Superhero Origins: Hawkgirl

There are certain birds you don't want to mess with – and she's one of them. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we will explore the comic book origin of Hawkgirl. As with most comic book characters, there are often re-imaginations and different versions to a character’s past. We have chosen primarily to follow the storyline which unfolded in 1940's Flash Comics #1 and 1941's All-Star Comics #5 and which was expanded upon in 1961's The Brave & the Bold #34 and 2012's Earth 2 #4 and 5. There have been a number of characters in the DC universe who have taken the name Hawkgirl. The first was a woman named Shiera Sanders, introduced in the first issue of Flash Comics. In this story, wealthy collector Carter Hall discovered that he was the reincarnation of ancient Egyptian Prince Khufu. While examining an Egyptian dagger, Hall fell into a trance where he was shown the details of his past life. In ancient Egypt, Prince Khufu and his love, a beauty named Shiera, were put to death by the evil priest named Hath-Set as a sacrifice to Anubis, the god of death. After emerging from his trance, Hall took a walk to clear his and head quickly ran into a woman he recognized to be the reincarnation of Shiera – who was also, as luck would have it, also named Shiera. However, soon the reincartion of Hath-Set, a man named Hastor, kidnapped Shiera in the hopes of sacrificing her to Anubis once again. Using his collection of Egyptian artifacts, Hall became the winged Hawkman. Because much of his costume was composed of items forged in “ninth metal”, Hawkman could defy the laws of gravity and fly like a hawk. Using these new powers, he defeated Hastor and saved Shiera. After her rescue, Shiera didn’t immediately take on the identity of Hawkgirl. That happened in 1941, when Hawkman suggested she wear a hawk costume of her own. The appearance of a second hawk-costumed hero would apparently confuse a villain who was currently out to get Hawkman. The ruse worked, and eventually Shiera joined Hawkman as his regular crime fighting partner. When the Golden Age of comics came to an end, Hawkman and Hawkgirl faded from view. But DC revived the characters in 1961, albeit with changes. The new heroes were actually Katar and Shayera Hol, husband-and-wife police officers from the planet Thanagar. They came to Earth hunting a dangerous criminal named Byth, who had the power to metamorphose into any creature. Katar and Shayera assumed the guise of museum directors in Midway City while they hunted down Byth. Their Thanagarian police uniforms featured wings and antigravity belts that enabled them to fly. Armed with weapons from the Midway museum and an ability to communicate with birds, they chased the shapeshifting criminal. Byth was confident that he would defeat them when he became a Brontadon, a Thanagarian creature that no one had ever been able to defeat. However, using the weapons they took from the museum, the winged duo eventually succeeded in capturing their prey. Mission accomplished, the couple then elected to stay on earth to study our police methods. Over time, Hawkgirl changed her name to Hawkwoman, a sensible move. Less sensible were some of the changes that DC put the character through, revamping her origin several times. Sometimes she was the reincarnation of Hawkman's long lost love, sometimes she was Thanagarian – and not always friendly. Finally, she and Hawkman were reunited for a long life together – just in time for DC’s New 52 to shake things up again. The New 52 version of Hawkgirl appeared in 2012. Named Kendra Saunders, this Hawkgirl was an earthling who was recruited to be a member of the World Army. However, she had ideas of her own and left the World Army to use her skills and powers as an independent force for justice. Various versions of Hawkgirl have made the transition to the small screen as part of the DC Animated Universe. Whether appearing together with Hawkman or independently on her own, Hawkgirl's determination and talents make her a formidable bird of prey feared by criminals. Are you a fan of Hawkgirl? For more comic book origins, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.