Whats your preferred Hawkman origin?

[Psy-lock]

Carter's origin is more unique, but Katar has far better stories. Venditti was on the right track: they work best as different reincarnations of the same person.

[Zero Hunter]

I have never liked the Karter Hol version. To me it was the laziest of all the silver age reintroductions. With all the other silver age revamps they took time to make the characters different in look and name. Green Lantern, Flash, and Atom are different in every wsy from the Golden age version. With Hackman and Hawkgirl they just made them from space. Almost the exact same look and just a weird spelling of the same name. It was lazy.

If you look the only version that has ever really had legs and the one most writers keep coming back to is the Carter Hall version. They try Karter over and over because some writers just love Hawkworld, but at the end of the day that is just not the version most readers want.

[Captain Nostalgia]

Carter's origin is more unique, but Katar has far better stories. Venditti was on the right track: they work best as different reincarnations of the same person.

I like how Venditti merged the two origins as well. That would be my preference but....

I think the reincarnated Egyptian archeologist works better for his rogues gallery, Hath Set, & Gentlemen Jim who have a spiritual element to them.

[kingaliencracker]

I have never liked the Karter Hol version. To me it was the laziest of all the silver age reintroductions. With all the other silver age revamps they took time to make the characters different in look and name. Green Lantern, Flash, and Atom are different in every wsy from the Golden age version. With Hackman and Hawkgirl they just made them from space. Almost the exact same look and just a weird spelling of the same name. It was lazy.

If you look the only version that has ever really had legs and the one most writers keep coming back to is the Carter Hall version. They try Karter over and over because some writers just love Hawkworld, but at the end of the day that is just not the version most readers want.

Eh, I don't really buy this take. An alien policeman escaping to Earth from a Fascist government is infinitely more interesting to me than a reincarnated Egyptian prince.

Further, the Katar Hol version of Hawkman endured for years until a stupid editorial decision screwed him up. It had nothing to do with the character himself. Hawkman is never going to be a top-tier character, whether he's Carter Hall or Katar Hol. But Katar was the Hawkman known to the majority of fans growing up, especially since he was the one appearing in most animated adaptations.

Also, writers weren't continuing to go back to Carter Hall. The only time they went back to Carter Hall as the primary Hawkman in the DCU was when Geoff Johns made it that way. That itself only lasted about a decade before Katar was brought back.

And yes, Hawkworld is an amazing story. One of the best DC's produced. So it makes sense that they wouldn't want to pretend it doesn't exist.

[Robotman]

Definitely the Geoff Johns’ Hawkman origin. A good way to combine all the complicated history.

[Psy-lock]

I have never liked the Karter Hol version. To me it was the laziest of all the silver age reintroductions. With all the other silver age revamps they took time to make the characters different in look and name. Green Lantern, Flash, and Atom are different in every wsy from the Golden age version. With Hackman and Hawkgirl they just made them from space. Almost the exact same look and just a weird spelling of the same name. It was lazy.

If you look the only version that has ever really had legs and the one most writers keep coming back to is the Carter Hall version. They try Karter over and over because some writers just love Hawkworld, but at the end of the day that is just not the version most readers want.

No one really "came back" to the Carter Hall version though. Not completely. When Johns brought him back it was literally a merge of Carter and Katar.

[John Venus]

I have never liked the Karter Hol version. To me it was the laziest of all the silver age reintroductions. With all the other silver age revamps they took time to make the characters different in look and name. Green Lantern, Flash, and Atom are different in every wsy from the Golden age version. With Hackman and Hawkgirl they just made them from space. Almost the exact same look and just a weird spelling of the same name. It was lazy.

If you look the only version that has ever really had legs and the one most writers keep coming back to is the Carter Hall version. They try Karter over and over because some writers just love Hawkworld, but at the end of the day that is just not the version most readers want.

I have to disagree. Even before COIE there were stories like Shadow War of Hawkman and subsequent ongoing that showed how awesome Katara and Shayera were. They also got to shine a few times in the Satellite era JLA as members. That's before getting into the early Post Crisis Hawkman stuff like Hawkworld and also the JLU cartoon which made Hawkgirl a fan favorite of many and showed just how awesome visually, a race of hawk themed aliens could be.

[HsssH]

Hawkworld, no contest.

Yeah, having them be alternate universe counterparts was the simplest solution, but it doesn't really work post-COIE where there's only been one main universe that we follow and the JSA and the JLA exist in one timeline. They kinda have to be the same guy since its confusing and unlikely to have two pairs of superhero couples with the exact same names and looks.

That was true till Infinite Crisis. There is no reason why today reincarnation plot is still being pushed into Earth-1 continuity.

[John Venus]

I like both. Though I mainly prefer the alien Hawkman. As another poster said, Carter is more unique but Katar and Shayera have better stories under their belt.

There is a lot of great world building opportunities with Thanagar. JLU did right by pairing John Stewart and Shayera as they come from two distinct flavors of sci fi. GLC is more Star Trek utopian while Thanagar is more Star Wars with it's combination of science, mystic and ancient imagery.

Ultimately, I prefer if the reincarnation Hawks and the alien Hawks were treated as two separate entities. I think tying them together takes away from the alien Hawks. One of the unique aspects of Thanagar from Hawkworld is the massive class differences with Carter coming from a rich upper caste who literally live in the sky and Shayera coming from the dirt, poor, barely considered 'human' sub class and their partnership itself being controversial. I would like to see that aspect explored more.

The old Post Crisis comics suggested that Katar's father visited earth when he was young and the JSA were active which explains the similarity in names. I don't mind the Thanagarian ship crash landing on earth and that playing a part in their reincarnation cycle. That's enough Thanagarian connection for the reincarnation Hawks for me. I don't need Katara and Shayera being a part of it as well.

[married guy]

Definitely the Geoff Johns’ Hawkman origin. A good way to combine all the complicated history.

This is my preference as well.
I thought it was a masterstroke, yet DC seems intent to continue to want to make Hawkman a continuity nightmare.

[Factor]

I like the reincarnation angle, but I think Venditti made it more confusing by adding the “across time” thing.
I really dislike that current Hawkwoman and Hawkgirl are supposed to be the same person reincarnated two times in the same age, especially considering one of them is from a previous incarnation’s family.

What I would do:
1) Keep the reincarnation angle, but limit it to Carter/Katar and Shayera/Shiera. Remove Kendra from that whole narrative.
2) So the Hawks from the JSA are reincarnations of the original Egyptian couple. They eventually died and were reborn as the Thanagarian cops who came to Earth and later joined the League.
3) Now they have gained back *some* memories from their Golden Age adventures and have reunited with the JSA.
4) Meanwhile, Kendra Saunders would be a legacy character inspired by the Golden Age Hawkgirl. She would have decided to honor her family’s legacy before even meeting the current incarnations of the Hawks. I’d ignore the romance with Hawkman.

[AdamFTF]

I have never liked the Karter Hol version. To me it was the laziest of all the silver age reintroductions. With all the other silver age revamps they took time to make the characters different in look and name. Green Lantern, Flash, and Atom are different in every wsy from the Golden age version. With Hackman and Hawkgirl they just made them from space. Almost the exact same look and just a weird spelling of the same name. It was lazy.

If you look the only version that has ever really had legs and the one most writers keep coming back to is the Carter Hall version. They try Karter over and over because some writers just love Hawkworld, but at the end of the day that is just not the version most readers want.

That may have something to do with the fact that Hawkman was one of the rare occasions when the creator of the Golden Age version and the Silver Age version were the same guy. In this case, Gardner Fox. Fox probably felt a bit attached to his original version and did his best to preserve that version while still adhering to DC's swing towards science fiction over mysticism.

Personally, I like the Silver Age version. But the first version of Hawkman I could really get into was the one I read about in the Showcase Presents books.

[Frontier]

Egyptian reincarnation with ties to Thanagar.

[Refrax5]

Hawkworld, no contest.



That was true till Infinite Crisis. There is no reason why today reincarnation plot is still being pushed into Earth-1 continuity.

Not really, since there's never been a return to the classic Earth Two and DC hasn't used its multiverse in any consistent way since then. Even after Infinite Crisis, it's still a world that has both the E1 and E2 characters in one universe. IC brought back some version of the multiverse, but it didn't radically change the main DCU.

[bat39]

Honestly, I think in terms of what's actually been published in the comics, Venditti had the right idea in making them all the same person.

That said, in general, I kinda like a mix of both versions. Funnily enough I prefer Hawkgirl to skew closer to the Thanagarian version (maybe because I grew up watching the JL cartoon), while for Hawkman I prefer the reincarnation/Ancient Egypt angle.

My ideal origin, if I were ever doing a Hawkman adaptation or retelling would go something like this - Carter Hall is a renowned archeologist who discovers a crashed Thanagarian spaceship buried under the pyramid of Prince Khufu. The Absorbascon gives him knowledge of Thanagar and some vague idea of how Thanagarian explorers crashed on earth during Ancient Egyptian times. It also alters his own DNA and physiology and gives him some Thanagarian characteristics. With the help of these, he's able to use the Nth metal, the harness and the other weapons on the ship to become Hawkman. Sometime later, he meets one ''Kendra Saunders'' who is actually a deep-cover modern-day Thanagarian spy named Shayera Hol who eventually teams up with him as Hawkgirl. And down the line I'd throw in hints that maybe Carter and Kendra/Shayera are both reincarnations of the Thanagarians who originally crashed on earth and/or they're the reincarnations of Khufu and Chay-Ara who met the aliens (or possibly were the aliens). I'd keep it ambiguous.