HAWKMAN versus DOCTOR POLARIS

Free Fall (DC)
Where: Hawkman #28 When: January 1996
Why: Shaun McLaughlin How: Steve Ellis

The Story So Far...
Tempted by the demon Neron; Hawkman was confronted by the souls of those who were Hawk Champion in lives before his. He is bound to them all, but particularly plagued by the memory of Katar Hol: a wingman from the planet Thanagar now reborn as avatar of Earth.

An opportunity to test himself presents itself when live news coverage reports the hijacking of Air Force One!

Doctor Polaris has taken control of the vessel with the First Lady and President's daughter hostages on board. Hawkman wastes no time taking to the skies to prevent any loss of life -- unaware the only target Polaris wants is a superhero!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Hawkman 4 (Enhanced)
Intelligence: Dr. Polaris 5 (Professor)
Speed: Hawkman 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Draw 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: Hawkman 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Dr. Polaris 5 (Lasers)
Total: Hawkman 25 (Champion)

Hawkman rules the skies with an Nth metal fist, but what would happen if that source of power was turned against him? Can it be? These are the questions we aim to answer when he meets The Master of Magnetism! (No, not that one!)

Dr. Neal Emerson was a celebrated physician pioneering the use of magnetic fields in the treatment of medical ailments. Prolonged exposure to these forces altered his brain chemistry, creating the split personality of Doctor Polaris!

Polaris can manipulate electro-magnetic fields to fly, move and reshape metals, fire electrical bolts, and create protective force fields. He was also purged of his more altruistic personality by Neron, allowing him to fully exploit his powers.

This is bad news for Hawkman, who famously relies on an arsenal of medieval weaponry -- usually made from metal!

His most iconic weapon is a mace, which we've seen in chained form in All-Star Squadron #4, flanged in Justice League of America #200, and in its best known fixed style in Hawkman #33. He also used the fixed mace against Batman in Superman/Batman #4, along with a weighted net, and The Claw of Horus. At his most vicious, he even used an axe to disarm Matter Master in Hawkman #23!

In all likelihood each of these weapons is susceptible to Polaris' influence and could easily be used against their master. The Claw of Horus is one of Hawkman's most powerful and rarely used weapons, but even this derives its energy source from the Earth's magnetic core. It might be able to subvert the powers of Doctor Polaris, but it might also accidentally empower him!

The biggest question surrounds Nth metal: Hawkman wears it in his harness, belt, and boots, and even his wings are frequently described as being made of Nth metal, or at least laced with it. If it's magnetic - he's in real trouble!

The highly unusual mineral is closely associated with the planet Thanagar, and has a gamut of properties that allow people to use it to fly, heal, enhance strength & durability, and disrupt magics. There's no reason to think it would necessarily be ferrous or magnetic, but there's every chance it is. Let's find out!

The Tape: Hawkman Ranking: Hawkman (#34)

What Went Down...
Gliding high above Air Force One: Hawkman swoops suddenly into the eyeline of besieged pilots. He alerts them to his presence without tipping off the hijacker inside. He has no way of knowing the motive behind the hijacking, but thanks to breaking news coverage -- he does know who's responsible!

Doctor Polaris could easily steal away with anything he might want from inside the vessel, so Hawkman decides to try to strip the plane itself of some value.

A toss of his fixed mace makes light work of the port side engine and dares them to land. Polaris orders the pilots to keep it in the air and sends the passenger door flying off its hinges as he goes to meet the unseen attacker!

Hawkman was not prepared for the villain's hasty exit from the plane, but manages to make a vertical dash out of the path of a focused energy blast!

Polaris challenges the hero to return, revealing his desire to simply fight to redeem a damaged reputation. Hawkman obliges - swinging sharply back through the clouds to catch Polaris with a crosschecking punch!

Polaris fires off another wild electrical blast, but again hits only air as Hawkman seems to suddenly disappear from the skies!

The levitating villain chides his opponent for resorting to hiding. A dark, winged silhouette cast against the sun announces the hero's true intentions!

Doctor Polaris is temporarily blinded as his gaze is drawn towards the overheard sunlight! Hawkman takes full tactical advantage by smashing through him like a living missile -- and then banking back to deliver a follow-up blow!

The strike succeeds in rattling Doctor Polaris, but also alerts him to the weight of Hawkman's devastating punch. He suddenly realizes the leather caestus glove that strikes is adorned with metal -- a substance he holds total mastery over!

Hawkman is helpless as his own fist suddenly careens into his face!

Blood sprays from the winged hero's nose and mouth as he acts out a juvenile schoolyard taunt with brutal reality. Again and again he hits himself -- unable to control his captive fist.

In his desperation, Hawkman attempts a retreat. The sudden plunge also assists in the removal of his left handed glove, but Doctor Polaris is now all too aware of the metal-laden arsenal adorning his person.

A katar push dagger suddenly leaps from Hawkman's body and flies toward him!

The wingman has no choice but take evasive maneuvers while he attempts to regroup. Fast moving dips and dives help him keep ahead of the deadly blade, but Polaris reckons on the high-speed flying eventually taking its toll.

Feeling cornered by his predicament, Hawkman seeks the advantage of flight and makes a beeline straight for Doctor Polaris -- with a high-tech pistol drawn!

The hero jams the gun barrel under the Doctor's chin and dares him to give the slightest reason to fire. The threat of lethal force catches Polaris completely off-guard and ends the threat of the dagger -- but also challenges him to escalate!

Though the Doctor has no real intention of killing anyone, he seizes Air Force One in his magnetic grip to create the illusion of a threat to the presidential passengers on board!

It's enough to send Hawkman scrambling to rescue anyone who should fall from the plane. Another tactical error on his part! Polaris senses the Nth metal in Hawkman's wings and shifts his focus back to manipulating the hero directly.

Pain erupts through Hawkman's body as his wings suddenly twist against him!

Blood bursts from bare shoulders as wings are suddenly contorted in ways never imagined. Hawkman is suspended helplessly before the again-arrogant villain who inundates him with unfathomable pain with every magnetic tug.

Over-confident and tired of his many recent defeats: Polaris ups the stakes and sends the helpless wingman plummeting like a stone towards the Earth!

Hawkman is limp, wracked with agony as he falls toward certain death. It takes every ounce of willpower just to open his wings and pull out of the doomed nosedive. He clips trees on his last minute upward ascent and comes to hover exhaustedly over a mountain ridge. There, he contemplates his sense of self.

Resolute in his determination to do whatever is necessary to save Air Force One: Hawkman sheds his helmet & harness and takes to the skies.

Doctor Polaris senses the metal of his wings as he makes approach and again leaves the plane to finish the battle. This time Hawkman has made peace with risk of his mission. He evades a magnetic blast and flies nimbly over his prey, arching his back so when he sheds his wings he's on target for Doctor Polaris!

Dizzyingly high, and with no means of flight, Hawkman wraps his legs around Doctor Polaris' waist and unloads with devastating rights and lefts!

The hero is indeed willing to risk death to obtain victory, raining down powerful blows that knock Polaris silly and compromise his ability to keep them both magnetically afloat. This time they both take the deadly plunge!

Hawkman ignores the villain's pleas, unrelenting with constant blows!

A threat to innocent lives is taken as an act of war and Hawkman has no intentions of losing. He keeps punching -- until at last Doctor Polaris is knocked out! With the threat past, he restores his wings and halts their descent.

The Hammer...
A steely performance by Hawkman, who clearly had more nerve than Doctor Polaris! It's kind of a humiliating defeat, given just how much metal was on hand for Polaris to use to his advantage, but that was nothing unusual for the time. The issue-long battle is predicated on Polaris having suffered so many recent defeats he contrived a public threat just to lure somebody into a fight.

Street cred isn't the loftiest motivation for a super-villain, but it can lead to some pretty fun, easy-breezy fisticuffs in the hands of the right creative team.

This kind of plot plays up the deadly sin of vanity in ways everyone can quickly understand, and launches a villain into a fresh scheme, or simple action. It isn't as meaty as a revenge scheme [ala; Daredevil (Vol.2) #9], but it's good for some single issue action [see also; Daredevil #243].

Given Polaris chose Air Force One and the First Lady as his very public target: he's just lucky somebody more powerful didn't show up! This kind of airplane rescue seems right up Superman's alley. Wouldn't you say?

Doctor Polaris actually did a bit of a tour of the DCU throughout the mid to late nineties. His fight with Hawkman followed significant failures against The Ray, Damage, and the new Green Lantern of the time, Kyle Rayner.

He later went on to clash with The Flash, Steel, and Aquaman. Steel was a series I was reading regularly at the time, so I was pretty interested in the match-up of magnetism versus metal. As I often like to admit, I'm a big fan of these kinds of identifiable, gimmicky villains. I'm sure we'll take a closer look at some more of those battles sometime in the future. They're a lot of fun.

I wasn't as much of an active Hawkman reader in the nineties, so it's interesting to look back on what has sometimes been a maligned period for the character.

This was right around the time Grant Morrison famously planned to bring Hawkman into the JLA, but was told to avoid the complicated backstory that was weighing the character down.

It seems like Morrison's plans to have Zauriel and Katar Hol cohabiting the body of Hawkman could've compounded the problem, but I do wonder what his touch could've done for the character. He's very good at take established elements and spinning them out into spectacularly intuitive and interesting concepts.

In any event, the DCU gained a new creation, and a lot of these problems seemed to be smoothed out by the modern-classic take that featured in the mid-2000s revival helmed by Geoff Johns. He retained the back matter of the Hawk Champion's many past lives, but balanced it with contemporary concerns.

As much as anything might be wrong with the nineties take on Hawkman, I think it boils down to a matter of attitude. It just doesn't quite feel right.

The mid-nineties were a funny time for DC. Even as they continued to restore pieces of their lost history, it seemed like the cohesive momentum of the post-Crisis rebuild was losing its focus. They were caving to the trends popularized by early Image Comics, and creating their own exaggerations with self-destructive stunts like The Death of Superman, Knightfall, and Emerald Twilight.

This period of Hawkman isn't nearly as regrettable as events designed to destroy DC's enduring icons. The attitude and design is just a little too stark to feel like the kind of Hawkman comic I would want to read. The attempt to balance a human Hawkman with Hawkworld history feels unnecessary, also.

I do quite like that Katar Hol is described as having lived on Thanagar four centuries ago. These days Hawkman's resurrections seem to be treated as a snap-of-the-fingers return from death. It's too present a concept, participating in the generally diminishing returns of cheap deaths in comics, instead of merely being part of the past make-up of the character.

I will say I quite like this modern design for Doctor Polaris. Hopefully we'll get to talk more about him in a future entry. For the mean time, you can check out more from these characters by following links throughout this post, or by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights by issue!

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has documented well over 600 battles ranging from the classic to the obscure! Everyone's doing it tough, but if you like what it's all about and want to contribute: Patreon at the $1 Warbonds level will have a hugely positive impact on keeping the good times rolling! Additional tiers offer extra articles, polling, and more as a thank you for supporting the site.

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Winner: Hawkman
#25 (+9) Hawkman
#362 (-142) Doctor Polaris

HAWKMAN/HAWKGIRL versus SOLOMON GRUNDY
Earth and Sky (DC comics)
Where: Hawkman #33 When: December 2004
Why: Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti How: Andy Smith

The story so far...
Hawkman and Hawkgirl have made the trek from their new home in St. Roch to visit The Big Apple, New York City; where meetings are held by the Justice Society of America.
The pair decide to follow-up a lead on a mysterious "golem" from Batman, but get more than they bargained for when their flight is interrupted by an exploding helicopter in the Manhattan airspace!

The chopper, carrying a very special cargo, was on it's way to an experimental research facility on Riker's Island. A Dr. Kinetti conducts experiments that seek to learn more about the super-criminal mind and physiology, but his unorthodox and wreckless behaviour has unleashed one of these evils, and he's none-too-pleased. Born on a Monday, he is -- Solomon Grundy!

Previous Form:
Hawkman (#30): Harsh victories over the St. Roch killer, and Matter Master.
Hawkgirl (#196): Aided Hawkman in his pursuit of the St. Roch killer.
Monolith/Solomon Grundy: Each making their debut in the Infinite Wars.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Monolith 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Hawkman 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Hawkgirl 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Solomon Grundy 6 (Generator)
Agility: Hawkgirl 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting Ability: Hawkman 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Hawkman 2 (Projectile Weapon)


- At the root of Hawkman and Hawkgirl's fantastic crime-fighting abilities lies the Thanagarian alien Nth Metal alloy, which makes up his belt and portions of his costume. The metal is responsible for Hawkman's flight, while his wings regulate and control his movement in accordance. The Nth Metal also enhances strength and speed, maintains body temperature in extreme conditions, and grants it's wearer dramatically increased healing abilities for even severe wounds.

Both Hawkman and Hawkgirl are part of a cyclical series of reincarnations that see the two star-crossed lovers destined to die whenever they may come together. Memories of past lives have influenced the contemporary Hawkman, and are in part attributed to his favouring of medieval weaponry.

- It was during the 1930s that a man was murdered by the mob, and his blood was used to raize a mythological golem to protect the innocent. This golem would be simply called, the Monolith! As a force for justice the Monolith would act without control, but freed from his prison beneath the city, he would emerge in the modern age once more as a beacon of justice.

The Monolith's clay body possesses super strength, durability and endurance.

- The true origins of Solomon Grundy are unclear, but it is widely believed he is the spirit of wealthy merchant, Cyrus Gold, who is said to have been murdered in the late 1800's and dumped in Slaughter Swamp. Rising from the marsh, Grundy becomes an undead force that would come to menace Batman, Green Lantern, and both the Justice Society and Justice League.

Grundy possesses superhuman strength and endurance, and a penchant for returning from even the most fatal of scenarios. His personality is seen to shift after many of these lethal experiences, usually with minimal higher brain functions, reducing him to a lumbering and disgruntled monster.

Due to his marshy origins at Slaughter Swamp, Solomon Grundy has been seen to possess the ability to negate the Green Lantern's ring by way of it's weakness for things made of wood. This is presumably due to the bark and debris from the bog that saw his formation.

The Math: Hawkman/Hawkgirl The Pick: Solomon Grundy

What went down...
The power of the Nth Metal gives Hawkman the strength to stay an airborne car's path as it hurtles toward innocent bystanders on the New York street. Responsible for the vehicles path, a disgruntled Solomon Grundy emerging from the smouldering rubble of the crash transport helicopter.

Hawkman and Hawkgirl swoop down in unison to pacify the situation, jumping into the fray mace-first. The whack does well to send a collared Grundy hurtling down the bricked street to an impactful halt. Despite the offensive, Grundy seems content to merely defend himself with the fling of a manhole cover, and a grouchy request to be left to his own devices.

The metal cover, dodged by the nimble Hawksters, hurtles like a deadly discus toward innocent unlookers. Only the intervention of a massive stoney grey hand saves them, as it plucks the disc of doom from the air.

Batman's golem, the Monolith, steps onto the street with an awkward warning for the JSA heroes, but he proves too great a distraction. The surprisingly mobile Grundy is upon them in an instant, snatching the two hawk-heroes in his giant mits to lift them menacingly into the air.

The Monolith is compelled to aid them, attacking with a super-sized left hook that sends Grundy, with Hawkman and Hawkgirl still in-hand, hurtling once more into a nearby building. Grundy soon emerges, with no concept for the irony of his claim, "Grundy hate monsters!!!"

The two musclebound re-animated figures come to blows in the street as Dr. Kinetti emerges, having held a talk on his project with costumed and super powered villains nearby. He attempts to organize his resources to recapture Grundy, but his clandestine appearance does not go unnoticed.

Grundy shrugs the Monolith off, tossing him into a stationary car, before charging toward the doctor responsible for poking and prodding him. The distraction is sufficient to this time give Hawkman and Hawkgirl the upperhand, launching a surprise attack, once more with their fixed maces.

The blows are enough to floor the unwitting Grundy, but fail to keep him down. Despite repeated strikes, Grundy is able to rise from the ground to swat the heroes on an out-of-control trajectory.

The Monolith thunders in from behind for a sneak attack that rocks Grundy into an abandoned hotdog stand, but Grundy is able to use back-against-pavement to launch Monolith away from him with his powerful legs. The bulky golem comes to a crash landing, taking Hawkman down with him!

Agreeing to work with Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Monolith takes orders to attack the situation with strategy. As Grundy again rampages toward a stunned Kinetti, the Monolith takes advantage, grabbing Grundy by the shoulders to turn him into a devestating left hook!

With Grundy rattled, Hawkman and Hawkgirl swoop in for another mace attack, knocking Grundy to the ground.
Before he can rise once more as he so often does, the Monolith puts the exclamation point on it, slamming his rock-like fist into Grundy's skull against the pavement!

With the police finally showing on the scene, the Monolith disappears into the shadows of the surrounding buildings.
Rather than pursue, Hawkman opts to return the golem's favour, allowing him to disappear into the night.

The heroes chastise the dubious Dr. Kinetti for his mishandling of the volitile Grundy, and flutter away to catch a movie, before returning to St. Roch.

The hammer...
So kids, did we all learn the value of teamwork? I hope so, because it earned Monolith, Hawkman and Hawkgirl all victory!

Y'know, like many a comic fan, I can be a little pedantic sometimes. I like taking a look at things with an expected level of detail, like for instance, the thorough inclusion of names, dates and details for our reviews. Like Batman's never-ending war on crime, I like to think the Infinite Wars might make some difference when it comes to finding what you want. I want to provide a resource as much as I do an entertainment outlet, specifically catering to those 'hey, didn't he fight that guy back in...' moments. Thus, it's with great pride that I take note of all the hits coming in from specific issues searches.

In fact, when checking some of those very searches, I'm pleased to the Infinite Wars even manage to rate among the top, beating down some of the incidental and unrelated results from dodgy merchants, and lifeless spam-sites.

Of course, with all of that in mind, it's easy to forget that there's a spine of trivial fun to what we do on the Infinite Wars. In amongst the bouts of musing and commentary, it's our sports league approach to superhero fisticuffs that helps differentiate us from the countless other superhero comic book blogs.

With fun in mind, I plucked this issue of Hawkman that's been on the to-do pile for quite some time. Why? Pretty much no other reason than, it's fun.
Well, that and the loose Halloween theme we've got going on. Solomon Grundy is one of those characters that just hasn't managed to make it on the site, but has always been a character I wanted to get into the mix. He's a great character!
A passing affection for the Alan Scott Green Lantern helped endear the Grundy character to me, but I would have to fully submit that it was the award winning Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale Batman collaboration that really won me over.
Some might say this version of Grundy walked a little close to the incredible Hulk, but I like to enjoy it free of that comparison. Grundy as a benign presence beneath Gotham City really strikes a chord with me, and has even influenced some of my work with a golem character of my own, the Spirit of Chernobyl.

I suppose that's an endearing quality common to a lot of monster figures throughout the history of literature, perhaps most notably Frankenstein's Monster, the inspiration for the Hulk. It's inherently interesting to find humanity in the most unlikely of places, often staging a platform for reflecting humanity's own evils in the glint of a dark monster's eye.

It was interesting that Palmiotti and Gray did not follow up on such a theme, which is suggested in the underlying treatment of Grundy, by Dr. Kinetti. This is clearly an over zealous presence, interested in pursuing his own glory at the cost of villains as a commodity. Grundy's disposition in this issue, though dangerous to the innocent, is immediately sympathetic, given the alluded torture suffered at the experimental Riker's facility. Perhaps a follow-up exists elsewhere, but I am not aware of such a story.

It's probably worth noting that the Monolith featured a follow-up, despite cancellation of the series in 2005. The character emerged once again as a protector of the people, present in Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Blüdhaven.

I enjoyed this one! I like Hawkman, I like Solomon Grundy, and this was an entry purely about superhero fisticuffs. The Infinite Wars represent many things, but I hope this entry, while providing a few morsels of information, reminds us all that it's about having fun!

... And also selling comics. If you haven't already, be sure to check out The Kirby Martin Inquest from Nite Lite Theatre, available online through ComixPress for the low price of $2.99 plus shipping. Cha-ching! ;-p

The Fight: 5 The Issue: 4
[Tomorrow we'll be singing our battlesong in chorus with the rest of the blogosphere as part of Bahlactus' inevitably Halloween themed Friday Night Fights. Not to be confused with the "original" Infinite Wars: Friday Fight Nights. (Ooo, rivalry!) Stay tuned as we continue our vaguely Halloween themed posts, perhaps even beyond the thirty-first. Why not? But now: I SLUMBER!]

QUICK FIX DOUBLE FEATURE: Harsh Vintage Justice
HAWKMAN versus MATTER MASTER
Black Reign: Part Two (DC)
Where: Hawkman #23 When: Early March 2004
Why: Geoff Johns How: Rags Morales

Quick Fix...
Lately we've been talking a bit about harsh justice, and it's application to the superhero world, and this entry gives us the opportunity to take a look at that theory in practise.

It's a particularly interesting topic, given all the different angles. Generally speaking, the sacred cows [like Wonder Woman] are protected from the moral ambiguity of lethal justice, yet, oft times it's these vintage characters that are more likely to be identified with harsh enforcement reflective of the war-torn times they were created in.

The debate rages on between the two schools of thought. For many the definition of a superhero is to be above the moral ambiguity average humans, soldiers, or heroes are regularly faced with. It means not being forced to pull the trigger to save innocent lives, instead using the fantastic to end danger.
We recently discussed a similar argument of whether or not Captain America ever used lethal force during his times in the frontline of the Second World War [Captain America #405].

The morally ambiguous hero got a bit of a tarnished reputation, passing through the eighties and nineties with the baggage of excess, and poor interpretation. The posterboy becomes characters like The Punisher, who more overtly straddle the line of what's right and wrong with a stonecold attitude toward life and death. For the most part these characters do good, eliminating the evils that evade justice by conventional law, but there is always that underlying negative of what we know in reality of the vigilante.

It's almost a funny sort of thing, that "vigilante" takes on such a distinctly different feel across the major spectrum of superhero comic books. Never would any of us truly look twice at a Batman, or Captain America, no matter how rebellious they may be to an administration of excessive order. Yet, in the real world, I struggle to think of many examples of positive vigilante activity.

Sure, there's those cases of a liquor store clerk fighting back, or even a community under siege taking action to patrol the streets, but those stories are either short lived, or mild mannered deterents for relatively simple problems.
What I associate with broad coverage of vigilantes is men and/or women who kick back at personal injustice, flagrantly ignoring what is universally just, and often running the risk of making a greivous error, or crossing an invisible line.

It's a line that seems to seperate the golden arches of true superheroes, and the guys who undermine what that means in a fictionalized society. Characters who in some ways reflect that real-world vigilante scenario, and face that kind of scrutiny, but ultimately have the roll of protagonist, and live decades beyond those characters that would briefly hound them.

What about the other characters, though? Wonder Woman inevitably finds herself reset to a mould more appropriate for a family, cartoon viewing audience; but what about those characters who can drift closer to the line, longer?

Hawkman represents just such an example. A character, who from his beginnings in the early 1940s, he has held memberships with both the Justice Society and Justice League, but has still grown into one of the many violent characters of today's comics landscape. Few stories highlighted Hawkman's violent nature than Black Reign, where he wages his forces against Black Adam in a battle that pits them against one another, but also shows the destructive similarities.

In his new home of St. Roch, the villain called Matter Master seeks a means of retribution against a foe who has defeated him time and again. Using his matter manipulating wand to take a gala of the wealthy hostage, he eagerly awaits the arrival of his alien-winged rival.

Hawkman bursts into the arena through large glass windows, only to have the shards of glass hurled at him as a weapon by the villainous Master. Tiny slithers of glass bury themselves in Hawkman's only partially armoured body, but do little to slow his wrath.

The Matter Master elaborately announces the abilities granted by his matter manipulating wand, delighting in the battle that will ensue. He is a steady contrast to the stoic Hawkman, whose demeanour is of one no longer willing to indulge the fancys of colourfully dressed criminals.

Possessing both fixed mace and battle axe, he hurls the latter in the direction of the Matter Master. The blade slices through the Master's arm with ease, burying itself in the wall adjacent.

Having successfully seperated the villain from his weapon, the silent Hawkman pulls his axe from the wall and coldly remarks, "Fight's over."

Harsh justice is something, I think, Hawkman wears very well, and Geoff Johns does well to reinvigorate the character with everything that makes him familiar, but with a confident new edge. This story steers Hawkman toward another character we're about to talk about, bouncing off one of the past lives established as part of the streamlining reveal that both Hawkman and Hawkgirl are caught in a perpetual cycle of resurrection.

I wouldn't be confident in saying where the line lies for Hawkman, but as a character so thoroughly connected to the various houses of the DC heirarchy, I think it's great to have this interpretation of justice among them. It might never be the prevailing argument, but in a medium often gagging on it's own tail, it's characters of diverse opinions on issues important to the fictionali world that will always be a saving grace.

The Fix:5.5 The Issue: 5
Winner: Hawkman

[Without a doubt one of the greatest crossovers of recent times, all crucial to the reinvention of not only the Justice Society of America, but more importantly, Hawkman. Hawkfans should definitely track down the trade of these issues, and maybe anyone else looking to get their feet wet, particularly post 52/World War III.]

---

BLACK ADAM versus KOBRA
Prince of Darkness Coda: Justice Eternity (DC)
Where: JSA #51 When: October 2003
Why: David Goyer & Geoff Johns How: Leonard Kirk

Quick Fix...
This quite naturally leads us to cross that invisible line that seperates the right from the wrong, and the justified from the murderers.

In Black Reign it was Hawkman that, in many ways, walked away the bad guy. Teth-Adam, having invaded his homeland of Khandaq, is revered as a hero by the Khandaqi people, while Hawkman is decryed by both the liberated, and the Justice Society themselves, who were led by the usurping Chairman into a joyless bloodbath.

Even so, it is Black Adam who has more traditionally walked the path of villain, recast in that role during a genocidal rampage coming out of the pages of 52.

We can make no bones about sponsoring Black Adam throughout 2007.
It's arguably this moral ambiguity that has propelled Black Adam to the status of the most enjoyable of rising stars to be pushed by DC all year. Dealing with a role as ruler of a nation, Adam has been the slate for reflecting the responsibility and potential carnage incurred by a superpower unchecked.

Like many great villains, Adam is essentially a well intending individual, marred by his regular association with death and bloodshed. The descent into madness began long before 52, starting in the pages of JSA where, having broken away from the group that agreed to take him in, Adam is leading a small group of soldier against those who have escaped justice as they see it.

One such example is the terrorist cult leader, Kobra.
Having launched attacks across the globe, Kobra was responsible for the death of the mother of one of Black Adam's pliant recruits, Atom Smasher.

Both left the Society over Kobra's subsequent trial and escape, disillusioned by the JSA's archaic notions of legality. With the aid of Brainwave, the group of super-militants track Kobra to his hidden lair in the Himalayas, where they exact the only suitable punishment for a mass murdering menace such as he: death.

With Brainwave confirming claims of a network of explosives beneath New York are false, Adam plunges his fist through Kobra's chest, ripping his heart out.
With that, justice is served, and the cult of Kobra is left to legend, or methods supernatural.

Much like Hawkman, Geoff Johns earns his stripes as a major comics writer perfecting his skills with the reinvigoration of classic properties. These events have been referenced many times [Hawkman #24] on the site, already described in this very entry for their role as the first action in the spiral that has led to today, where Black Adam is a mass murderer himself, and a broken man.

I've seen relatively recently a Hawkman referring casually to killing a villain, and in much the same way, I would express some disappointment for how frivilously the characters have been allowed to cross that invisible line. For Hawkman, it is obviously a scenario rarely fulfilled, but for Black Adam, it has again been a fullblown devolution into villainy.

Putting a character to blows with the Justice League is almost always going to cast them as villain, but when the motives involve genocide, it's hard to argue.
Perhaps it's the inevitability of so-called "harsh justice" that these characters slip into ill-defined rampages, or off-the-cuff murders, but I've got to wonder.

Just like iconic superheroes define themselves in fiction as characters capable of handing out justice without the cost of human life, so too can't we suggest that super warriors can live by the sword, without impaling their sanity upon it?

In a world where law enforcement still hands down sentences of death, and where wars are waged over just causts, is it so inevitable that those that battle these evils become them? Or is there a school of thought to say controlled lethality is a requirement of an efficient system of justice? Does their come a time when a cheek must demand a cheek in turn, or is simply invite corruption as another symptom of decadence and war?

Can anyone begrudge a police officer that draws a weapon in confirmed self-defense, or is the threat of an error of judgment too great and too common?

Maybe someone like Hawkman, or even Wonder Woman, will be the character to eventually answer the question: Can a hero kill responsibly?

The Fix: 5 The Issue: 4.5
Winner: Black Adam & Atom Smash (w/ Brainwave)

[This issue marks the end of David Goyer's tenure on the relaunched JSA title. In the main feature, the story features a big ol' magical throwdown between Mordru and Dr. Fate, which will inevitably turn up in a future entry of the Infinite Wars.]

BLACK ADAM versus CAPTAIN MARVEL
Black Reign (DC comics)
Where: Hawkman #24 When: Late March 2004
Why: Geoff Johns How: Rags Morales

The story so far...
Having attempted to prove his redemption through serving with the Justice Society of America; Black Adam soon comes to realise that the effective betterment of the persecuted will not be achieved through the good intentions of the Golden Age heroes.

Gathering a band of the willing and likeminded, Adam sets about righting the wrongs of his time with the JSA, fighting and executing his way to his homeland of Kahndaq.

With the aid of his fellows; many connected to the Justice Society themselves; Adam wages a coup against the oppresive rulers of the once proud and ancient Middle Easter country. Their militia no match for brute super strength, Adam liberates the Kahndaqi people, who are none too happy when the JSA, led by Hawkman, come to interfere in the rule of their new hero.

Previous Form:
Black Adam (#13): Undefeated over Four Horseman of Apokalips, Freedom Force & Psycho-Pirate.
Captain Marvel (#201): Mixed results in battles with Thor, and an Eclipso posessed Superman.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Draw 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Captain Marvel 5 (Professor)
Speed: Draw 5 (Super Speed)
Stamina: Draw 6 (Generator)
Agility: Black Adam 3 (Athlete)
Fighting Ability: Black Adam 7 (Born Fighter)
Energy Powers: Draw 3 (Explosives)


Most recently it was Sabretooth/Wolverine [Wolverine #50], and arguably again with Batman/Ra's Al Ghul [Batman Begins]. The clash of arch-nemesis'. The inevitable blows waged by hero and villain, described-so conversely through the perspective of each character's eyes, a thin line seperating their differences.

While Black Adam has shot to the top as one of the most improved players to come out of DC's year-long 52, his heroic counterpart, Captain Marvel, has suffered the squalor of low priority mini-series, and loyalist interests. Not even the lofty intervention of Bone's Jeff Smith was enough to breathe the life that Judd Winick's contemporary revamp probably should have.

So, what does any of this have to do with the fighting potential and prospective chances of winning a battle? Well, if that's all this section were about, we'd run even shorter on discussion than we ordinarily do; but of course, it also does have a lot to do with our protagonist's predicament -- for you see!...

Yes! Captain Marvel, despite a massive power boost and long overdue starring role in a mini-series, struggles to endure in the contemporary market in the way his elf-eared, windows peaked, black and gold counterpart does.

There are a lot of fair theories about why that is. They do, afterall, describe luck as the process of motivation meeting opportunity, but then again, how many on-going series have They starred in recently? I think there's a direct link with the character's distinct potentials that has contributed to one success: The killer instinct and drama of good pathos.

Black Adam beats out his SHAZAM-ing sucessor in the tape for the simple reason that he has evolved to be a fully realised warrior, with no qualms about turning his strength to tasks such as face removal, one-way heart transplants, and drawing and halving of evil doers.

Captain Marvel; a character who reached even greater heights in his time than the massively successful Superman, in many ways, represents the Golden Age more than any other character. I mean, you've got old timers who had an edge that made their transition into the more violent and conflicted contemporary landscape simple. Batman, The Phantom, Hawkman... The list is much longer than I would have you believe, here.

Other characters were fantastical enough, or had enduring successors that allowed their torch to be carried to a time where they were out of the picture long enough to be interesting prospects again. Many of the JSA elite fall under that category, and it's to an extent applicable to Adam cum Captain Marvel.

[Captain] Marvel; despite the best efforts of a Winick or an Ostrander; cannot seem to escape the obscured view of his squinted eyes. Eyes that view the world through the refracted rosie glow of his big red chest.
He's a character that represents what is referred to as a "simpler" time, and therefore suffers the characterization of grinning, dim-witted stupidity -- despite possessing the mighty wisdom of Solomon.

Black Adam has the killer instinct, and he knows how to use it, and despite hovering above and blow the strength level of Cap, is the safe bet that reflects the times in which we live.

The Math: Black Adam (Super Class)
The Pick: Black Adam (Because it isn't forty years ago...)

What went down...
Upon entering Kahndaq airspace, the JSA find themselves in a freefall as their plane is ripped asunder by a sneak attack launched by Black Adam! Most of the super powered heroes find ways to land, each finding their own antagonised welcome at the hands of the Kahndaqi people, but Captain Marvel stays behind with an injured Wildcat to search for survivors in trouble.

Black Adam, orchestrating the containment of those he has dubbed invader, employs the aid of Brainwave to prepare to face his Shazam powered counterpart, Captain Marvel.

Content to find no bodies amongst the wreckage, Marvel is shocked when Wildcat is knocked out with a piece of the plane. He becomes aware of the unceremonious entrance of his fallen arch-nemesis, suffering a similar fate as he's swatted acrosh the crash site by Black Adam.

The Captain recovers with the stamina of Atlas, striking Adam furiously with a solid left. Black Adam, with his own impressive strengths, returns the favour with an uppercut that tosses Marvel airborne until he lands in nearby ruins.

Marvel joins Black Adam in the sky, the two coming to blows with explosive results. Every strike echoes with thundering booms no doubt heard across the land, the magical energies bursting from their bodies in sparks of lightning.

Marvel presses the advantage, riding Black Adam through rubble and wreckage face-first into the ground he so viciously claimed as his own.

Having mocked Marvel's perception of the modern world, Adam rises from the crater created by their impact to taunts concerning his strategic alliances.
With bitter efficiency, Adam makes psychic contact with the waiting Brainwave, giving the order to act upon his "lock" on Captain Marvel.

Having telepathically maneuvered his way around Solomon and the other influences in Marvel's mind; Brainwave forces the hero to utter the magic keyword that calls down the lightning of the wizard Shazam, and transforms him back into his pubescent alter-ego, Billy Batson!

With the cold determination to do whatever is necessary to pursue his goals, Black Adam raises his hand in the air and strikes Batson with a swift backhand. The boy is knocked through the air, helpless against the super strength provided by the sun god, Amon.

Adam's attack not only puts the punctuation on a strategic assault on one of the JSA's most powerful allies, but also comes with the bitter verbal slap to the Wizard from whom each man derives his fantastic power. Adam declaring, "The wizard abandons you, Billy. Just as he did me."

Victorious, Adam learns from the psychic of Batson's growing affections for Stargirl. As a future contingency, he orders the capture of the girl, playing a card all too personally recognisable to the dark monarch, whose own beloved was once lost in battle.

The hammer...
Your win, and still undefeated 2007 MVP -- Black Adam!

I mention MVP, because if you've been with us over the past eight months, you'll be familiar with the previous entries that have sponsored Black Adam into our 2007 top five rankings.

With the last entry [Marvel Zombies #5] looking to turn the top rankings into a Civil War promotional shot, it seemed like as good a time as any to revisit the slowly fading anti-hero, whose recent rise to prominence has been pretty well documented, with the exclusion of the beginning of that path.

To really get the full picture we should ideally go further back still, to earlier in the rebooted JSA series where Black Adam made his return, and gained membership to the Justice Society, before slipping from their views. It was in tiny background scenes that Adam's indescretions were detailed, as he gathered and led his band of allies against foes like Kobra.

These actions culminate in full-fledged war waged on Kahndaq in the pages of the Hawkman/JSA crossover - Black Reign. It's here, as already described in the recap, that Adam swiftly takes control of the nation, and as we would see through the end of this story, remains in power to the chagrin of the JSA.

Through Infinite Crisis we then saw Adam's story continue, as he threw in with the mounting powers of the Secret Society of Supervillains. Much like a Dr. Doom styled figure, his motives were largely in the interests of the betterment and protection of his nation. He proves an unwitting pawn in Alexander Luthor's plot to power a device that will allow him to control and reshape the multiverse as he desires it.

Adam aids in the defeat of vital characters like The Ray [Infinite Crisis #1], but is eventually revealed as a potential target himself. When The Society betray him, needing a Shazam powered here, Black Adam turns readily on the mob of evil, brutally defying the empathic influence of Psycho-Pirate [Infinite Crisis #6].
Black Adam continues to battle on the side of angels until the ultimate defeat of the alternate Luthor, before returning to his duties in Kahndaq.

Resuming his political duties, Adam swiftly deals with villainous elements attempting to trade through Kahndaq. His public execution of villains becomes the international catalyst of fear and loathing, while prompting criminal element Intergang to attempt to buy his favour with a female offering.
Adam deals with Intergang harshly, while becoming romantically involved with the girl, who is eventually slain by the incursion of a new Monster Society [52 #44], funded by the neighbouring nation of Bialya, and created by Dr. Sivana and the Intergang employed scientists of Oolong Island.

Azraeuz, the only surviving horseman of the Monster Society, escapes to Bialya, where the government is abandoned by their villainous allies in the wake of Black Adam's arrival.

Furious and suspicious of everyone, Adam devolves into a rage that sees him slaughtering Bialya's government, and millions of their innocent citizens in the pursuit of Azraeuz. Though the mass casualties empower the horseman of death further, Azraeuz is ultimately defeated and tortured by Adam [52 #45].

Methodically pursuing those responsible for the deaths of his adopted family, Adam immediately travels to Oolong Island off of the intelligence gained from Azraeuz. There, he is surprisingly defeated by the super-sciences of the sinister thinktank. Before he can be auctioned off as a living weapon, the Justice Society are able to intervene, freeing him with the unsuccesful intent to take him into custody.

With Adam's bloodlust explicitly crossing the line from harsh justice, to intolerable genocide; the heroes and political powers of various nations are maneuvered into position for the events of World War III. Though inter-political turmoil slows the process, the American heroes of the Justice League and Society eventually defeat Black Adam. Though unable to strip Adam of his powers, it is with the aid of several other mystics that Captain Marvel returns Adam to his human alter-ego of Teth-Adam, and changes his magic trigger word before he can again utter the cry of "Shazam!"

If you're reading Countdown or the just released mini-series, Black Adam: Dark Age, you'll know that he has since discovered his new word - sorry - and has taken refuge in the Kahndaq embassy in Gotham City, where he has corrupted Mary Marvel.

It looks like post-52 Black Adam's path is more explicitly evil, which I think is a real shame. The character, whose bitter pathos made him one of the most exciting new stars of DC's lineup, was something I regard as quite refreshing and global, responsible for pushing him away from the stagnant disappointments of the developing Shazam branding [discussed in the tape].

As a Sub-Mariner/Dr. Doom style monarch, Black Adam had the opportunity to stand out as something more than many other heroes or villains in the DC Universe. Keeping his motivations more ambiguous and personalized (like the best Dr. Doom stories) meant the character could become broadly relevent, interacting with political agencies like the currently superb Checkmate, but also other superheroic and villainous elements that would cross his path.

Projecting their solicitations quite far into the future, we can see DC comics alluding to a return to more straight evil for Black Adam in the pages of JLA. The cover to issue #13 suggests a renewed association with much the same collective that turned against him in the Society, this time operating under the branding of a new Injustice League.

It's too soon to scowl the turn of events too certainly, but it seems like a potentially disappointing downward turn for the character in the final quarter of 2007. A bitter conclusion to what has otherwise been the culmination of a story that began small, but was brilliantly steered into the spotlight and beyond, largely by original contributor Geoff Johns, who made his name on titles like JSA and Hawkman, and with this story, Black Reign.

It was here, having received this issues personally from Johns, that I certainly became hooked as a fan not only of these characters in the modern age, but of his competence as a writer accepting of things oft dismissed. A writer who brought Black Adam to the prominence he now seems to be leaving behind.

With that, we wrap up our informative slant on this particular conclusion.
The DC Nation, whom I know is still watching, should take some faith out of this. It seemes, dare I speak too soon, that there are a couple of DC entries coming our way in the Infinite Wars, as our discussion spins out of the Batman Begins review. I'll probably see you again Friday, before the September punch-up.

Remember to check out the smashing review of The Kirby Martin Inquest at the reputable review site, BrokenFrontier.com. If you haven't already, you should think about heading over to Nite Lite Theatre, and picking yourself up a copy via online purchase through the good people at ComixPress! Cheers!

The Fight: 5 The Issue: 6
[An absolutely brilliant storyarc, best read in it's entirety. Hardcore superhero fun filtered through the pastiche of contemporary political concepts. The first major step into the modern rise of Black Adam as a neo-political conqueror. A must-read for fans of the character, particularly out of the pages of fifty-two.]

HAWKMAN versus St. ROCH
"Fate's Warning"
Where: Hawkman #31 When: October 2004
Writer: Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti Artist: Ryan Sook

The story so far...
Settling into St. Roch hasn't been easy for Hawkman.

In a pit of depression over his own destined shortcomings, and his inability to protect a female scientist in a terrorist explosion at a chemical lab; Hawkman finds himself in a dark place. That is, until he makes the acquaintance of local jazz singer, Domina Paris.

Tensions between the Hawk-people and police Detective Grubs escalate as a series of murders dubbed the Angel Killings begin. Named so for the MO of painting a red cross on the victim's chest, and perching them in some manner with makeshift wings.

Hawkman and Hawkgirl become distracted as they battle a mysterious creature that appears linked to the killings, but unfortunately find themselves in the police spotlight alone, each and every time.

Tale of the tape...
If there's one thing this website needed, it's more Hawkman!

I've made passing reference in the past to the gaping DC shaped hole in my comics collection, and where characters like Hawkman are concerned, that'll be a lasting regret. He really is a great fighting character, and just something interesting in a sea of themed superheroes.

A fond versus moment from the past is a black and white oversized reprint of a Hawkman/Superman clash. Unfortunately as an inferior reprint, it will not be featured in future instalments.

Strength: 4 (Steroid popper)
Stamina: 4 (Athlete)
Fighting ability: 6 (Warrior)

If the ratings were more expansive, Hawkman would probably get a seven for stamina, being essentially immortal. Never the less, as always, these ratings are indicative of more immediate abilities, and cannot be one hundred percent inclusive.

Like many heroes, Hawkman's strengths are quite straight forward and universal.
He's got some big, heavy old weapons, and he's crazy and tought enough to use them. Arguably his strenght is probably somewhere closer to a 3.5, but in my experience his strength tends to be variable around that mark.

The character adopting the name of St. Roch has fought Hawkman in previous issues of this storyarc, but there's very little to gauge the length of the character's abilities.
As these things tend to go, we have to step outside of the story and acknowledge that by raising the personal stakes, it's likely St. Roch's previous mini-victories will be for naught.

What went down...
Freed from jail, Hawkman joins Hawkgirl on the chase for the St. Roch creature, and the abducted Domina Paris.

Arriving at an abandoned warehouse by the docks, Hawkgirl and Hawkman find evidence of the previous murders. A bloody sink, and other paraphernalia possibly involved.

"Carter... I don't want to just catch him anymore. I want to hurt him." "You already hurt me..."

As St. Roch speaks to them from the shadows, the two heroes make a morbid discovery. Hanging from the broken ceiling by ropes; Domina Paris in the same position as the victims of the angel killer. Red cross. Makeshift wings.
Hawkman rushes to her aid, praying for signs of life, while Hawkgirl engages the creature.

Roch continues to talk through his fight. He credits his rise to sainthood to Hawkman and Hawkgirl as he tosses her through a ceiling support.
Hawkgirl recovers and clubs the beast through a wall, only to have pieces of brick hurled at her, as the creature declares himself further as a saint.

A tender moment shared between Hawkman and Domina as she dies, segues cleanly into unabashed rage.
Hawkman comes to Hawkgirl's rescue, crashing down on St. Roch, and then clubs him across the warehouse with his mace.

Roch scrambles to the rafters, and manages to take a slice out of the attacking Hawkman, before getting knocked to the ground where Hawkman thunders down with remorseless punches.
It's then, at close contact, that Hawkman begins to feel the effects of St. Roch's powers. His insides churn, and his body aches as the onset of St. Roch's diseases take hold.

Revealing himself as the thought-dead leader of the terrorist group featured at the beginning of the storyarc. St. Roch elaborates on his fate in the chemical research laboratory explosion, proclaiming himself to be both the disease and the cure for St. Roch.

With this information, Hawkman's resolve is strengthened.
He leaps from the ground and drives the terrorist's body through the exterior wall of the warehouse, before emerging from the waters with his broken body.

The hammer...
If you've been visiting Secret Earths on any kind of regular basis, you're probably the kind of fan that's willing to indulge a particular type of fanboy hysteria. Which is good, because recently I did get a little silly for Hawkman.

As is often the case, I think we've ended up with a fairly clean result. So, for formality's sake, let us declare Hawkman the victor, with assistance from Hawkgirl.

Hopefully no one has taken offense to the marginalizing of Hawkgirl, but I would honestly assess her involvement in the fight proper, as minimal.
Recently visiting the When Fangirls Attack site on blogspot, it occurred to me that this site could be perceived as a little neglectful. Which it is... (kidding)

As the Hawkman title makes the transition to Hawkgirl, I'm holding out hope that it doesn't mean anything negative to Hawkman. There have, naturally, been a lot of rumours swirling regarding a possible death. This was probably perpetuated by confusion generated by overlapping continuity in Countdown, Rann/Thanagar War and Hawkman.
I tend to think the scares are over, but if anyone's reading Hawkgirl, drop a comment and let me know!

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 5

NEXT WEEK: DC versus Marvel! The first fight!