DCU Comic Book Reviews

HAWKGIRL #66

Dead Or Undead!

September 2007

Written by Walter Simonson

Pencils by Renato Arlem

Inks by Renato Arlem

Cover by Walter Simonson

Synopsis

Hath-Set has trapped Carter Hall (aka Hawkman) in a pit with mummies infused with Hath-set’s soul.  Meanwhile he attacks Kendra Saunders (aka Hawkgirl), intent on killing her and ending the cycle of reincarnation.  However, Shiera, former Hawkwoman, takes over Kendra.  Working together, Carter and Shiera are able to kill Hath-Set, burning his body and forever freeing the hawks from his curse.  His death has given the hawks a future.  Shiera then bades Carter goodbye and leaves Kendra, allowing her to be herself for a long time.  Carter tells her he is seeing her for the first time.  Kendra thinks she is seeing herself for the first time as well.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

There are two ways to look at this issue, which is the final one of this series.  This was either a happy ending or just the beginning.  Keep in mind that when this series started, writer Geoff Johns used it as a way to attempt to tie together all of the retcons of Hawkman over the years so that all of them made sense.  This was done with the reincarnation angle, presenting all of the disparate characters as part of one life being reincarnated over and over.  It was, in essence, a continuity fix.  It became the backbone of the series.  There were issues that focused on their past lives and issues that focused on Hath-Set’s curse and how it was affecting their current lives.  Very few issues (If any at all) did not refer to the reincarnation.  Because of that. it makes perfect sense for Simonson to tackle the reincarnation angle and then resolve it, finally ending the cycle and the curse.  So, based on that, is this a happy ending, providing closure for the characters.  Or, is this actually a beginning, allowing new writers to approach the hawks with a clean slate and not have to worry about the mythos of the character.  Think about that for a moment.  For the first time in a long, long time, the hawks can be written without having to worry about continuity.  Yes, Carter still remembers his past lives, but he is no longer bound by it, nor tied to the curse.  There is freedom for anyone to approach Carter and Kendra and write them anyway they would want.  To be honest, I had not really though about this issue in that way.  To me, it just seemed a great way to end the story.  But then, thinking about it more, it seems less of an ending that a chance to wipe the slate clean and given Kendra and Carter a chance to survive as themselves rather than the continuity mess they had been.

 

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