Broken Frontier

In a week that should have been memorable for the confirmation that Barry Allen has indeed returned from the dead we instead find ourselves mired in more Hawkman controversy. It’s certainly the major talking point of the latest DC releases with opinions very definitely divided as to what this means for the character’s recent history. My interpretation of events is below. Yours may differ. The truth will probably turn out to be something else entirely! Paradoxically, when it comes to Hawkman "everything you know is a lie" is the only thing it seems we can ever really be sure of about the character.

Spoiler Warning: Read no further if you’ve not had your DC fix this week and don’t want to read about key story elements.

Across the Universe
(A rundown of the week’s releases)

More flashbacks to Bruce Wayne’s childhood in Detective Comics #847 plus the unlikely return of Tweedledee and Tweedledum as Batman R.I.P. spreads across the Bat-books.

The full scope of the war to come becomes apparent to the heroes of the DCU in Final Crisis #3.

Confused by Hawkman continuity? It just got even more muddled in Hawkman Special #1...

Who lives? Who dies? And does the team still have a future? Find out in the final issue of Infinity Inc. #12.

Jonah finds that putting the violence of his life behind him may be harder than he thought in Jonah Hex #34.

Manhunter #33 sees the Birds of Prey enter the fray as Kate confronts the new Crime Doctor.

It’s double trouble for Dick Grayson when both Two-Face and Batman R.I.P. impact on his world in Nightwing #147.

The Boy Wonder and the Spoiler hunt for the missing Batman in Robin #176 in another Batman R.I.P. tie-in that sees Tim Drake realise his importance to Gotham City.

In Supergirl #32 Kara learns a hard life lesson as her quest to save a dying boy comes to its conclusion.

The JLA take the battle to the Crime Syndicate of Amerika in Trinity #10 while the Batman Family investigates the actions of the Troika.

Dinosaurs, robot soldiers and time-tossed warriors. The conflict continues in The War That Time Forgot #4.

And, finally, on Earth-50 there’s the return of a fan-favorite super-team in The Authority #1.

The Bigger Picture
(All the developments, hints, clues and teasers for the overarching storylines)

Back in a Flash - Three generations of Flash fail to stop Orion’s death. Wally West and Barry Allen emerge from the Speed Force in the near future after Darkseid has used the Anti-Life Equation to take over the world. They are confronted by some familiar faces taking on the guise of the Female Furies. Barry states that he was dead and bemoans his return to life... (Final Crisis #3)

The Religion of Crime – Libra forcibly uses the Anti-Life Equation on the Human Flame. When confronted over his leadership of the Society by Lex Luthor Libra informs him he can either renounce science and pledge himself to the Religion of Crime or be turned into a subservient zombie. (Final Crisis #3)

The Coming Crisis – The heroes of the DCU are drafted under Article X which, apparently, was used to assemble the All-Star Squadron in World War II. Mary Marvel and Mokkari put Darkseid’s final plans into motion. Mary plays her part by infecting Wonder Woman as a disease carrier. The question here is what she has infected Diana with? Could this be anything to do with using the Morticoccus virus as a physical carrier for the Anti-Life Equation? Granted that would be at odds with the virus’s effects in Countdown to Final Crisis but that’s par for the course at this stage. Mokkari infects the world’s computers with an e-mail virus that will send the Anti-Life Equation to most of the planet. (Final Crisis #3)

Mystery in Space – In the midst of the Rann-Thanagar Holy War Hawkman comes face to face with the Eternal Light Corporation’s god the Nameless One, or the Demiurge as he introduces himself here. The Demiurge tells Hawkman everything he believes as his past is a lie. He is not an incarnation of the Pharaoh Khufu (who never existed) and he and Hawkgirl were never trapped in an endless cycle of reincarnation, death and rebirth. Large parts of what he remembers are segments of the lives of other Hawkmen from the original pre-Crisis On Infinite Earths Multiverse.

Someone has mystically grafted these alternate histories onto his existence to cause confusion for unknown reasons. The Demiurge also speaks of their shared future, shows Hawkman a vision of his death and tells him he is one of "The Aberrant Six". He also addresses him as "Katar Hol" implying that, contrary to what we have all been led to believe all these years, the Silver Age Hawkman never died .

What is of particular note here is the implication that there are six aberrations whose existence in this version of the Multiverse is anomalous and tied into the original pre-COIE DC reality. After a year of the Monitors chasing such Multiversal "anomalies" in Countdown you would think that at some point they might have mentioned that Hawkman was a pretty good candidate for being amongst their ranks. (Hawkman Special #1)

Batman R.I.P. – As the forces of the Black Glove descend on Bruce Wayne’s life, Hush’s current mission to ensure that only he gets to ultimately destroy Batman continues. In flashbacks we learn that Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow, treated the young Tommy Elliot and is working with him in his current schemes. (Detective Comics #847)

It’s unclear as yet how this ties into the bigger storyline but Two-Face enlists Nightwing’s aid in protecting his old friend Carol Bermingham who is testifying in a major criminal trial. When those wishing to silence her target the helicopter transporting her Nightwing saves her from death but is gravely injured as a consequence. (Nightwing #147)

Tim Drake and the Spoiler search for the missing Batman with Tim’s concerns that the Dark Knight’s sanity may be lost growing. Spoiler sabotages Robin’s hunt under Batman’s instructions. He had anticipated something major happening to him and did not want Robin involved. There is some foreshadowing at issue’s end that Tim might be ready to step up and take on the mantle of the Bat. Finally a mysterious figure finds Jason Todd’s Red Robin costume from where he dumped it at the end of Countdown to Final Crisis. (Robin #176)

The Dark Side Club – Fogel/Desaad deactivates the powers of all recipients of the Everyman Project except for the remaining members of Infinity Inc. who he abducts in order to analyze and dissect, sensing their potential threat to the Evil Gods. The story will continue later this year in the pages of Terror Titans. (Infinity Inc. #12)

Frankenstein and S.H.A.D.E. invade a Dark Side Club holding and discover the shrivelled corpse of Darkseid’s recent host body. They also encounter an electronic form of The Source which imparts the message "Know Evil". Checkmate and S.H.A.D.E. reveal plans for Renee Montoya, the Question, in the future of Global Law Enforcement. (Final Crisis #3)

A Crisis in Time? – On Dinosaur Island the factions of time-lost combatants divide further as the main group splits into two sides led by Lt. Carson and Colonel Jape. The Raiders dispose of their former god, the badly-damaged G.I. Robot, who is later recovered by Jape. The "future soldier" Akisha continues to demonstrate awareness of what is really occurring here when she saves Carson from a rampaging Triceratops, mentioning that aiding the soldiers is something she should not have been doing. Finally, the soldiers discover the planes that brought them to the War are all perfectly preserved on the island and Japanese fighter pilot Yamashita finds a strange green disc inside his. (The War That Time Forgot #4)

In a sometimes confusing conclusion to the current story arc Supergirl appears to avoid creating the dystopic future timeline we have seen in recent issues of the book. Her battle with time-hopping bad guy Dolok gives her access to his time-travel device which would give Kara a second chance to find a way to save Thomas Price, the young cancer sufferer whose death she has been trying to avert. Realising that she has no right to interfere further with the timestream, however, Kara destroys the device instead. (Supergirl #32)

The Monitors – Zillo Valla, one of the Monitors who had taken on a name in Final Crisis #1, appears to Superman offering him a chance to save Lois Lane if he leaves Earth now. Could this be a lead-in to Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1? She is also seen shadowing Nix Uotan. (Final Crisis #3)

The Trinity – Suspecting the items stolen from friends and foes of the Trinity will be used for mystical reasons Nightwing and Robin meet with occultist Jason Blood. The spell the Troika are planning (to usurp the Trinity’s role?) involves using the stolen tarot-related items as a battery for an energy that the "souvenirs" will attract. (Trinity #10)

Rounding up… The Suicide Squad enter the fray when Manhunter breaks into Vesetech to find out what the company’s role in the missing women’s murders really is. Back home Kate’s son Ramsey shows some remarkable superhuman resilience when a truck that runs into him comes off the worse for the experience. (Manhunter #33)

Earthwatch

Earth-II – The Crime Syndicate of Amerika have been kidnapping large numbers of people from New Earth to aid as slaves in the rebuilding of Earth-II after it was devastated by the weaponers of Qward. It would appear that people from across the Multiverse are victims of these abductions as when the JLA arrive on Earth-II Superman is mistaken for Earth-50’s Apollo, "Stellarman", "Hyperman" and "Captain Champion". The League are also mistaken for "Die Liga Justiz".

In Booster Gold #1,00,000 Rip Hunter’s chalkboard told us that "For every positive there is a negative". Could that be a reference to these events? Is the one Anti-Matter Universe the opposite of every other positive universe in the 52? Would this mean all other realities are accessible through the universe of Earth-II? (Trinity #10)

Earth-10? – Uberfraulein (there appears to be an error here that slipped past the proofreading for Final Crisis #3 but I assume this is the character’s real name), a Nazi Supergirl, falls to New Earth. Translating her muttered German is not my forte but according to the German-English translation software I used she speaks about the "sky haemorrhaging". That’s a literal translation that could well relate to the Red Skies of the Crisis and an incursion from The Bleed of the WildStorm Universe. Exiled Monitor Nix Uotan was doodling pictures of this character in Final Crisis #2 (check out page 9 panel 5) along with a male counterpart.

A Nazi Superman and Supergirl would imply Earth-10 as a homeworld. However, in Countdown to Adventure #2 (Nov 07) Forerunner visited that particular Earth and met a different version of a Nazi Man of Steel among the members of JLAxis. With so many discrepancies between events in the Countdown books and Final Crisis, though, I wouldn’t discount Uberfraulein’s citizenship of Earth-10 just yet. (Final Crisis #3)

Earth-50 – The Authority find themselves in an unaccustomed position of powerlessness in the wake of World’s End. The Carrier has fallen to Earth and now lies destroyed in London where the team fight a losing battle to save the local population from the post-apocalyptic horrors of this devastated new world. (The Authority #1)

Continuity Corner
(The whys and wherefores of some of this week's characters and events)

Hawkman Special #1: Everything You Know is a Lie... Part 357

As debates about what the events of Hawkman Special #1 mean continue across electronic realities everywhere it seems a fitting point for us to reflect on the many continuity reboots, patches, restarts and fixes this character has endured over the last twenty or so years.

As most people will be aware the infamous Hawkworld miniseries was the point at which the dominoes were tipped and started falling for the Winged Wonder’s back story. Up until then it was simple enough – there was a Golden Age Hawkman, Carter Hall, who was the reincarnation of Egyptian Prince Khufu and a Silver Age Hawkman, Katar Hol, an alien policeman from the planet Thanagar who came to Earth to learn our policing methods.

It would be established that Carter was trapped alongside his partner and lover Shiera (Hawkgirl) Saunders in an endless cycle of reincarnation, forever entwined with that of the evil priest Hath-Set who had first murdered them in Egyptian times. Carter was also a founding member of the JSA. Katar was accompanied to Earth by Shayera Thal (Hawkwoman) and the two would become members of the JLA.

These were two simple premises that would sadly degenerate into such a mess of continuity that a several-year moratorium on the character’s use would eventually follow. In 1989 the Hawkworld miniseries debuted which started the rot. This was Tim Truman’s otherwise stunning vision of Thanagar and the early days of Hawkman which spawned an ongoing series the year after.

Unfortunately it was also a reboot that ignored the character’s many post-Crisis appearances including Hawkman Vol.2 (1986-87), a team-up with the recently John Byrne revamped Superman in Action Comics #588 (May 1987) and membership of the Justice League International. None of these stories could be easily explained away. John Ostrander did his very best to try and make sense of the JLI connection, revealing in Hawkworld #s 22-23 (April-May 1992) that a Thanagarian spy called Fel Andar and his wife had been the second incarnation of the Hawks who joined the League, but it felt both contrived and unconvincing. A similar attempt to slot Carter Hall into the Silver Age Justice League's history in place of Katar also felt shoehorned in.

In 1994’s Zero Hour event an attempt was made to clear up some of the confusion as DC bade farewell to many members of the JSA. In the midst of the temporal chaos of that series Katar, Carter and Shiera were shunted into one being along with the mystical Hawk God. This set up a new ongoing status quo for Hawkman  making him one of a long line of Hawk avatars and pitting him against the avatars of various other animal gods. Characters like DC Western hero Nighthawk and the Silent Knight were retroactively established in continuity as previous Hawk avatars.

As the confusion mounted over the years as to which stories were canon the knock-on effect was not just limited to the good guys. Hawk-villains were also affected. Most memorably the Gentleman Ghost went from being a genuine spirit with a distinctive foppish look (see the cover to Hawkman Vol.2 #16 above) to a very mortal and rather pedestrian jewel thief (as seen on the cover to Hawkman Vol. 3 #21 below). At last count he was a ghost again with no explanation of the links between his first and second selves.

In July 1996 Hawkman Vol.3 #33 concluded Katar Hol’s journey for the time being as, his sanity deteriorating due to his avatar status, he was banished to Limbo. Shayera Thal would disappear into a less literal Limbo resurfacing only to be rather gratuitously killed off in Rann-Thanagar War a couple of years back. In the next few years the angel Zauriel nearly became the new Hawkman in Grant Morrison’s JLA but the name and the legacy was considered damaged goods by this point.

It would not be until 2001 and JSA #s 22-25’s The Return of Hawkman arc that the character would return, magically resurrected on Thanagar to stop the threat of Onimar Synn. This would lead into the fourth volume of Hawkman starring the returned Carter Hall (Katar having perished in the rebirth process) and the new Hawkgirl Kendra Saunders who may or may not be the reincarnated Shiera Hall depending on which writer has been handling her over the years! The historical avatars aspect of the third run of the book was retooled in this version meaning characters like Silent Knight or Nighthawk and Cinnamon were actually past lives of Hawkman and Hawkgirl. The retcons continued...

One final mention of Hawkman retroactive continuity must go to the recent return of Hawk supporting character and Teen Titan Golden Eagle in Hawkman Vol. 4 #s 37-45 (2005). In this arc we discover Charley Parker was never the man we thought he was. In actuality he was the son of Fel Andar, the villainous Hawkman from Hawkworld. This one is quite unique as it actually grafts one retcon onto another!

Rounding up... When Two-Face and Nightwing meet we are reminded visually of the severe beating that Harvey Dent gave to Robin that nearly ended the Boy Wonder’s fledgling super-hero career. (Nightwing #147)

Jonah’s attempt to retire and leave his violent ways behind him occurs after, and as a result of, events in Jonah Hex #28. (Jonah Hex #34)

The little-seen Cave Carson discovers one of Metron’s symbols etched into the rock below the New York Subway extension. Cave first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #31 (Aug 1960) and a version of his origin can be seen in Secret Origins #43 (Aug 1989). (Final Crisis #3)

Trading Places

Looking for some Hawk-history to follow up on this week’s Continuity Corner? Currently there’s one Golden Age Hawkman Archive and two volumes of regular Silver Age Hawkman Archives. Carter's rebirth can be revisited in JSA: The Return of Hawkman. 

For the now possibly retconned-out history of Hawkman’s time as Prince Khufu Hawkman: Endless Flight, from Geoff Johns and Rags Morales, gives you the inside scoop and Hawkman: Enemies and Allies continues the story. Hawkman: Rise of the Golden Eagle details the new origin of Golden Eagle while Hawkgirl: Hath-Set pits the Hawks against their immortal enemy for the final (?) time.

Fanboy Moment of the Week

As you have probably gathered my sympathies this week are certainly with those banging their heads against a brick wall at the thought of yet another major rewriting of Hawkman continuity. While it may not enamour me to many, however, I have got to admit a certain guilty feeling of pleasure at the possible return of the Silver Age Hawkman. The off-panel death of Katar Hol in JSA did a huge disservice to the character in my most humble of opinions. If DC were going to kill him off he should have at least gone out in a blaze of glory. So it’s a tentative welcome back to Katar... but let’s hope the continuity fallout is worth it.

That's it for another week. Until then feel free to post corrections, criticisms and commentary on the Broken Frontier ATDCU message board thread here. See you in seven days and thanks for reading!