A version of Hawkman will be seen in the new Black Adam movie starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, set to come out on October 21, 2022. While Black Adam is a traditional Shazam! villain and he has been for his entire existence in DC, recent comics showed him as a member of the Justice Society years before as a reluctant hero. This looks like it is how the movie will play out, and Hawkman was a member of that legendary team.
However, Hawkman was also a member of the modern-day Justice League, which might seem confusing for fans who don't read comics. However, there is an easy explanation for this, but it opens up many more doors that could make Hawkman's history very confusing for those without a Ph.D. in comic book history.
The origin of Hawkman goes back to ancient Egypt. Prince Khufu lived during the reign of Ramesses II in the 19th dynasty of ancient Egypt. While most of his people believed that a soul goes to the afterlife after death, he did not and he felt he and his betrothed Chay-Ara were fated to always remain in the mortal world.
This proved true when a Thanagarian ship crashed on Earth with Nth Metal powering it. Khufu and Chay-Ara turned the Nth metal into weapons while also allowing it to strengthen their bond. When they died at the hands of Hath-Set, their souls never left, as he expected, and they reincarnated numerous times over the years, only to die at the hands of a reincarnated Hath-Set in every life.
The Thanagarian spacecraft that crashed on Earth from space was found by three people. These were Prince Khufu, the wizard Nabu, and the champion Teth-Adam. For fans who don't recognize the name, Nabu was the magician that gave Doctor Fate his powers. Teth-Adam was Black Adam's name when he was still a hero.
Teth-Adam is who used his powers to lift the ship back to Khufu's palace, where the prince was able to study it and learn its powers.
The Thanagarian spacecraft was powered by something known as Nth Metal. Before the surviving space traveler died, she told them the name of the substance in the ship, which Khufu then studied, broke down, and used to create weapons. The Nth Metal also gave him powers as well.
Nth Metal is a special alien metal with gravity-negating effects. This is native to Thanagar, which was the home planet of Katar Hol and Shayera Thal. Those warriors eventually became Hawkman and Hawkwoman, replacing the original heroes who used those names.
Because Khufu was reincarnated many times, he would always take the body of a new host and these would all become heroes throughout the history of the world. While the most popular is this era's Hawkman and Hawkgirl, there were many more.
In the 6th Century England, he became Silent Knight, with the host Brian Kent. In 16th century England, he became Captain John Smith. He was Nighthawk in 19th Century American Wild West. In the 20th century, he was a police officer named James Wright. He is now Carter Hall, an archaeologist from the 1940s. There were also replacements for Carter when he disappeared after Crisis on Infinite Earths.
While fans of the DC cartoons in the 1990s know Hawkman as a member of the Justice League, he is much older than that. He was one of the original founders of the Justice Society, which is what he appears to be in the Black Adam movie.
He helped form it with Shiera Sanders, the reincarnated Chay-Ara, who became Hawkgirl. He was the original chairman, but over time the two slowed down their superhero activities until decades later when they joined the Justice League.
Carter Hall and Sheira had a child named Hector Hall. He went on to become a costumed hero himself, first as Silver Scarab and then as Sandman. However, he is best known as Doctor Fate. His history is complicated, as he was born without a soul because of his parent's history.
This made it possible for the Silver Scarab to possess him, but this led to his death. He ended up coming back through reincarnation like his parents, and this is when he ended up as Doctor Fate, working with the Justice Society.
Sandman is the Neil Gaiman-created comic book that is coming to Netflix this year as a new streaming series. It is also part of the DC Universe, and it is connected to Hawkman. Carter Hall has a grandson named Daniel Hall.
Daniel's father was Hector Hall, who was Doctor Fate. However, he was also born in the Dreaming, when his parents were held captive there. As a result, there was something special about the boy and Morpheus chose him to be his replacement as Dream to carry on his role as the warden of the Dreaming, one of the most powerful members of the Endless.
While Hawkman was reincarnated from Prince Khufu and took different names and roles over the years, it seems that the trait was passed on to Carter Hall. It was Carter as Hawkman who has died more than once and came back, not as a new host, but as Carter Hall once again.
He was, at one time, combined with the Thanagarnian Katar Hol, who served as Hawkman while Carter was missing. He was also killed in Blackest Night and then resurrected with Shiera once again in Brightest Day.
Most people who see Hawkman in the comics or in cartoons in the past see a man who can fly with the use of his wings and often battles with the mace that he crafted out of Nth Metal. However, he has mystical powers as well.
Prince Khufu was a priest in his past life and he had the ability to bless objects. This has aided him in defeating many mystical creatures over the years. The god Poseidon also gave him the power to breathe underwater.
While Hawkman and Green Arrow were both members of the Justice League, they have never been friends. They could barely get along when it came to working as teammates. The reason is simple. Carter Hall came from the Justice Society and has a strict outlook on what it means to be a hero.
Green Arrow has always been distrusting of authority and never liked how Hawkman spoke to him and others when it came to the Justice League. The strict code of Hawkman and the more liberal attitude of Green Arrow never allowed them to become friends. However, Hawkman's closest friend is the original Justice League Atom, Ray Palmer.
Hawkman has been around comic books for many years, but he remains someone who mainstream fans know very little about.Shawn S. Lealos