As DC keeps upgrading their superheroes and timeframes, the DC universe has seen several changes over the years. Hawkgirl is one such superheroine, and the beginning of her tale can be found in ancient Egypt.
Since her 1942 debut in the Flash comics, many incarnations of this superheroine have been included into the D.C. universe. Hawkgirl’s journey started in the DC Golden Age, during which time she joined the Justice League and even had a prominent role in the Arrowverse.
We will look into Hawkgirl’s history today and fill you in on all the details!
The multiple versions of Hawkgirl and everything you need to know about her
One of the original superheroines in the DC world, Hawkgirl made her debut in the Flash books in 1940. There are various iterations of Hawkgirl, each with a somewhat distinct backstory, set of abilities, and set of powers. Shiera Sanders Hall, Shayera Hol, and Kendra Saunders have all played the role of Hawkgirl thus far.
The iconic Hawkgirl from the Golden Ages, Shiera Hall, was the first Hawkgirl. Shiera was the reincarnation of “Chay-Ara,” an Egyptian princess who had been slain by a blade forged of “Nth metal.” The knife’s metal qualities helped her reincarnate as “Shiera Sanders Hall,” and it also brought back her beloved, “Prince Khufu.” Carter Hall, afterwards known as Hawkman, was Prince Khufu’s previous name. Shiera Sanders, a reincarnation of Princess Chay-Ara, assumed the identity of “Hawkgirl” at the start of the 20th century.
The Silver Age incarnation of this superheroine, called “Shayera Hol,” came after Shiera Sanders’ Hawkgirl. The animated DC universe features Shayera’s Hawkgirl heavily, and she was also the Hawkgirl who was crucial to the creation of the Justice League. She was from the planet “Thanagar,” and another name for her was Hawkwoman. Shayera served in the military on Thanagar, a highly developed planet. She was sent to Earth on a mission after having a romantic relationship with a senior officer in the Thanagarian military. Here, Shayera ran into the Justice League and joined them in fighting crime. Gardner Fox developed Shayera Hol’s Hawkgirl, who first appeared in 1961’s “The Brave and the Bold” comics.
Finally, the most recent Hawkgirl is Kendra Saunders, and she was first introduced in ‘J.S.A.: Secret Files and Origins’ in 1999. David Goyer and Stephen Sadowski created Kendra’s Hawkgirl, and her origins were quite tragic compared to the others. Kendra was the descendant of Shiera Sander’s cousin ‘Speed Sounders’ and had lived a very tough childhood.
After suffering for her entire life, Kendra decided to end her life, and she committed suicide. However, Shiera Sander’s soul replaced Kendra’s soul when she tried to kill herself, making her the new Hawkgirl. Speed Sounders recognized his cousin Shiera’s soul and encouraged Kendra to embrace her new persona.
Though Kendra retained all memories of her own life, she also had some new memories after Shiera’s soul entered her body. These new memories mainly consisted of combats and enhanced Kendra’s fighting skills to some extent. Kendra’s Hawkgirl was altered quite a bit in order to adapt to the New Age, and fans very much appreciated this updated version of the Hawkgirl.
Hawkgirl appeared in story arcs such as the Crisis on Infinite Worlds, Flashpoint, DC Rebirth, and various such events that altered her character’s story arc across ages. Initially, she was a part of the Justice Society of America in the Golden Age and later became a pivotal member of the Justice League during the Silver Age. Since different characters have portrayed Hawkgirl during these two ages, the D.C. universe established that both these Hawkgirls originated from two different realities. While Shiera’s Hawkgirl was said to be from Earth-One, Shayera Hol was introduced as the Hawkgirl from Earth-Two.
Later, Kendra Saunders was introduced as the modern Hawkgirl, who worked with the Justice League, Birds of Prey, and other such teams of superheroes.
A brief history of one of the founding members of the Justice League
Shayera Hol, also known as the Hawkgirl of the Silver Age, was one of the core members of the Justice League. She originated from the planet ‘Thanagar’ where she was a lieutenant in the Thanagarian military. Shayera was also engaged to commander ‘Hro Talak,’ her superior in the military.
The Thanagarians had plans to invade Earth and were concerned about their enemy force ‘Gordanians’ cornering them on Earth. They planned to pose as Earth’s savior against the Gordanians, with the true intention of taking over Earth in the process. The military decided to send Shayera to Earth before their invasion in order to look for weaknesses in the Earth’s defense. She worked undercover on Earth and came up with a story about being accidentally teleported to Earth on a mission.
Shayera soon became popular as ‘Hawkgirl’ and worked along with superheroes to fight crime on Earth. She worked with Superman to protect Earth when the alien species ‘Imperium’ invaded the planet, and they were later joined by Batman, J’onn J’onzz, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Green Lantern. The group ended up getting captured in an alien factory, but they freed themselves and managed to get rid of the aliens. In fact, Hawkgirl played a major role in getting rid of Imperium, and she was soon invited to the space station ‘Watchtower’ along with the other superheroes.
Together, these six superheroes formed the Justice League, and Hawkgirl played an active role in the group’s missions. Hawkgirl fought various villains such as Darkseid, Music Master, Solomon Grundy, and so on. While tracking Solomon Grundy, Hawkgirl came across Doctor Fate and realized that he had some connection to Thanagar. Hawkgirl further looked into this and realized that the ‘Ichthultu’ had come to Earth.
Ichthultu was once worshiped on Thanagar but had now become an evil presence that needed to be stopped. Hawkgirl and some of the other Justice League members then traveled to his dimension along with Doctor Fate and Solomon Grundy. Here, Grundy and Hawkgirl worked together to kill Ichthultu. Though their mission was successful, Solomon Grundy ended up sacrificing his life in the effort.
While working with the Justice League, Hawkgirl got quite close to John Stewart, also known as Green Lantern. John Stewart had once even sacrificed his life in order to save Hawkgirl from an explosion, but Hawkgirl later used her powers to bring him back to life even after being advised against doing so by Batman. John later made a full recovery, and he and Hawkgirl officially got into a relationship.
However, Hawkgirl’s happiness was quite short-lived, as she also had to focus on her Thanagarian mission. After the Thanagarian forces shot down an enemy Gordanian ship, her mission on Earth was complete. She then handed over all her data regarding the Earth’s defense as well as the Justice League’s powers and weaknesses to the Thanagarians.
They went through these reports and decided that Earth was not prepared to defend themselves in case the Gordanians attacked them. Moreover, they declared that they would set up a force field generator to protect the Earth from the Gordanians. The Justice League and the Earth did not like the idea of the Thanagarians overseeing their defenses, and it was about that time that Hawkgirl was revealed to be a spy. This severely damaged her relationship with John Stewart and her other Justice League teammates.
Hawkgirl was loyal to the Thanagarian cause and insisted that they were doing what was best for everyone. She sided with her homeworld when the Justice League started resisting them, who were soon captured due to the information Shayera had shared with her homeworld’s military. At the time, Shayera was not aware of the true intentions of the Thanagarians, and she even attacked John Stewart with her mace during one of their clashes.
Later, Shayera learned that the Thanagarians were not installing a force field but were actually preparing to build a ‘Hyperspace Bypass Generator.’ This generator would help the Thanagarians to directly invade the Gordanians’ homeworld, but it would destroy the Earth in this process. Hawkgirl then betrayed her homeworld and stole any information she could in order to help Earth. She then handed this information to Bruce Wayne and tried to set things right with the Justice League. Only John Stewart still trusted her, and Hawkgirl returned his power ring to him and told her side of the story.
Meanwhile, the Thanagarians soon learned that Hawkgirl betrayed them, and they imprisoned her. Hro Talak, Shayera’s fiancé from Thanagar, also realized that she did not have feelings for him anymore. He offered to release Shayera if only she admitted that she doesn’t love John, but she refused to do so.
Later, Hawkgirl was freed from this prison by Wonder Woman, and the Justice League confronted Hro Talak. John Stewart and Talak ended up facing each other, and Stewart defeated the Thanagarian leader. They even destroyed the bypass generator, and the Thanagarians soon left Earth.
Later, the Justice League called a meeting to decide Hawkgirl’s fate in their team, but she voluntarily resigned and left the team. She stays with Doctor Fate and his wife for a while, until Solomon Grundy rises from the dead and stirs up trouble for the Justice League.
Hawkgirl was then asked to step in to defeat Grundy, since the metal from her mace was the only weapon capable of stopping Grundy. After this situation subsided, Superman tells Hawkgirl that the Justice League was actually in favor of her staying in the group and that they never wanted to dismiss her. Hawkgirl returned to the team, but things were a little different this time around. John was in a relationship with a new group member named ‘Vixen’, and Batman and Wonder Woman were also not very pleased to have her back. Over time, Hawkgirl fixed her relationship with the other teammates and continued to work with the Justice League for a long time.
She made her mark in the Arrowverse as well
Kendra Saunders’ Hawkgirl was portrayed by the actress ‘Ciara Renee’ in the Arrowverse, and she played a significant role in the ‘Legends of Tomorrow’. Kendra used to work as a barista at ‘CC Jitters’, where Cisco Ramon often visited her and tried to ask her out. Cisco was the founding member of Team Flash, and he could see glimpses of people’s past lives when he ‘vibed’ or had any physical contact with them. Initially, Kendra turns him down, but she soon agrees to go on a date with him. When Kendra and Cisco had any physical contact, Cisco could see glimpses of a winged being with a helmet, and he realized that this being was Kendra herself.
Kendra was later hunted down by an immortal man named ‘Vandal Savage,’ who kept showing up in unlikely places and addressed Kendra as ‘Princess Chay-Ara.’ Vandal was determined to get his hands on Kendra, but the Flash rescued her. Flash brought Kendra to S.T.A.R. labs along with Cisco and inquired about the strange man. Kendra declared that she has never met the man before, but the Flash and other characters such as the ‘Green Arrow’ believed they had some connection. Later, Vandal tried to break into the room through the window, and Team Flash fought him.
Cisco then told Kendra about the vision he got earlier when Malcolm Merlyn and the League of Assassins showed up. They revealed that this man is Vandal Savage, an immortal being who has been alive for centuries. Malcolm stressed that Kendra was in immense danger, when a strange man with wings appeared and kidnapped her. This man introduced himself as ‘Khufu’ and seemed to be the past-life incarnation of Priestess Chay-Ara’s lover. Khufu asked Kendra to stay with him until all her memories as ‘Chay-Ara’ return to her, but the Green Arrow and Flash located them and brought them back to the Foundry.
Here, the man introduces himself as ‘Carter Hall’ and tells them that he was originally ‘Prince Khufu’ who has now been reincarnated. Carter also tells them that Vandal Savage keeps killing them and has so far managed to kill them 206 times. Moreover, Vandal keeps getting stronger with each kill and Kendra realizes just how dangerous this situation is turning out to be. Malcolm then tells them that they need to get their hands on an ancient weapon called ‘Staff of Hours’ that can kill Vandal.
Carter Hall insists that he can activate Kendra’s powers and memories, and he asks her to jump off a building in order to unlock her true abilities. While she hesitates at first, Kendra ultimately jumps and transforms into ‘Hawkgirl.’ She also gets her wings, and Green Arrow tries to get her to unlock more of her abilities. The Flash does not wish Green Arrow to train her, and these two superheroes then track Vandal and meet with him. Vandal gives them a twenty-four-hour deadline to hand over Carter and Kendra. Otherwise, Vandal he would destroy all of Central City. Kendra does not wish for so many people to die for her sake and starts training with some help from Carter.
The group finds a way to defeat Vandal through Professor Aldus Boardman, who reveals that Vandal’s immortality was a result of an unearthly calamity, and any event related to this calamity would make Vandal vulnerable. The team makes a plan to lure Vandal by handing over Kendra to him and then attacking him, but this plan does not work, and Kendra ends up dead.
In the end, the Flash uses his ability to go back in time to undo these events. This time around, even Cisco helps Kendra attain the full potential of her powers and tells her to focus on her priestess side rather than the warrior side. Kendra then manages to unlock her abilities, and the team successfully defeats Vandal Savage and kills him with the ‘Staff of Hours.’
After a few months, Kendra and Carter started fighting crime together along with the ‘Legends of Tomorrow’. Here, they were recruited by ‘Rip Hunter’, a rogue time-captain who was on a mission to destroy Vandal Savage once and for all. Kendra finds herself facing this villain yet again, only this time around; she has excellent training in her powers and abilities. Vandal ends up killing Carter Hall, who is later reincarnated into ‘Scythian Torvil.’ Scythian and Kendra work together to kill Vandal, and they later decide to leave the Legends. However, they returned back to the team in the future to save one of their former member’s children.
She has been a constant presence in the animated universe
All the versions of Hawkgirl have appeared in various forms of media in the animated D.C. universe, but the Shayera Hol version especially has a widespread presence. Shayera’s Hawkgirl appeared in episodes of both Justice League and the Justice League Unlimited animated series. She also appeared in the ‘All New Super Friends Hour’ series and the ‘Super Friends’ animated T.V. shows. This version of the Hawkgirl has also been included in the animated ‘Green Lantern’ film as well as ‘Teen Titans Go! To the Movies’. Moreover, she also has a cameo in the ‘Justice League; The New Frontier’ animated film.
Shiera Sander’s Hawkgirl made a small appearance in an episode of the D.C. Super Hero Girls, whereas Kendra Saunders had a widespread presence in the same animated series. Kendra’s Hawkgirl also appears in five D.C. Super Hero Girls animated movies. Besides, Kendra Saunders’ Hawkgirl was also included in the Lego Batman Movie.
Another version of the Hawkgirl known as ‘Angelique’ made an appearance in the animated ‘Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths’ film. Here, Hawkgirl is portrayed as an evil villain who is a member of a crime syndicate.
Hawkgirl has quite an extensive role in the D.C. animated universe, and all the different versions of this superheroine are quite well represented here.
What makes her so powerful?
Hawkgirl used to be a part of the Thanagarian military, where she picked up many skills such as strategic planning, combat skills, and military science. She was also skilled in various forms of martial art and could easily defeat many supernatural beings in hand-to-hand combat.
On one occasion, Hawkgirl single-handedly defeated four members of the Green Lantern Corps in combat. Hawkgirl was not only physically strong, but she was also mentally powerful. She was resistant to mind control and could not be possessed by any beings. Hawkgirl’s intellectual capabilities also helped her cover her tracks and commit espionage, and she often got away undetected in dangerous situations. Besides being skilled at staying undetected, Hawkgirl was gifted at tracking down her opponents which gave her an added advantage.
Hawkgirl also had a pair of wings made of Nth metal that grew from her back, and these wings helped her in flight and even had some healing powers. She could even fly across various planets to some extent, as long as she stayed close enough to the Earth’s gravity. Hawkgirl’s strength and endurance were beyond the scope of humans, and her Thanagarian roots made her a difficult opponent to defeat.
While Hawkgirl had some exceptional powers, she was highly claustrophobic, which ended up being a major weakness in tough situations.
Conclusion
To sum it up, Hawkgirl is undoubtedly one of D.C.’s most powerful superheroines. She has proved to be a valuable team member on various occasions, and her presence has definitely made a mark across story arcs, even in the extended D.C. universe. She is a widely loved character, and a modern-day project featuring her has the potential to be a huge hit! While there is nothing official on the horizon, we can definitely keep our fingers crossed for upcoming projects that may feature a modern-day version of Hawkgirl!