Hawkman volume 4: Rise of the Golden Eagle


By Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, Joe Bennett & various (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-4012-1092-2

After an intense and impressive run of savage sagas (not all of which have been collected in graphic novels yet – and yes, that’s a hint…) Hawkman was eased out of his own book as a result of the impending Infinite Crisis company crossover event and – presumably – less than stellar sales…

Despite being amongst DC’s most popular and visually striking characters, Hawkman and Hawkwoman always struggled to find enough of an audience to sustain their numerous solo titles. From the very beginning as second feature in the Golden Age Flash comics they battled through many excellent yet always short-lived reconfigurations. From ancient heroes to space-cops and (post-Crisis on Infinite Earths) Thanagarian freedom fighters, they never quite hit the big time they deserved…

Created by Gardner Fox and Dennis Neville, Hawkman premiered in Flash Comics #1 (January 1940) with ultimately Sheldon Moldoff and Joe Kubert carrying on the strip’s illustration, whilst a young Robert Kanigher cut his teeth as writer on the late run of the strip. Carter Hall was a playboy archaeologist whose dormant memory was unlocked by a crystal dagger. He realised that once he was Prince Khufu of ancient Egypt, murdered with his lover Chay-Ara by High Priest Hath-Set. With his returned memories the eternal struggle was destined to play out once more…

Hall fashioned an outlandish uniform and anti-gravity harness, becoming a crime-fighting phenomenon. Soon the equally reincarnated Shiera Sanders was fighting and flying beside him as Hawkgirl. Together the gladiatorial “Mystery-Men” battled modern crime and tyranny with weapons of the past for over a decade before vanishing with the bulk of costumed heroes as the 1950s began.

Hawkman’s last appearance was in All Star Comics #57 (1951) as leader of the Justice Society of America, but the husband and wife hellions were revived and re-imagined nine years later as Katar Hol and Shayera Thal of planet Thanagar by Julie Schwartz’s crack creative team Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert – a space-age interpretation which even survived 1985’s winnowing Crisis. Their long career, numerous revamps and retcons ended during the 1994 Zero Hour crisis.

After the universe-shuffling a new team of Winged Wonders appeared (See Hawkworld) – refuges from a militaristic Thanagarian Empire who found new purpose on Earth.

When a new Hawkgirl was created as part of a revived Justice Society comicbook at the end of the 20th century, fans knew it was only a matter of time before her Pinioned Paramour rejoined her (see JSA: the Return of Hawkman). Immediately regaining his own book, the hero had been synthesized into a mélange of all previous versions: a reincarnating, immortal berserker-warrior who finally seemed to strike the right note of freshness and seasoned maturity. Superb artwork and stunning stories didn’t hurt either.

The current Hawkman remembers all his past lives: many millennia when and where he and Chay-Ara fought evil together as bird-themed champions, dying over and over at the hands of an equally renewed Hath-Set. Most importantly, Kendra Saunders, the new Hawkgirl, differs from all previous incarnations since Chay-Ara was not reborn in this instance but instead possessed the body of her grand-niece when that tragic girl committed suicide. Although Carter Hall still loves his immortal inamorata his companion of a million battles is no longer quite so secure or sure of her feelings…

Rise of the Golden Eagle (collecting issues #37-45 of the monthly comicbook) begins with a mysterious vendetta targeting the Pinioned Paladin as old enemy Fadeaway Man, leads an army of foes in a series of brutal attacks on Hawkman. However it seems the teleporting villain is not the real mastermind here…

Written by Justin Grey & Jimmy Palmiotti with art by Joe Bennett, Dale Eaglesham, Stephen Sadowski, Ruy Jose, Wade von Grawbadger, Lary Stucker Drew Geraci and Jack Jadson the all-out action and suspense begins with the legion of monstrous antagonists overwhelming the Winged Wonders until a new ally appears…

Former Teen Titan Charley Parker is Golden Eagle and claims to be the son of Hawkman – or at least the child of one of his past incarnations. Eager to join the immortal warriors, he is on hand and fighting valiantly when another ambush occurs and Kendra is grievously wounded. Eventually when his mentor is killed Parker ends up replacing the brutally murdered Carter Hall…

However, Parker has a secret nobody suspected and, just when the embittered and vengeance-crazed Kendra thinks she can trust him, reveals his astonishing secret and a master-plan that stretches across decades and light-years to the other side of the universe…

Meanwhile the true Hawkman has returned to life sans any shred of patience and compassion, determined to make an end to all his assembled enemies once and for all…

Tense, gripping and utterly compelling, this is the berserker warrior Hawkman always hinted he could be and the epic tale is both complex and gratuitously fulfilling; a perfect storm of art and story that every hard-bitten fights ‘n’ tights devotee will adore.

After a too brief but incredibly impressive run (something of a given and a tradition with Hawkman) the immortal Winged Wonder disappeared from his own title at the end of this volume as the exigencies of the Infinite Crisis left him missing whilst his pinioned partner Hawkgirl took over the book (see Hawkgirl: The Maw, Hawkman Returns and Hath-Set for details), but at least with books like this to remind us of just how good he could be there won’t be to much time passed until his next phoenix like revival…
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