanagar was a quarantined world and the Hawks could not return there.

As a result of this plague Thanagar regressed. In WORLD'S FINEST COMICS 272 (October 1981), Hyathis agreed to cure the Thanagarians, but only if they would make her their queen. She then led them in a war against Rann. The loss of their technology, the rule of Hyathis, the war, the overthrow of Hyathis, the military rule, anarchy and terrorism resulted in a police state. Fell Andar then launched his own war on Katar Hol in the four issue mini, THE SHADOW WAR OF HAWKMAN (1985).

[Dataweaver]

And when Hawkworld rebooted the franchise in the wake of the Crisis, it was made such that Thanagar had always been a police state.

[Ishmael]

The way I remember it, Katar and Shayera came to the end of their extended stay on Earth (they were there to study police methods) and went back to Thanagar in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 109 (January-February 1974). However, as revealed in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 118 (May 1975) - 119 (June 1975), all of Thanagar was exposed to a virus called the Equalizing Plague. Hawkman and Hawkwoman returned to Earth from the infected Thanagar and were cured of the disease (that made everyone unexceptional--writer Elliot Maggin based the idea on a Kurt Vonnegut story), but Thanagar was a quarantined world and the Hawks could not return there.

As a result of this plague Thanagar regressed. In WORLD'S FINEST COMICS 272 (October 1981), Hyathis agreed to cure the Thanagarians, but only if they would make her their queen. She then led them in a war against Rann. The loss of their technology, the rule of Hyathis, the war, the overthrow of Hyathis, the military rule, anarchy and terrorism resulted in a police state. Fell Andar then launched his own war on Katar Hol in the four issue mini, THE SHADOW WAR OF HAWKMAN (1985).

Wow - this is fascinating. I'd just read the JLA stories a few weeks ago but had no idea about what happened in World's Finest. I'm going to have to find that issue now.

[Jim Kelly]

Wow - this is fascinating. I'd just read the JLA stories a few weeks ago but had no idea about what happened in World's Finest. I'm going to have to find that issue now.

Actually, to be completist, this chapter in Hawkman's history is prefaced by his three issue try-out in SHOWCASE 101 - 103 (Hyathis makes an appearance there). Hawkman begins as a WORLD'S FINEST feature in issue 264. And Hyathis is in 272, 273 and 278.