| Hawkgirl | |
|---|---|
 The Kendra Saunders and Shayera Hol versions of Hawkgirl. Art by Jim Cheung (penciler) and Tomeu Morey (colorist). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Shiera Sanders: Flash Comics #1 (January 1940) All Star Comics #5 (June 1941) [as Hawkgirl] Shayera Thal: The Brave and the Bold #34 (March 1961) Kendra Saunders: JSA: Secret Files #1 (August 1999) |
| Created by | (Hall) Gardner Fox Dennis Neville Sheldon Moldoff (Saunders) James Robinson David Goyer (Hol) Gardner Fox Joe Kubert |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Shiera Sanders Shayera Thal Kendra Saunders |
| Species | Metahuman(Kendra, Shiera) Thanagarian(Shayera) |
| Place of origin | New York(Shiera) Thanagar(Shayera) Santa Augusta,Florida(Kendra) |
| Team affiliations | Justice League All-Star Squadron Justice Society of America Birds of Prey |
| Partnerships | Hawkman (various) Doctor Fate (various) Black Adam |
| Abilities | All versions of Hawkgirl are skilled hand-to-hand combat, skilled with archaic weaponry, and immortal life times grants tactical abilities and experience. They possess Nth metal boots, belts, and a harness, granting them enhanced durability, strength, and flight. |
| Altered in-story information for adaptations to other media | |
| Partnerships | John Stewart |
Hawkgirl is the name of several differentsuperheroines appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. Since the debut of the original version, first created by writerGardner Fox and artistDennis Neville, and first appeared inFlash Comics #1 (January 1940), the character is often depicted as being from a line of immortal warriors affiliated withHawkman, reincarnated and originating from different backgrounds, utilizes archaic forms of weaponry, powers intricately connected to the fictional Nth metal (often in the form of wings), and their alter-ego's names sometimesphonetically identical.[1][2]
The original Hawkgirl,Shiera Hall (née Sanders), is considered one of DC Comics' earliest superheroines and is the chief love interest of theCarter Hall version of Hawkman. This version was present during theGolden Age, battling adversaries during theWorld War II era and was a member of the All-Star Squadron and theJustice Society of America.[2][3] The second Hawkgirl,Shayera Hol (née Thal), was created by writerGardner Fox and artistJoe Kubert, and first appeared inThe Brave and the Bold #34 (March 1961). Active during the Silver Age, this version was an alien (Thanagarian) law enforcement officer trained under decoratedKatar Hol and later arrived on Earth. Shayera later uses the "Hawkwoman" moniker instead.[2][3] The third Hawkgirl,Kendra Saunders, is the current version; she is depicted as aHispanic reincarnation who often seeks to distance herself from prior reincarnations.[4][5][2] Ultimately, Hawkgirl's first incarnation was originally the Egyptian Chay-Ara but later revealed to be Shrra, anangel and herald who advocated for Ktar Deathbringer's (Hawkman's original incarnation) redemption despite his crimes, leading her to be cursed alongside him until he can redeem himself.[6][7]
Hawkgirl have all been adapted into various media, includingdirect-to-video animated films, video games, and both live-action and animated television series, featuring as a main or recurring character in the showsJustice League,Justice League Unlimited,The Flash,Arrow,Young Justice,DC Super Hero Girls andLegends of Tomorrow. In particular,Ciara Renée portrayed Saunders in theArrowverse franchise whileIsabela Merced portrayed her in theDC Universe (DCU) filmSuperman (2025). Some versions, however, are alsocomposite versions of one another and feature different aspects of characterization not first present in comics.
Created by writerGardner Fox and artistDennis Neville,Shiera Sanders first appeared inFlash Comics #1 (January 1940), in the same 12-page story in which Fox and Neville introducedHawkman.[8] Shiera first appears as Hawkgirl inAll Star Comics #5 (July 1941), in a costume created bySheldon Moldoff,[9] based on Neville's Hawkman costume.
With the fading popularity of superheroes during the late 1940s, the Hawkman feature ended in the last issue ofFlash Comics in 1949. In 1956, DC Comics resurrected theFlash 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 withThe Brave and the Bold #34 in 1961. The Silver Age versions of Hawkman and Hawkgirl became marriedThanagarian police officers from the planet Thanagar who come to Earth to study police techniques. Silver Age Hawkgirl is introduced asShayera Hol (phonetically identical to Shiera Hall), who appears in costume as of her first appearance. Although Silver Age Hawkman joins theJustice League inJustice 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 toHawkwoman in the Hawkman backup feature ofWorld's Finest Comics #274.
With the establishment of DC'smultiverse system, the Golden Age Hawkgirl was said to have lived onEarth-Two and the Silver Age Hawkgirl onEarth-One.
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 afterCrisis 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 theLast Days of the Justice Societyone-shot. The Justice Society were trapped in another dimension,Limbo, where they would battle for all of eternity to preventRagnarök from occurring on the Earth.
Initially, the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman were kept in continuity unchanged afterCrisis on Infinite Earths. However, DC reversed this decision andrebooted Hawkman continuity after the success of theHawkworld 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 madeHawkworld an ongoing series set in the present, with both heroes only recently appearing on Earth after the events in theInvasion! 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 theInvasion! 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 (Hawkwoman) 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 theZero 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 monthlyJSA series and later in theHawkman monthly. In 2006, the ongoingHawkman monthly series was retitledHawkgirl starting with issue #50 as part of the "One Year Later" jump forward; Kendra replaced Hawkman as the lead character. TheHawkgirl comic book series was finished with issue #66.
TheGolden Age Hawkgirl wasShiera Sanders Hall, thereincarnation of theEgyptian princess Chay-Ara, and partner ofCarter Hall, the Golden Age Hawkman.
The Silver Age Hawkgirl, this version is an alien known as a Thanigarian, a long-lived human-like species with an affinity forNth 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.[2][3]
This version is a love interest of Katar Hol, with depictions varying in their marriage and progress in their relationship.[2] Inspired by their appearances in the DCAU as love interests, she also has a close bond and history withJohn Stewart within recent comics although details and the extent is unknown.[10][11]
The modern incarnation of Hawkgirl; the current version is cast as aHispanic-American (ofCuban origin). She is the granddaughter of adventurer Speed Saunders and cousin of the deceased Shiera Sanders, the first Hawkgirl. She is also the latest in a line of reincarnations involving Chay-Ara and Shrra, the latter original incarnation. First beginning as a leader of the Blackhawks ("Lady Blackhawk") to battle threats from the Dark Multiverse, she eventually becomes the heroic Hawkgirl.[12] Formerly, she was a film school student and the grand-niece of Shiera, whose soul would impart into her body when Kendra committed suicide, becoming a walk-in, and was trained by Speed to become the new Hawkgirl and inherited a preference for archaic weaponry and Egyptian history.[13] Unlike other reincarnations, Kendra in both continuities is reluctant in pursuingHawkman and is seeks independence from her reincarnation cycle.[12]
While each version of Hawgirl differs in background and abilities, they all possess similar attributes; Due to the character's immortal lifetime and experience originating from their reincarnation cycle, all version of Hawkgirl are considered genius-level tacticians and possess a mastery of various fighting styles and weaponry of archaic design.[2] They all commonly possess Nth metal harnesses, boots, and belt; this grants them a level of enhanced durability, strength, and flight.[2] One instance with Kendra showcase enhanced healing, strength, vision and limited hover abilities when not wearing Nth metal, speculating that this was due to her prolonged exposure to the substance.[14] Nth metal also regulates the body temperature of the wearer, preventing the need for heavy protective clothing while in high altitudes. It also has the property of radiating heat, which can be controlled to warm the wearer in colder climates.[15]
The Shayera Hol version of Hawkgirl appears in series set in theDC Animated Universe (DCAU), voiced byMaria Canals-Barrera.[28] This version is a member of the Thanagarian Armed Forces who wields an Nth Metal mace capable of disrupting magical and energy-based forces, is an expert hand-to-hand combatant, and came to Earth as an advance scout and spy for the Thanagarian military. Within this series' continuity and characterization, Shayera and the Thananigarians' wings were considered a part of their physiology and is a prominent love interest ofJohn Stewart, both a departure from the comics.
The Kendra Saunders incarnation of Hawkgirl appears in media set in theDC Universe, portrayed byIsabela Merced.[29][30][31] Saunders made her first appearance inSuperman.[32] This version is a member ofMaxwell Lord's "Justice Gang". Saunders later appears in thePeacemaker episode "The Ties That Grind", where she, Lord, andGuy Gardner interviewPeacemaker for a position in the Justice Gang.[31]
The Kendra Saunders incarnation of Hawkgirl, with elements of Shiera Sanders Hall, appears in media set in theArrowverse, portrayed byCiara Renée.[citation needed]
IGN's list of the "Top 25 Heroes of DC Comics" ranked Hawkgirl as #22.[42] She was ranked 80th inComics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.[43]
{{cite book}}:|last3= has generic name (help)
