Hawkman Review of Hawkman Found

By Tim Board (Hawkworld Facebook and Hawkworld Twitter)
Since Hawkman Found was announced during the summer, there has been a lot of speculation about the direction Hawkman would be taken. In the Dark Days: The Casting, Carter Hall disappeared into the Dark Multiverse and had not been heard of since. When the Metal No. 4 was released on December 20th, we found out what Hawkman had become; a giant Hawk-monster called the Dragon of Barbatos who guarded the Forge of Worlds, staring down Superman and Batman. That gave us an idea of what the Hawkman issue was going to be about. How did Carter Hall become the creature that he is now?

Jeff Lemire took the writing for this one-shot and you can tell he tried to re-establish the history of Hawkman in one issue. With a character like Hawkman, that’s almost impossible but Lemire did a good job of doing that in the limited pages he had.

During the issue, we get to see Manhawks, Prince Khufu, The Silent Knight, and a majestic shot of Hawkman as he used to be as Carter Hall remembers his past and his place at the Forge of Worlds. He remembers he was there when he was taken prisoner by Barbatos and the Manhawks. He remembers Kendra. He remembers how he received a distress call from the Challengers but somehow ended up here. And then he starts falling again, just like in his dream. And then suddenly he is completely taken over by the blackness and is the Hawk-monster that is the Dragon of Barbatos.

As a Hawkman fan, there was hope that the issue would provide some answers to Carter Hall’s situation and where he is headed from here. We didn’t get any of that. Lemire focused more on telling the story of Carter Hall; what makes him tick, how he thinks, and what is important to him. From that point of view Lemire did an amazing job of establishing the character and reminding us again who Hawkman is.

Hawkman is a hero driven by “discovery and love”. He is a hero who has lived many, many lives throughout the history of man. He is a hero determined to protect the order and fulfill his destiny. He is a hero who is sustained by his love for Kendra. He is a hero with the power of flight.

This may not be the issue fans wanted or even needed. Some may say that this issue was not even necessary in the story of Metal. That may be true, but the story of Metal just became much more personal and interesting by reintroducing us to the character that is vital to the Metal series. Hawkman and Hawkgirl’s story is just getting started again. And as Hawkman said in the issue, “I’m Hawkman. And I’m coming home.”