Black Adam: Who Is Hawkman?

Black Adam is about to make his glorious cinematic debut in just a few days, how crazy is that? After being in the making for ten long years, the world is about to welcome Black Adam’s rage, and I personally can’t wait any longer to be able to sit and watch this movie finally.

Worldwide excitement grows stronger by the hour due to The Rock’s interviews, which never miss strengthening the fire with not-so-subtle Superman references anymore. The actor seems even more excited than the fans, which warms my heart. But let’s remember what this movie is actually about.

Black Adam and the JSA

Credit: DC Comics

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Not only will Black Adam make his cinematic debut, but the movie also introduces several members of the JSA for the first time. After reading the comics, and then watching their animated versions, old and new DC fans will now be able to actually see Dr. Fate, Cyclone, Atom Smasher and Hawkman in action on a big screen.

Growing up as a DC girl, just writing these words makes me smile and wriggle with childlike excitement. But many people had never even heard of these characters before their addition to the movie. So let’s go back in time and investigate them.

Who is Hawkman?

Credit: DC Comics

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The character is actually one of the oldest DC Characters and goes way back to the 1940s! He appeared in the first ever Flash comic and became one of the founding members of the Justice Society of America. The character is considered to have one of the most confusing backstories of the DC universe, due to a series of reinventions over the years. But what stays pretty much the same is:

• Beautiful large, artificial wings
• The use of archaic weaponry, such as his iconic mace
• His golden helmet
• The anti-gravity belt, which is made of Nth metal
• Most of the time, he works closely with his romantic interest Hawkgirl

Since there are multiple versions of the character and so many confusing storylines, let’s make it easier and narrow it all down to the two most well-known versions: Carter Hall and Katar Hol.

Carter Hall

Credit: Justice League – The Animated Series

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In the days of ancient Egypt, Prince Khufu is engaged in a feud with his rival, the Egyptian priest Hath-Set. The priest eventually captures Khufu and his wife, Chay-Ara, and kills them with a cursed dagger.

Millennia later, in 1940, Khufu is reincarnated as the American archaeologist Carter Hall, his wife Chay-Ara as Shiera Saunders, and Hath-Set as scientist Anton Hastor.

After touching the dagger he was killed with, Carter regains the memories of his former life and realizes Hastor is the reincarnation of his ancient foe. When Hastor kidnaps Shiera, Hall uses his newly-found memories to craft a gravity-defying belt using Nth metal – the same metal the dagger was made of – and a winged costume, to become Hawkman.

Carter successfully rescues Shiera, and Anton is killed. Carter and Shiera – who becomes Hawkgirl – then begin a romantic relationship while fighting criminals together.

Katar Hol

Credit: DC Comics

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Katar Hol is an honoured police officer on his homeworld of Thanagar. Along with his wife, Shayera, they use the anti-gravity belts and their wings to fly and fight criminals. They were sent to Earth in 1961 to capture the shape-shifting criminal Byth.

Following this mission, they decided to remain on Earth to work with authorities in the United States and learn human police methods. The two adopted covers as a pair of museum curators: Carter and Shiera Hall. They acted publicly as the second Hawkman and the second Hawkgirl.

Which version will the DCEU choose?

Credit: DC Comics

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What remains to be seen is which version of Hawkman the DCEU will present to the fans. Will it be an existing version? A mix of different versions? Or a completely new, reinvented Hawkman? Maybe the movie won’t even show a definitive version of the character. In Black Adam, he could very well be introduced as Carter Hall, a regular archaeologist fighting crime as a gladiator hawk, to have the character discover he’s a reincarnated prince in a future movie and adds drama.

I personally am mostly excited about one thing: Where Hawkman goes… Hawkgirl follows, meaning that the female superhero is bound to appear in the DCEU in a near future. To be able to see Hawkman and Hawkgirl fully dressed, flying and fighting alongside on a big screen would be an absolute dream come true.

Hawkman has been my absolute favourite DC superhero, so I’m more than excited to see Aldis Hodge rock the wings!

Black Adam is going to be released in cinemas in the United States on October 21st later this month.

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