DCU Comic Book Reviews

HAWKMAN #9

In The Hands Of Fate

January 2003

Written by Geoff Johns & James Robinson

Pencils by Rags Morales

Inks by Prentis Rollins & Michael Bair

Cover by Andrew Robinson

Synopsis

Hector Hall (aka Dr. Fate) has come to visit his son, Carter Hall (aka Hawkman) and to give him a warning.  Hector tells his son that throughout time, the Hawks have been killed by the same person:  Hath-Set.  Hector warns Carter than if Hawkgirl were to fall in love with him, they will once more die at the hands of Hath-Set.  Meanwhile, Kendra Saunders (aka Hawkgirl) has a nightmare of the time when she was a kid and two cops stopped her and her mother, with the plan of raping both of them.  Kendra fought back, grabbing the gun of one of the policemen and killing him.  Her mother then pleaded fro Kendra to never remember.  Kendra runs to tell Carter what happened.  Before she can explain, a Yeti crashes through the ceiling.  A picture of Kendra’s grandfather, Speed, is taped to the body with the words:  “Come get him.”  Carter tells Kendra, “We are going to Tibet.”

Review

Except for the Yeti being thrown the ceiling of Carter’s apartment, which I found bordered on being funny leading into the stupid area, this was a good transition episode.  So far this series has focused on two different stories, which makes sense since there are two separate main characters.  First there is Hawkman and his conflict with Kendra and reincarnated love and then there is Kendra and her search for her parent’s murder.  In this episode, we finally get some movement in both of the stories, albeit one of the steps back while the other moves forward.  For the first time we get a sense why Kendra’s parent’s were killed.  There were two cops in the flashback, one of which we never saw his face clearly.  He, too, had been shot, but looked to be alive.  So, this was the person that is likely the killer.  Presumably, this person could also be the one who cut the cord that caused Speed to fall in the last issue.  Who this person might be will be addressed, I will assume, in the coming issues.  The one person it can’t be, really, is Hath-Set since the most recent Hawkman Secret Files revealed that Roderic was the reincarnation of Hath-set (unless I read this wrong).  It will be curious to see if the cop will be someone connected to the Hawk mythos in some way or just random chance.  I suspect the former.  I think it was the former issue in which Speed knew who Kendra really was before Kendra ever learned of it, so it is easy to leap to the conclusion that others knew and wanted to take care of Kendra before she reached her density. 

I think it is a testament to the writing of Johns and Robinson that I can spend a significant portion dissecting Kendra’s past and what it means to his series.  they have crafted a detailed, rich tapestry with which to weave their story.  And this issue just deepened that tapestry with the information provided by Dr. Fate.  Just when it seems like we might actually get some Hawk lovin’, the writers toss this curveball.  I love it.  These type of changes to the story, to the mythos, are the types of things that help create a series that can be sustained over time. 

I would be remiss if I did not mention the art by Rags Morales and Michael Bair.  Each month their work is just absolutely phenomenal and this issue is no exception.  I loved the sepia tones for the flashbacks, as well as the moment of Kendra the adult portraying Kendra the girl and Kendra flying overhead along with the other birds.  These little touches add to the dream-like quality of these flashbacks.  However, this is undermined by the cheesecake shots of Kendra writhing on the bed in her thong.  Given the seriousness of the scene, she should have better clothed.-- MRB

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