Hawkgirl
Hawkgirl is the name of several different superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Since the debut of the original version, first created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, and first appeared in Flash Comics #1, the character is often depicted as being from a line of immortal warriors affiliated with Hawkman, reincarnated and originating from different backgrounds, utilizes archaic forms of weaponry, powers intricately connected to the fictional Nth metal, and their alter-ego's names sometimes phonetically identical.
The original Hawkgirl, Shiera Hall , is considered one of DC Comics' earliest superheroines and is the chief love interest of the Carter Hall version of Hawkman. This version was present during the Golden Age, battling adversaries during the World War II era and was a member of the All-Star Squadron and the Justice Society of America. The second Hawkgirl, Shayera Hol, was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Joe Kubert, and first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #34. Active during the Silver Age, this version was an alien law enforcement officer trained under decorated Katar Hol and later arrived on Earth. Shayera later uses the "Hawkwoman" moniker instead. The third Hawkgirl, Kendra Saunders, is the current version; she is depicted as a Hispanic reincarnation who often seeks to distance herself from prior reincarnations. Ultimately, Hawkgirl's first incarnation was originally the Egyptian Chay-Ara but later revealed to be Shrra, an angel and herald who advocated for Ktar Deathbringer's redemption despite his crimes, leading her to be cursed alongside him until he can redeem himself.
Hawkgirl have all been adapted into various media, including direct-to-video animated films, video games, and both live-action and animated television series, featuring as a main or recurring character in the shows Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, The Flash, Arrow, Young Justice, DC Super Hero Girls and Legends of Tomorrow. In particular, Ciara Renée portrayed Saunders in the Arrowverse franchise while Isabela Merced portrayed her in the DC Universe film Superman. Some versions, however, are also composite versions of one another and feature different aspects of characterization not first present in comics.
Publication history
Golden Age
Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, Shiera Sanders first appeared in Flash Comics #1, in the same 12-page story in which Fox and Neville introduced Hawkman. Shiera first appears as Hawkgirl in All Star Comics #5, in a costume created by Sheldon Moldoff, based on Neville's Hawkman costume.Silver Age
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 Thanagarian police officers from the planet Thanagar who come to Earth to study police techniques. Silver Age Hawkgirl is introduced as Shayera Hol, 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. In 1981, Silver Age Hawkgirl changed her name to Hawkwoman in the Hawkman backup feature of World's Finest Comics #274.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.
Post-Crisis and One Year Later
Following the events of DC's miniseries, Crisis on Infinite Earths, the histories of Earth-One, Two, Four, S, and X were merged into one single Earth with a consistent past, present, and future. As a result, both the Golden Age and the Silver Age versions of Hawkman and Hawkgirl live on the same Earth. Shortly after Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC decided that having the Justice Society on the same Earth as all of the other superheroes was redundant and most of the team, including Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl were given a sendoff in the Last Days of the Justice Society one-shot. The Justice Society were trapped in another dimension, Limbo, where they would battle for all of eternity to prevent Ragnarök from occurring on the Earth.Initially, the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman were kept in continuity unchanged after Crisis on Infinite Earths. However, DC reversed this decision and rebooted Hawkman continuity after the success of the Hawkworld miniseries. Originally, Hawkworld was a miniseries set in the past that revised the origins of Hawkman and Hawkwoman, but after the series became a success, DC Comics made Hawkworld an ongoing series set in the present, with both heroes only recently appearing on Earth after the events in the Invasion! miniseries, resulting in a complete reboot of Hawkman continuity. Several continuity errors regarding Hawkman and Hawkgirl's Justice League appearances then needed to be fixed, including their appearance in the Invasion! miniseries. All previous appearances by the Silver Age Hawkgirl in the Justice League were explained by the Golden Age Hawkgirl taking the Silver Age Hawkgirl's place. However, Hawkwoman continued to appear in some pre-Hawkworld Justice League adventures during the time Golden Age Hawkgirl was trapped in Limbo. To explain this continuity error, a new Hawkwoman, Sharon Parker, was created and retconned into the Justice League during the time Golden Age Hawkgirl was in Limbo.
After the Hawkworld reboot, Hawkgirl was now Shayera Thal and not married to Katar Hol, instead merely his police partner. In post-Hawkworld continuity, Shayera adopts the name Hawkwoman from the very beginning of her costumed career and never uses the name Hawkgirl. The Golden Age Hawkgirl is eventually returned from Limbo, but during the Zero Hour miniseries she is merged with Katar Hol and Golden Age Hawkman into a new persona.
A new Hawkgirl was introduced as part of the 1999 revival of the JSA monthly title. The new Hawkgirl is Kendra Saunders, granddaughter of the Golden Age Hawkgirl's cousin, Speed Saunders. Hawkgirl would continue to appear regularly in the monthly JSA series and later in the Hawkman monthly. In 2006, the ongoing Hawkman monthly series was retitled Hawkgirl starting with issue #50 as part of the "One Year Later" jump forward; Kendra replaced Hawkman as the lead character. The Hawkgirl comic book series was finished with issue #66.
Fictional character biographies
Shiera Sanders
The Golden Age Hawkgirl was Shiera Sanders Hall, the reincarnation of the Egyptian princess Chay-Ara, and partner of Carter Hall, the Golden Age Hawkman.Shayera Thal
The Silver Age Hawkgirl, this version is an alien known as a Thanigarian, a long-lived human-like species with an affinity for Nth metal, which is used to created harness wings and other forms of weaponry. All continuities similarly portray her as a law enforcement officer on Thanagar trained and partnered with decorated officer, Katar Hol, whom she often disagrees with, and the pair later travel to Earth in order to learn different crime-fighting methods and becoming a superhero. While first using the "Hawkgirl" moniker, she later changes it to "Hawkwoman" due to the negative connotations associated with "girl" in Earth culture. She is often visually depicted as a redhead.This version is a love interest of Katar Hol, with depictions varying in their marriage and progress in their relationship. Inspired by their appearances in the DCAU as love interests, she also has a close bond and history with John Stewart within recent comics although details and the extent is unknown.