About Me
In the days of ancient Egypt, Prince Khufu is engaged in a feud with his rival, the Egyptian priest Hath-Set. The priest eventually captures both Khufu and his consort Chay-Ara, and kills them. Millennia later, in 1940, Khufu is reincarnated as American archaeologist Carter Hall, and Chay-Ara as Shiera Sanders. Hath-Set himself is reincarnated as a scientist named Anton Hastor. Upon finding the ancient knife Hath-Set used to kill him, Hall regains his memories of his past life and recognizes Hastor as the reincarnated evil priest.Using the properties of "Nth metal" to craft a gravity-defying belt, Hall creates wings and a costume, ultimately confronting Hastor as Hawkman. He also encounters and remembers Shiera during this time. Following Hastor's defeat, the two begin a romance.Hawkman becomes a charter member of the Justice Society of America, and takes the position of permanent chairman, following the Flash and Green Lantern. Shiera, meanwhile, adopts the identity of Hawkgirl and fights beside Hall throughout the 1940s.Hawkman is JSA chairman in 1951 when the team is investigated by the "Joint Congressional Un-American Activities Committee" (based on the real-life House Un-American Activities Committee) for possible communist sympathies. Congress asks members of the JSA to reveal their identities. The heroes decline, and Hawkman and most of the JSA retire for the bulk of the 1950s.
Carter Hall finds the ancient knife connected to his past life. Interior panel of Flash Comics #1 (1940).
Art by Dennis Neville.The JSA and Hawkman regroup in the early 1960s following the Flash's meeting with his counterpart on the parallel world Earth-1, the JSA being active on Earth-2. Around this time, the Halls, having married, have a son, Hector. Little is known of Hawkman's activities during the 1960s, other than the JSA's annual meeting with Earth-1's Justice League of America.In the early 1980s, Hawkman is instrumental in denying his son and other JSA children membership in the JSA, leading directly to the formation of Infinity, Inc.Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, some of Hall's history was retconned by DC when the parallel worlds were combined into one, but one piece of retroactive continuity was written before Crisis and fills out early Hall history: All-Star Squadron Annual #3 states that during a JSA battle against Ian Karkull, the villain imbued them with energy which retarded their aging, allowing Hall and many others - as well as their spouses - to remain active into the late 20th century without infirmity.Also, following the Crisis, the Golden Age and the Silver Age Hawkmen lived on the same Earth, until Carter was cast off into Limbo in the Last Days of the Justice Society one-shot.Originally, the Hawkworld mini-series retold the origins of Katar Hol and Shayera Thal from a modern perspective, but following its success, DC launched a Hawkworld regular series, taking place after the miniseries, resulting in a complete reboot of Hawkman's continuity.[edit] Post-Hawkworld (or current) origin
Much of Carter Hall's post-Hawkworld history is fleshed out in the pages of DC's JSA and Hawkman (vol. 4). These two titles, penned to a great extent by writers David S. Goyer, Geoff Johns, and James Dale Robinson, examine Hall's previous lives.According to the post-Hawkworld origin, Prince Khufu lives during the reign of Ramesses II in the 19th dynasty of ancient Egypt. Khufu believes that his ka, or soul, will not journey on to the land of the afterlife. Rather, his soul and that of his betrothed, Chay-Ara, are fated to remain in the mortal world.As prophesied by the wizard Nabu, a spaceship lands in Egypt. Prince Khufu, Nabu, and the champion Teth-Adam search the desert, finally coming across the remains of a Thanagarian ship styled with a hawk-like motif. Nabu casts a spell translating the strange language of the female space traveler. Just before dying, she whispers the words, "Nth Metal", the name of the substance that powered the downed ship.Teth-Adam lifts the ship back to Khufu's palace, where it is studied inside the Temple of Horus at Erdu. The remaining Nth metal is examined, and its most obvious property proves to be its ability to negate gravity. The remaining sample from the ship is melted and used to create several remarkable devices, including a scarab which allows Khufu to fly, a deadly knife, and a battle glove referred to as the Claw of Horus. However, the metal also strengthens the souls of Khufu and Chay-Ara, binding them together in their love and imprinting them with the collective knowledge of Thanagar. Although the villainous priest Hath-Set murders the two with the knife of Nth metal, their souls live on in the mortal plane. They are reincarnated over many lifetimes, always finding true love in each other. However, they are cursed to be repeatedly killed at the hands of a reincarnated Hath-Set.
