Hawkwoman Appreciation

[The_Greatest_Username]

DC Forum Appreciation Thread rules:

1) No negative comments about the honoree of this thread. It's an appreciation thread, not a non-appreciation one.

2) No negative discussion about any competitors of the honoree of this thread (i.e. John Stewart in the Hal Jordan thread). No ifs, ands, or buts. Find another non-appreciation thread to do that, just not here.

3) No negative comments about other versions of the character. For example, if you like the DCU version of Cyborg, but hate the DCnU version (or visa versa), just appreciate the earlier version and keep your comments about the latter to yourself.

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The last CBR needed one of these, so what better time to start one than now!
This thread is for the appreciation of Hawkwoman (Shayera Thal-Hol) known sometimes as Hawkgirl.



As of lately, she hasn't been seen since her supposed death in Savage Hawkman, but there have been some indications that we will see her again.

[Hawkman]

Love Shayera. Pretty much any interpretation of her, too. That said, I'll never figure out why Hawkworld Shayera was so utterly wasted by DC.



What a great reinvention of the character. As strong as she'd ever been portrayed as being, and completely detached of any similar-themed character with the word "man" in his name. Animated Shayera is obviously the most recognizable interpretation of Hawkgirl ever, and yet DC chose to kill her comic book counterpart off amidst the height of her popularity. Not that Kendra wasn't great, too; she was. I just didn't understand the methodology involved with Shayera's death.

Anyhoo, like you, Mr. Mermaid, I'm also hoping Shayera is re-reintroduced to The New 52 soon. She went out on somewhat of a high note, but bringing her into the universe to ultimately kill her off a handful of issues later seems like another huge waste of the character. And for the love of Kalmoran, could we please do something about that hair color?



Look, I'm all for diversity, but changing the color of Shayera's locks is a travesty. I mean, really? A blonde? And I'm a blonde myself, so I can say that.

[Aliltron]

Oh thank you for making this thread! Yes you're right they needed a Hawkwoman/Hawkgirl thread

[The_Greatest_Username]

Hawkman, where did you get that first picture? I've never seen it before. I like that her top resembles Hawkman's harness--it could be used as inspiration for a new costume if she returns anytime soon.

Oh thank you for making this thread! Yes you're right they needed a Hawkwoman/Hawkgirl thread

The appropriate time presented itself.

Love Shayera. Pretty much any interpretation of her, too. That said, I'll never figure out why Hawkworld Shayera was so utterly wasted by DC.

What a great reinvention of the character. As strong as she'd ever been portrayed as being, and completely detached of any similar-themed character with the word "man" in his name. Animated Shayera is obviously the most recognizable interpretation of Hawkgirl ever, and yet DC chose to kill her comic book counterpart off amidst the height of her popularity. Not that Kendra wasn't great, too; she was. I just didn't understand the methodology involved with Shayera's death.

I'll never understand that either. She had a pretty cool direction taking Byth off to Thanagar that could have been used for a miniseries or something. They had the perfect opportunity to cash in on the success of the animated version, but opt to kill her off to promote Kendra (this is my assumption). I believe I've even said on your blog that my biggest problem with Kendra is her stifling Shayera's potential. That being said, I'm glad they have Hawkgirl on Earth-2 for fans to enjoy.

Anyhoo, like you, Mr. Mermaid, I'm also hoping Shayera is re-reintroduced to The New 52 soon. She went out on somewhat of a high note, but bringing her into the universe to ultimately kill her off a handful of issues later seems like another huge waste of the character. And for the love of Kalmoran, could we please do something about that hair color?

Look, I'm all for diversity, but changing the color of Shayera's locks is a travesty. I mean, really? A blonde? And I'm a blonde myself, so I can say that.

I'm going to continue keeping my hopes up for Jeff Lemire bringing her back, but if nothing else I'm glad he's going to promote Hawkman in general.

And yes, they've got to do something about that hair. Wasn't she a redhead in Savage Hawkman #9? There was no reason for her to go blonde. She must've stumbled into some bad lighting throughout that arc.

[Cape and Cowl]

Here's a piece that grabs me every time I look at it.

[Hawkman]

Hawkman, where did you get that first picture? I've never seen it before. I like that her top resembles Hawkman's harness--it could be used as inspiration for a new costume if she returns anytime soon.

It's by an illustrator by the name of Tim Switalski. I found it through a Google search a couple of months ago when I was looking for some pictures for my "Picture of the Week" feature on my blog. And I agree: it really is a striking interpretation of the character.

And yes, they've got to do something about that hair. Wasn't she a redhead in Savage Hawkman #9? There was no reason for her to go blonde. She must've stumbled into some bad lighting throughout that arc.

Yep, she was definitely a red-head when she first popped up.



Did an article about in on my blog early last year, in fact.

I think DC must've suggested the hair color be changed to further differentiate her from Kendra over in Earth 2. As if the hair alone was going to be a cause of confusion, but that's honestly the best I can come up with.

[The_Greatest_Username]

Here's some image dumping in the name of appreciation.





By the way, what did everyone think of Shayera's (and Katar's for that matter) in the Young Justice series?
I thought it was an interesting take on the character and a bit more feminine than some of her looks. I wish we would've seen more of her on the show before it got cancelled.

Here's a piece that grabs me every time I look at it.

The Hawks always make for a nice visual.

I think DC must've suggested the hair color be changed to further differentiate her from Kendra over in Earth 2. As if the hair alone was going to be a cause of confusion, but that's honestly the best I can come up with.

I'm sure having a different [apparent] race and colored costume isn't enough to differentiate female characters these days. I mean, there seems to be little confusion over the 4 dark haired, white male Robins, but whatever.
Let's just hope DC gets it together sometime soon with Shayera.

[dupersuper]

[John Venus]

Hawkgirl was my second favorite JLU member. Batman is of course #1.

Maria Canals did an amazing job. I love the screams she did whenever Hawkgirl went into her rampage mode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLv8ceDcfXk

http://youtu.be/BLv8ceDcfXk

[John Venus]

I love this scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak533nC6tb8

There is no action but the dialogue is really well done. It's something Mr. Dwayne McDuffie always excelled at. Given that he wrote the majority of the JLU episodes including the ones that carried John and Shayera's story arc, I think he deserves some recognition for his contribution to the character.

[The_Greatest_Username]

I love this scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak533nC6tb8

There is no action but the dialogue is really well done. It's something Mr. Dwayne McDuffie always excelled at. Given that he wrote the majority of the JLU episodes including the ones that carried John and Shayera's story arc, I think he deserves some recognition for his contribution to the character.

I can certainly agree with that. I just wish Shayera hadn't been shipped off into space and killed off, then we might have been able to see McDuffie write her in his Justice League run.

[John Venus]

I can certainly agree with that. I just wish Shayera hadn't been shipped off into space and killed off, then we might have been able to see McDuffie write her in his Justice League run.

Agreed. It's sad that McDuffie's run was riddled with editorial interference. I recall reading some interesting ideas he had for Kendra that never came to fruition due to the constant change of plans and interference.

DC did try to push Hawkgirl during the height of JLU's popularity but I think it was a mistake to push Kendra instead of Shayera during that time because anyone picking up a comic would have been confused because of how different Kendra and Shayera are.

[John Venus]

By the way, what did everyone think of Shayera's (and Katar's for that matter) in the Young Justice series?
I thought it was an interesting take on the character and a bit more feminine than some of her looks. I wish we would've seen more of her on the show before it got cancelled.

The Hawks always make for a nice visual.

Agreed about the Hawks having a strong visual element.

Not sure about her YJ look: her wings, helmet and top looks awesome but the bottom half doesn't go with the every thing else. Why would a flying heroine wear a skirt? Supergirl is the only exception to this rule especially when she is shown to be wearing biker shorts underneath whenever Jamal Igle draws her.

The YJ look is actually a great look. Just get rid of the skirt and draw something that goes better with the top half of her costume.

[The_Greatest_Username]

I've added a poll. Also, could a mod please close the parentheses around Princess Shayera.

[Hawkman]

Voted pre-Crisis Shayera. I really adored Hawkworld Shayera, too, though. I actually consider her closer to the animated incarnation than any other, costume notwithstanding.