Shayera Hol
Shayera Hol is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books during the Silver Age of Comics published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Joe Kubert, and first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #34 (March 1961). She has been depicted as the second Hawkgirl and first Hawkwoman.
Shayera Hol | |
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Shayera Hol by Stephen Segovia. | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | The Brave and the Bold #34 (March 1961) |
Created by | Gardner Fox Joe Kubert |
In-story information | |
Full name | Shayera Hol |
Species | Thanagarian |
Team affiliations | Justice League Justice Society of America |
Partnerships | Hawkman (Katar Hol) John Stewart Zatanna |
Notable aliases | Hawkgirl Hawkwoman |
Abilities |
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Publication history
With the fading popularity of superheroes during the late 1940s, the Hawkman feature ended in the last issue of Flash Comics in 1949. In 1956, DC Comics resurrected the Flash by revamping the character with a new identity and backstory. Following the success of the new Flash, DC Comics revamped Hawkman in a similar fashion with The Brave and the Bold #34 in 1961. The Silver Age versions of Hawkman and Hawkgirl became married alien police officers from the planet Thanagar who come to Earth in order to study police techniques. Silver Age Hawkgirl is introduced as Shayera Hol (phonetically identical to Shiera Hall), who appears in costume as of her first appearance. Although Silver Age Hawkman joins the Justice League in Justice League of America #31 in 1964, Silver Age Hawkgirl was not offered membership because Justice League rules only allowed for one new member to be admitted at a time. Many years later, Silver Age Hawkgirl joined the Justice League of America with issue #146 in 1977. In 1981, Silver Age Hawkgirl changed her name to Hawkwoman in the Hawkman backup feature of World's Finest Comics #272.
With the establishment of DC's multiverse system, the Golden Age Hawkgirl was said to have lived on Earth-Two and the Silver Age Hawkgirl on Earth-One.
Fictional character biography
Shayera Hol, The Silver Age version of Hawkgirl / Hawkwoman, was a law enforcement officer from the planet Thanagar and wife of Katar Hol, the Silver Age Hawkman and was a member of the Justice League of America.
She was born on Thanagar, which had a scientifically advanced civilization in which crime was virtually unknown. As an adolescent, Shayera joined the Thanagarian police force and was assigned to assist the force's most decorated officer, Katar Hol, in capturing the Rainbow Robbers. At first, Katar was furious at being assigned an inexperienced young woman as a partner, but he nevertheless became strongly attracted to her.
Together, they captured the Rainbow Robbers in their stronghold found behind a waterfall; while on the case, Shayera saved Katar's life and the two fell deeply in love. A few weeks later, Katar proposed to Shayera in front of the same waterfall. She accepted and they were married. Ten years later, the couple was sent to Earth in pursuit of the criminal Byth Rok. Upon reaching Earth, they were befriended by Midway City police commissioner George Emmett, who established cover identities for them as Carter and Shiera Hall. After capturing Byth and bringing him back to their planet, Katar and Shayera chose to return to study Earth's crimefighting methods, and they fought against evil as the superheroes Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Shayera renamed herself Hawkwoman in the early 1980s.
As Hawkgirl, Shayera eventually joined her husband as a member of the Justice League. She was the first League member admitted as part of the League's vote to lift its prior twelve-member limitation,[1] which had effectively prevented the admission of more women to its ranks. Her membership set precedent for the admission of Zatanna as the League's fifteenth member. Both Zatanna and Shayera became close friends since Hawkman vol. 2 #4 .
As Shiera, she first worked as Carter's secretary, but later became co-director of the Midway City Museum. She has a sort of rivalry with the museum naturalist Mavis Trent, who has her eyes on both Hawkman and Carter Hall.
Later, Thanagar had established itself as a military dictatorship bent on conquering other planets. Hawkman and Hawkwoman thwarted Thanagarian plans to invade Earth, destroying their own starship in the process. Hawkman and Hawkwoman remain on Earth, regarded as traitors by everyone on Thanagar. She helped her husband come to terms with the deaths they caused during the battle. Eventually, she changed her codename to Hawkwoman.[2]
Following the events of DC's miniseries, Crisis on Infinite Earths, the histories of Earth-One and Earth-Two are merged. As a result, both Golden Age and Silver Age versions of Hawkman and Hawkgirl/Hawkwoman live on the same Earth. Initially, the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman were kept in continuity unchanged. They took Superman to Krypton (now a gas planet),[3] briefly joined Justice League International, teamed-up with Atom,[4] and helped Animal Man defuse a Thanagarian bomb during Invasion. However, DC reversed this decision and rebooted Hawkman continuity after the success of the 1989 Hawkworld miniseries. Originally, Hawkworld retold the origins of Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman. After becoming a success, DC Comics launched a Hawkworld ongoing series set in the present resulting in a complete reboot of Hawkman continuity. By doing so, several continuity errors regarding Hawkman and Hawkwoman's Justice League appearances needed to be fixed.
Following Convergence's storyline, Shayera Hol is featured in the Hawkman: Convergence. She is shown working as a curator in Gotham City museum while fighting as Hawkwoman also. At the end of the story her universe vanishes due to the Crisis happening, she is last seen flying with Hawkman.
DC Rebirth
Following Rebirth's continuity, Shayera Hol appeared in the Hawkman Vol. 5 series. She was shown in Thanagar alongside her partner Katar Hol. Later, Shayera appeared in the Justice League issues #14-16 where she was shown as the empress of Thanagar Prime. Initially presenting herself as a friend and ally to the Justice League, she was revealed to be hiding many secrets from them, including a surviving Martian elder known as the Keep. It is revealed that Shayera used a device known as the Absorbacon and the Martian elder to create a fake construct of a restored Thanagar Prime, her people, and Katar Hol (the Savage Hawkman). After the death of the Martian elder, Shayera tries to keep her constructed reality from fading away but is unable to, saying goodbye to Katar one last time. It is revealed by Starman that the reason Shayera still exists despite being Kendra Saunders' immediate predecessor in their chain of resurrection is due to the Totality breaking said chain and splitting the two, making Shayera a completely independent being from Kendra. This was done by Perpetua as she feared what would happen if a whole Hawkgirl faced her at the end. In Justice League Annual #1 Shayera assists the Justice League in their failed attempt to heal the source wall.
Shayera reappears in Justice League #32, she is shown aboard a Thanagarian ship, trying to prevent Luthor from reaching the Anti-Monitor.
Shayera came back to Earth in Hawkman #19 to help Carter Hall, who was infected by the Batman Who Laughs. As of that issue Hawkwoman started acting as co-protagonist of the book alongside Hawkman.
Shayera is revealed to be the reincarnation of the Herald Shrra, a being akin to a biblical angel. She served an unnamed deity which had deemed the universe unworthy and condemned it to be destroyed by the Lord Beyond the Void. She sensed something that was good in Ktar Deathbringer, the original incarnation of Hawkman, and intervened in the deity's plans by appearing before Ktar in the aftermath of each battle, pushing him by guilt and shame to turn on the Lord Beyond the Void. As Ktar had made a bargain with the deity to reincarnate until he had saved as many people as he had killed, it punished Shrra for her defiance by stripping her of her divinity and condemning her to share his fate.
Hawkwoman teams up with Carter's old friends the Atom and Adam Strange to capture and cure Carter of his infection. They catch up to Sky Tyrant on an alien world where one of his previous incarnations named Titan Hawk had hidden an artifact known as "The Key" which would have released the Lord Beyond the Void. They recover the Key and imprison Sky Tyrant on Carter's starship. When she touches the Key, her memories of all her past lives are unlocked. Sky Tyrant manages to escape his cell and brawls with the three heroes, he and Shayera touch the Key together and are transported to the realm of the Lord Beyond the Void. In the process, Carter is cured of his infection (all infected heroes were cured by Lex Luthor in the Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen oneshot). The pair are attacked by Deathbringers who recognise Carter as Ktar, and, although the Deathbringers are defeated, they draw the attention of the Lord Beyond the Void.
The Lord easily overpowers them and binds them to a great stone monolith, planning to absorb the energy from all their lives, which will give him sufficient power to cross over into the universe. Carter and Shayera release the power of their thousands of lives, overloading and destroying the Lord, while also killing themselves. They awake in the afterlife, reverted to Ktar and Shrra. The deity explains that Ktar's debt is repaid, and offers to allow him to pass on and to restore Shrra as a Herald, however, the two do not wish to be parted. Therefore, the deity offers them another reward, to be reincarnated a final time in their favourite lives, where they will be extremely long lived but mortal. The two agree and are restored to life in the 1940s as the Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl and reunite with their old friends in the Justice Society of America.
During a fight with the Injustice Society, Carter freezes with fear at a moment when the villains have the upper hand. Shayera throws her mace into Carter's, creating an explosion which incapacitates the Injustice Society and turns the tide of the fight. The JSA assumes Carter was simply providing a distraction for Shayera, but he privately admits to her that now he is mortal, he fears dying. Meanwhile, Anton Hastor, an incarnation of the Hawks' ancient enemy Hath-Set, learns that Prince Khufu and Chay-Ara have been reincarnated, and this time, they can be killed permanently. Hastor steals his Nth Metal dagger from JSA headquarters and draws the Hawks out to a train where he has killed the passengers and resurrected them as zombies. Shayera is tackled off the train by zombies while Hastor attacks Carter, who is too fearful to fight back until Hastor threatens Shayera. Carter disarms Hastor by stabbing himself with the dagger just as Shayera catches up to the train and destroys the dagger. Shayera spends the following centuries as a hero alongside Carter, surviving into the 40th Century.
Powers and abilities
Other versions
Injustice: Gods Among Us
In the comic book adaptation of Injustice: Gods Among Us, Hawkgirl (Shayera Hol) appears as a member of Superman's Regime. She first appears to answer Wonder Woman's call for heroes at the Watchtower. After being informed of the situation, the kidnapping of Superman's parents at the hands of Mirror Master, she is one of the many heroes to agree to help locate the Rogue. She battles Weather Wizard in Central City, and is later seen waiting outside the villain's bar. Hawkgirl next appears to help Wonder Woman battle the attacking Atlanteans and Aquaman. Hawkgirl battles the forces of Atlantis as Wonder Woman orders her to rescue the people who had been knocked off the boat by Aquaman's attack. She watches Arthur's forces suddenly retreat and notices the massive tsunami fast approaching. She is the first to realize there is something behind the wave. Hawkgirl spots what she believes are mountains rising out of the water, but are in fact the massive tentacles of the Kraken Aquaman called to his aid. Hawkgirl is ensnared by one of the Kraken's tentacles and dragged underwater, slowly drowning while Wonder Woman struggles to save her. After Superman arrives and forces Aquaman to call his beast off, Hawkgirl is ordered by the Man of Steel to help the sailors while Superman and the League go to give their response to Aquaman's ultimatum. Hawkgirl removes the leader of a country from his limousine during a parade before she loses him to Captain Atom. Shocked, Shiera lets her guard down and is struck by a blast of electricity, causing her to fall to the streets below. Collapsed, Hawkgirl sees Black Lightning and Huntress before the latter knocks her unconscious with an arrow bolt. Hawkgirl is later seen being held in a cell in the Batcave, glaring at Batman and Catwoman as they discuss the League's reaction to her kidnapping. When Catwoman points out the League will be searching for her, Batman disagrees and the scene cuts to the Watchtower, where to many heroes shock, a second Hawkgirl is seen arriving. The true Hawkgirl has remained trapped within the Batcave while her imposter has been revealed as the Martian Manhunter, shape-shifted into her form. Exactly a week later, the Martian Manhunter is exposed thanks to Batman's son Damian, and Bruce releases Hawkgirl as promised. Shiera makes her way to the crashed Watchtower and confirms her identity by easily putting out a lit match.
Hawkgirl goes to the Hall of Justice to question Lex Luthor over whether Sinestro truly willingly gave up his ring and powers before allowing himself to be imprisoned. Luthor confirms her questions before saying he still believes Sinestro has something else to play before Sinestro responds that the Green Lanterns will soon arrive to capture Superman and that the League will need his help to stop them. Hawkgirl is next seen waiting for Superman and Shazam in Utah at the Great Salt desert, mace at the ready as she answers Shazam's question of what the Man of Steel thinks they're dealing with by replying "He thinks we're dealing with Green Lanterns." When Superman asks how she knows, she tells him she was talking with their 'guest' at the Hall of Justice. When she sees Superman staring up into the sky, she asks how many Lanterns are on the way, with Superman replying, "Too many." After the Green Lanterns arrive in front of them and Superman and Kilowog have a brief conversation, Shiera demands to know where Hal Jordan is, and when Kilowog doesn't respond, Superman has Cyborg fire a beam down on the Green Lanterns from the Watchtower. The Green Lanterns survive and engage the three, with Hawkgirl fighting the Green Lanterns Isamot Kol and RRU-9-2, when she sees Superman suddenly go down, calling out his name. Shortly after, Hawkgirl is defeated, her Nth Metal mace taken by Green Lantern Tomar-Re, and her unconscious body trapped in a bubble construct alongside Shazam. Before any of them can be taken to Oa, Sinestro arrives, killing Ch'p. Shiera is freed and recovers her mace before engaging Tomar-Re and Procanon Kaa in a battle until the arrival of the Sinestro Corps. Hawkgirl flies above the captured Green Lanterns, silently observing as they remove their rings in surrender and she witnesses the Sinestro Corps depart the Earth on Sinestro's orders. During the lost seven months, Hawkgirl worked alongside fellow League members Superman and Shazam as well as Lanterns Hal, John and Sinestro in toppling more 'rogue nations' to continue establishing peace across the world.
When Hawkman returns to Thanagar and does not find Hawkgirl he goes to Earth. There he tries to force Hawkgirl to leave Superman's Regime and return home, but, loyal to Superman, Shayera fights against Hawkman; after defeating him she asks him to leave or she will kill him. Not respecting her wish, Hawkman later returns to Earth and tries to kill Superman with a kryptonite mace; he fails and is killed in a fist fight against Superman.
DC Super Hero Girls
Within the DC Super Hero Girls comics adaptation, Hawkgirl is depicted as a student at Super Hero High, being a Latina superheroine. During the issue Hits and Myths, Kendra alongside Flash, Batgirl and Bumblebee forms a team to help Batgirl locating her missing Batplane. They track the Batplane up until a street bar. There they fight against Black Canary, Silver Banshee and Jinx, during the fight Black Canary escapes with the Batplane, so Hawkgirl, Poison Ivy, Flash, Supergirl and Batgirl chases her to retrieve the batplane, after defeating Black Canary they successfully retrieve the batplane, to celebrate their victory they all go to Themyscira with Wonder Woman to have a slumber party.
Justice League Beyond
During their term on the Justice League John Stewart and Hawkgirl began a romance that lasted until Hawkgirl's betrayal of the Justice League. After that Stewart began something with fellow leaguer Vixen; however, during a trip to the future John Stewart met Warhawk, who called him "Dad". This baffled Stewart, but Warhawk did explain what had happen. It turned out he was the child of John and Shayera. When John returned he decided not to tell Shayera immediately; he did eventually tell her, but he also told her he would not be Destiny's puppet.[5] Later on in the Justice League Beyond comic book series, it is revealed that Shayera and John get back together and gotten married after Vixen is brutally murdered by Shadow Thief.[6] They have a son named Rex Stewart who would later join the Justice League Beyond as Warhawk. After Warhawk was born, Shayera and John decided to leave the Justice League in order to care of Rex.[7]
Elsewords
Shayera and Katar are featured in the Elseworlds three-part series Legend of the Hawkman (2000). The story takes place in the Earth-One timeline, some time after The Brave and the Bold #34. She is shown wanting to return home to Thanagar while Katar has grown accustomed to life on Earth. Although this mini-series was never labelled as an Elseworlds project when originally published, it is now accepted as being one, with this story clearly based on the Silver Age versions of Hawkman and Hawkgirl during the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths era.
Legend of the Hawkman
Hawkgirl (Shayera Hol) and Hawkman feature in this mini-series set soon after their arrival on Earth as the duo faces an ancient menace with connections to their Thanagarian heritage. In the first chapter, "The Fallen One", Shayera has been anxious to return to Thanagar, but Katar feels a responsibility to the museum, especially its upcoming extraterrestrial treasure exhibit. While Katar has adopted Earth as his home Shayera doesn't feel like they belong there. In Tibet a group of archaeologists discovers a Thanagarian gateway carved into a cliff side, after being informed of this Hawkgirl and Hawkman travel to the location.[8]
Hawkman deciphers the writing on the gateway and it depicts the life of Thasaro, a Thanagarian child so evil that he threatened the existence of Thanagar's ancient gods. The ancient gods of Aerie condemned Thasaro into a mystic urn. Shayera's ancestor was entrusted with burying the urn so no one could release Thasaro. The archeologists and Katar want to examine the gateway but Shayera insists that the gateway be left alone. Hawkman and Shayera get into a fight until Shayera flies away heartbroken because Katar cares more about archeology than her feelings. Katar's fingerprints genetically opens the gateway. Shayera hears an explosion and heads back to the site. Thasaro appears and makes the stone sentries throughout his chamber come to life. The sentries attack Hawkgirl but she manages to defeat his enforcers and finds Katar within Thasaro's grip. Thasaro then summons corpses like talons that rise up from the ground and pull Hawkgirl into a cavern beneath Thasaro's chamber. The talons maim Hawkgirl, but she manages to break away. Shayera's distress in the cavern awakens the spirit of her ancestor. Shayera's ancestor channels his aura into Shayera and gives her the edge she needs to subdue Thasaro. Thasaro is banished once again into the urn. The urn is then transported to the Midway City Museum so Katar and Shayera can safeguard it.[9] Three months later Shayera is shown wanting to start a family, in the meantime Thanagarian zealots return to Earth to free the heinous fallen god. Thasaro's return brings chaos and devastation to Midway City, but using their Nth Metal weapons Hawkgirl and Hawkman are able to subdue him, banishing him to the fiery depths of Earth's Hell.[10]
Justice League Adventures
Justice League Adventures is a DC comic book series featuring the Justice League, but set in the continuity (and style) of the television shows Justice League Animated and Justice League Unlimited; as opposed to the regular DC Universe. Shayera Hol is featured in the comic, this version of Hawkgirl is really similar to the one introduced in the television show, as the comics serves as a spin-off of the series, with Hawkgirl being one of the founding members of the Justice League.
JLA: The Nail & JLA: Another Nail
In JLA: The Nail and JLA: Another Nail, Hawkgirl is a member of a Justice League, and remains so even after her husband's death by Amazo, although the team faces anti-alien prejudice and suspicion. She briefly contemplates abandoning Earth when anti-alien propaganda leads to a museum exhibit dedicated to Hawkman being vandalized, but when she returns to save two children from a burning building, her faith in humanity is restored when a group of civilians stand between her and government officials attempting to bring her in as an alien, the family she saved affirming that they still see Hawkman and her as heroes. In Another Nail, she appears to be close friends with Zatanna. She has forgiven Oliver Queen (in Amazo's body) after he admits feeling responsible for getting Katar killed, Queen believing that his attempts to prove himself caused Hawkman to put himself in danger to project the more vulnerable Oliver. Her role as the sole Hawk with League membership is much like her animated counterpart in the Justice League animated series.
Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again
In Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, the Hawks tried to return to Thanagar to flee from Lex Luthor's military dictatorship, only to crash in the rain forests of Costa Rica. They decided to remain in hiding. They gave birth to a son and daughter, giving them natural wings. Katar and Shayera were killed in a military strike ordered by Lex Luthor, embracing each other in their final moments. The children were brought up in the jungle ever since. They were bent on revenge against Lex.[11] As Hawkboy, the son ultimately kills Lex with Batman's permission, since he understands what he has been through.
Justice
In Alex Ross's Silver Age-toned Justice, Hawkgirl is a member of the Justice League and co-director of the Midway City Museum, alongside her husband. With the entire JLA's secrets and weaknesses in hand, the Legion of Doom stages a simultaneous attack on nearly every member of the League. Hawkgirl and Hawkman are surprised by Toyman in the Midway City Museum, but manage to survive and decide to investigate his warehouse, where they are assaulted by his forces, and discover that he is making multiple Brainiac androids. She also appears in Secret Origins and Liberty and Justice.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Hawkgirl is featured in The All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold comics. Much like their Silver Age counterparts, Shayera and Katar are married and very much in love.
DC New Talents Showcase
Hawkgirl was chosen for one of the seven features in the one-shot comic book. She lives in Chicago, working as a police detective. She is from Thanagar, her mace vibrates like a smartphone when Nth-Metal Thanagarian weapons are near and she has a secret Hawkroom. It is revealed that she did not leave Thanagar on good terms, after some time collecting Thanagarian weapons from crime scenes she started suspecting something was wrong. This led to her fighting against an ancient Thanagarian that wanted her dead since she chose humans instead of Thanagarians.
Erica Schultz, said she was inspired by Justice League Animated version of the character, "I've always been drawn to strong characters, but what really solidified my love for Shayera was the Justice League cartoon show."[12]
Scooby-Doo Team-Up #33
During a crossover with the cast of Scooby-Doo, Silver Age version of Hawkgirl is featured alongside Hawkman in the Midway City Museum, working as curators. The heroes team-up with the characters from the animated series to discover who were stealing from their workplace. Later they uncover that Shadow Thief, Matter Master and Fadeaway Man were behind it. After a fight against the villains the heroes retrieve the stolen items. Like Shiera Sanders Hall, Shayera is a reincarnation of Prince Khufu's consort Chay-Ara, and have been reborn as Lady Celia (love of Silent Knight) and Cinnamon (love of Nighthawk).
In other media
Super Friends
Hawkgirl has appeared in a few episodes of The All-New Super Friends Hour and Super Friends paired alongside her husband Hawkman. In her appearances on the show, she looked like the Silver Age version of the character. However, in her last appearance during the "lost season", Hawkgirl got a new costume (a totally black mask, a yellow one piece with a red belt, and grey boots) and her hair was changed to blonde. She was voiced by Shannon Farnon and Janet Waldo.
Justice League and Justice League Unlimited
Hawkgirl appears in the animated series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, voiced by Maria Canals-Barrera. Her personality was completely redesigned for the series by the producers, who wanted a second female superhero for the team to contrast with Wonder Woman. While Black Canary is traditionally more associated with the Justice League, the producers preferred to have the Hawk family represented. In the animated continuity, Hawkgirl's wings are organic and she wields an Nth metal mace which disrupts magical forces and other forms of energy; she is also depicted as having superhuman strength, endurance, durability and is an expert hand-to-hand combat, as shown in "In Blackest Night Pt. II" when she defeated four members of the Green Lantern Corps single-handedly. It can be assumed that she also has some hover capability, as at times she is seen to hang in midair without the visible use of her wings. In the episode "Only a Dream Pt. 1", she is seen hovering with Copperhead clinging to her back.
In "Secret Origins", the Martian Manhunter gathers the future League to battle against an alien invasion on Earth. After the defeat of the invasion, the seven remained a team and officially formed the Justice League, dedicated to the defense of Earth against attack both within and without. To the rest of the League, Shayera was a mysterious woman with angelic wings from another world. She explained that she found herself on Earth when, while pursuing some criminals who were trafficking in forbidden technology, she was accidentally transported by the rays of a dimensional transporter known to her people as a Zeta Beam, which has been traditionally associated with DC's science fiction hero Adam Strange.
Throughout the series, she slowly builds a relationship with Green Lantern (John Stewart). In the two-part episode "Wild Cards", John is nearly killed by a bomb the Joker has set off while protecting Shayera. She just barely manages to bring him back to life by shocking him with her mace, then leaves the city to treat him. Later, in the Watchtower, John and Shayera show their true feelings for each other, and Shayera allows John to remove her mask, giving the viewer their first look at Hawkgirl's face beneath the mask, and the two share a kiss.
In the second-season finale "Starcrossed", Shayera reveals herself to be a military officer of her planet's armed forces, working as an advance scout on Earth. When her people suddenly arrive in force on Earth, she works to help the Thanagarians gain the support of Earth's leaders to protect it from the Thanagarians' mortal enemies, the Gordanians. She is also reunited with her commanding officer and fiancé Hro Talak (an anagram for the name of the Silver Age Hawkman Katar Hol), with both her now-revealed spy mission and this unmentioned romance creating considerable friction between herself and John. The information she has given to the Thanagarians enables them to take the League prisoner, though Shayera says they should not be killed. They later escape.
Unbeknownst to Shayera, the Thanagarians' true intent is to transform Earth into the final link in a hyperspace bypass, which will destroy Earth but allow the Thanagarians to strike a mortal blow at the Gordanians' homeworld. When Shayera learns of this plan, she betrays her people and informs the Justice League of the Thanagarian plot, proving this by returning John's ring which the Thanagarians had taken. The Thanagarian forces are eventually defeated by the League and forced to leave Earth, with Shayera left behind as a traitor. (For this reason, Shayera is later ambushed by a band of rogue Thanagarian resistance fighters seeking revenge in "Hunter's Moon".) The other six members of the League take a vote on whether to allow Shayera to stay on the team, but before they can tell her the result, she resigns from the League and departs (in "Wake the Dead", it is revealed that the decision, while split, was in favor of letting her stay, with John abstaining and Superman breaking the tie). She eventually comes to reside with Doctor Fate and his wife Inza in Fate's tower stronghold in an effort to decide what to do with her life.
In the episode "Wake the Dead", Solomon Grundy's corpse is reanimated, and he wreaks havoc. Shayera takes the responsibility of killing Grundy, whom she once considered to be a friend. After this, she returns to the League, but it is some time before she is properly re-accepted among its members, particularly Wonder Woman and Batman (who were likely the two who had previously voted against her remaining on the team). After she is allowed to rejoin the Justice League, Shayera reclaims her seat among the seven founding members and opts to dress in simple civilian clothing as opposed to her previous, more militaristic costume.
After returning to the Justice League, Shayera found conflict with Wonder Woman, the Amazon warrior had reluctantly allowed Shayera to join the team again, however holding a grudge against her. She would sustain that feeling until the episode "The Balance", when she was forced to take Shayera along to Themyscira and Tartarus due to Felix Faust's return and his usurping of Hades' throne, Shayera was vital to this mission because her Nth Metal mace was the only weapon capable of stopping Faust. During this mission, Shayera and Wonder Woman settled their differences once and for all. Shayera still met conflict with Vixen. Once, they, during the episode "Hunter's Moon", along with Vigilante were assigned to a rescue mission on a distant moon where alien miners were having problems due to the supposed high levels of unstable Nth metal. However, it turned out to be a trap set by Paran Dul, who was leading a group of Thanagarians soldiers including the mentally disabled Kragger. During their confrontation on the moon, Paran revealed that Shayera's betrayal had led to Thanagar's defeat by the Gordanians and that Hro Talak had been killed while fighting back. A distressed Shayera was tempted to turn herself in and let them pass judgment on her, but Vixen and Vigilante refused to let her go.
Shayera even offered to surrender in exchange for Vixen who had been captured by the Thanagarians, but then fought back when they almost killed Vixen by dropping her from mid-air. The Thanagarians were defeated and the three League members stole a Thanagarian Scout Ship and returned to the Watchtower. Upon their arrival, John Stewart rushed over to both Vixen and Shayera, but they walked straight past, implying that they were going to settle their dispute over him. Stewart feared the worse, but they merely laughed over drinks during which the two women discussed his quirks and habits. Shayera did reveal that she still loved him while Vixen revealed that he still loved Shayera and that she just wanted to see things through until the end. They agreed to a friendly contest for his affections, with a toast to en garde.
The show ends with Shayera and Green Lantern (who is by this point in a relationship with League member Vixen) having resolved to be friends for the time being. Series creator Bruce Timm said in an interview that while he was deliberately ambiguous about the future of their relationship and understood while some fans disliked where it was left at the series finale, it was his opinion that "You can put two and two together and imagine what happens",[13] especially since Green Lantern has at this point met his future son, Warhawk (Rex Stewart) who indicates that his mother is Shayera. A resolution to this storyline occurs in the fifth issue of the Batman Beyond Unlimited comic book, in which John and Shayera finally reconcile and settle down to raise a family in Africa. These events are not considered canonical to the DC Animated Universe storyline as the issues were created by independent writers not associated with the original production.
In addition to John, Shayera shows a strong friendship with the Flash that is touched on several times through both the JL and JLU series, usually in a sisterly way, including him being the only one to hug her goodbye after her decision to resign. She is also the first one try to pull him back from the Speed Force in the episode "Divided We Fall." In the Justice League Unlimited fifth season's debut episode, "I Am Legion", Flash says, "She loves me. She's like the big sister I never had. Only, you know... short."
Later Hawkgirl meets archaeologist Carter Hall, who claims they are the re-incarnations of two Thanagarians, Khufu and Chay-Ara, who landed on Earth thousands of years ago and became rulers of Egypt. The Shadow Thief captures them and Green Lantern and uses Thanagarian technology from that era to show them what happened. After Shayera had an affair with the military leader and closest friend of Katar Bashari, apparently the past John Stewart, due to her husband not spending enough time with her, they were poisoned by the Priest Hath-Set who heard Carter wish they were dead. When he found out, he poisoned himself.
Static Shock
Hawkgirl appears in the Static Shock episode, "A League of Their Own", with Maria Canals reprising her role. Within the Watchtower, Batman is checking the stasis field shielding a left-over module from Brainiac from its environs. As Batman explains to Hawkgirl Brainiac's nature as a regenerative program, a virus that will not die, an alarm goes off and Flash calls everyone to the control room. As it turns out, the Watchtower is in the path of a cosmic superstring, and even with the shield up, most of the power is drained from the station's generator. Brainiac manages to take advantage of this, escaping from his drained stasis field. Hawkgirl and the Justice League call in Static and Gear to assist in the fight against Brainiac.
Film
- Hawkgirl appears at the Justice League anniversary party in The Lego Batman Movie.
- Shayera Hol makes a cameo appearance as Hawkgirl (or Hawkwoman) at the end of the animated film Justice League: The New Frontier. She is seen during the famous speech by John F. Kennedy.
- The Shayera Hol Hawkgirl is referenced in Justice League vs. the Fatal Five. Mister Terrific mentions that she left to Thanagar after helping him investigate an unknown time-sphere. A golden statue of Shayera is also seen in the Hall of Justice.
- The Shayera Hol Hawkgirl will be featured in the Black Adam live-action movie, set to arrive in theaters on December 22, 2021. [14] [15]
Video games
- Hawkgirl is a playable character in the Game Boy Advance games Justice League: Injustice for All and Justice League: Chronicles. She is based on the animated version of the character.
- Hawkgirl appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by Lana Lesley. Though this version is Shayera Hol, her appearance is based on Kendra Saunders.
- The Shayera Hol Hawkgirl is a playable character in Infinite Crisis, with Maria Canals-Barrera reprising her role.[16]
References
- World's Finest Comics #274.
- Superman (volume 2) #18 "Return to Krypton"
- Power of the Atom #4
- Justice League Unlimited series (January 2005)
- Justice League Beyond #7(May 2012)
- Justice League Beyond #8(June 2012)
- Legend of the Hawkman #1 (July 2000)
- Legend of the Hawkman #2 (August 2000)
- Legend of the Hawkman #3 (September 2000)
- "mg-jluONCEANDFUTURETHING2". Fanboplanet.com. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
- DC New Talent Showcase (January 2017)
- "TVPast Forums - Interview with Bruce Timm About JLU and DC Anim". www.tvpast.org.
- https://www.murphysmultiverse.com/dwayne-johnsons-black-adam-confirmed-to-introduce-hawkgirl/
- https://heroichollywood.com/dwayne-johnson-black-adam-hawkgirl/
- Behind the Voice: María Canals Barrera as Hawkgirl. January 15, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2021 – via YouTube.