Debunking a Hawkgirl Article

   Screen Rant came out with an article today titled "DC Flips the Script on Hawkman and Hawkgirl's Dynamic." Here is the link to the article. I have some things to say about the article.  

ScreenRant Article Heading

This article's opinion comes from the recent developments in JSA #3 (released on January 1). In the issue, Hawkgirl (Kendra Saunders II) says that her relationship with Hawkman (Carter Hall III) is like a brother. He has found Shayera (Hawkwoman aka Shayera Hol II). They love each other, and Kendra no longer has a lover relationship with Carter. But she still cares about him. 

JSA No. 3 (March 2025)

   OK, let me explain where things currently stand with the Hawks as simply as possible. I'm going with everything that has happened since 2018's Metal event. These events appear to still be canon in the current DC Universe.

   Carter Hall III was with Shiera but she died sometime in the past and after her death, Carter went into the Dark Multiverse and was split into two beings; the Savage Hawkman and the Keeper of the Dark Forge (a giant Hawk kaiju). The Savage Hawkman died in the Death of Hawkman series, and the Dark Forge Hawkman was rescued from the Dark Multiverse and turned back into the Hawkman (Carter Hall III) that we have now. 

Metal No. 4 (2017)

   When Shiera died, she was split into two beings by Perpetua and the Totality power source: Kendra Saunders II and Shayera Hol II 

   Kendra was with Hawkman for a time it seems, but after he died she joined the Blackhawks for a time. After the Metal event, she became Hawkgirl again and joined the Justice League. 
   Shayera was born on Thanagar and became the Empress after the death of her father and brother. When Thanagar was destroyed and her husband (Katar Hol III) was killed in the Death of Hawkman series, she took her people to their ancient home planet called Thanagar Prime. 
   When Kendra met Shayera on Thanagar Prime, Starman revealed that they were two halves of one person, so he used his powers to make them both whole. Kendra was now her own person and not connected to the reincarnation cycle of Carter and Shayera, while Shayera was the one who was connected to Carter. 

Justice League No. 16

   Kendra went on to have a relationship with the Martian Manhunter but that appears to be over. She has met and fought alongside Hawkman a few times since then but neither have ever expressed any kind of feelings for the other. It has been a platonic relationship from what we have seen. Kendra was shown to be bitter towards Carter and Shayera for whatever reason in the recent Hawkgirl series by Jadzia Axelrod, but that series was so poorly written, I think it's safe to disregard it completely as it has zero bearing on the current Hawks. 

Hawkgirl Vol. 2 No. 3 (2023)

   Shayera was the empress of Thanagar when the Justice League (including Kendra) asked her to go help Carter who was under the influence of the Batman Who Laughs (gawd I hate that character) and had been turned into a evil version of Hawkman called the Sky Tyrant. She was able to bring Carter back and they realized they ad found each other once again. Together, they defeated the Lord of the Void and ended the reincarnation cycle. Instead of passing into eternity, they chose to live one last life together. In return, the god entity who had started their reincarnation cycle gave them an extremely long life. We saw a scene of them in the 40th century, old but still active. 

Hawkman Vol. V No. 29

   This is where things currently stand, but we'll have to see if the current writers will follow this storyline, or muck things up again by ignoring the past stories that we've had since 2018. So far, it seems to be holding up. 

   OK, back to the ScreenRant article. Right off the bat, it says that DC flipped the script on the Hawks' relationship. No, they didn't. This has been the story line for the past seven years. Carter and Shayera are in love with each other, and Kendra is like a sister to Carter. It's not a "new dynamic." 

 "This new take on Hawkman and Hawkgirl (or Hawkwoman) upends nearly 80 years of tradition." 
   Not really. Carter and Shayera still have their relationship, which is one of the strongest of the DC couples. The only thing that has changed from the past is the constant flippity floppity back and forth of Kendra not being able to decide what she wants, while Carter is pining for his long-lost Shiera. That is over. Thank the seven gods. 

JSA No. 25 (2001)
This would go on for years. 

   "Kendra's story is convoluted." 
   That's true. After Shiera died in Zero Hour (1994), Kendra tried to commit suicide. She is the granddaughter of Speed Saunders, a cousin of Shiera. Apparently, she was successful and when she "died," Shiera's soul went into her body. But Kendra didn't realize that she was dead, so instead of being split like Kendra and Shayera, Kendra was basically two people in one body. Thank you, Geoff Johns. 

   "Hawkman and Hawkgirl's backstories are nearly impossible to make sense of." 
   I'll concede that after 85 years of DC crisis, reboots, rewrites, and retcons, there are many versions. But if I can figure it out by reading the comics, anybody can. The other DC characters are quickly catching up in that department anyway. Here is my history of the Hawks and putting it all together. Maybe I deserve a PhD for this effort? Just call me Dr. Hawk. 

   "Kendra is now free to carve out her own destiny."
   She's been in that position for the last seven years. Let's move on.   

   I hope this clears up the Hawks a bit. DC Comics builds their universe around their precious trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Everything else appears to be sacrificed, changed, ignored, or forgotten after a huge epic event. This happened to the Hawks following the Crisis on Infinite Earths back in the 80s. Fans are always hoping that they'll get it together one of these days. Until then, we'll keep getting articles that try to explain the Hawks without knowing their history or current place in the DC Universe.