Letters to HAWKMAN: FINAL FLIGHT #1

If Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are tier 1-level characters, Hawkman and Hawkwoman (in any incarnation: Carter/Katar, Shiera/Shayera/Kendra) are a definite tier 2 (or maybe 3), which doesn't mean we love them any less, but that their exploits tend to attract fewer readers. In other words, I was fully expected this to sit here while books with marquee characters got the most attention. So thanks for jumping into this, Charlie!




This comment put me in the mind of how differently you and I view this event. I think you are looking at 10YL as a platform for new ideas and the launching of new concepts (i.e., Superwoman, the Authority, All-Star Academy), which I think is marvelous, and will make your books VERY interesting to read. On the other hand, I'm approaching 10YL as a way to wrap up unfinished business, to complete the stories of characters we started writing ten years ago, in an attempt to make it okay for me to step away (I'll always have some unfinished business, but maybe this will take the psychic weight off my mind to come back and fill some stuff in. Maybe 20YL...). Maybe another way to say it is, for you, 10YL is a baptism, while mine is an exorcism. In a good way.




I re-read this issue Tuesday night as I was posting it, and I actually came to the same conclusion, at which point it was too late to do anything about it if I wanted to--- which I'm not sure I do, at least not for the sake of accessibility, despite what one gains from it.

This issue was the first thing I wrote for 10YL, and it a perfect example of my 10YL approach (as mentioned above). FINAL FLIGHT is absolutely NOT a stand alone story, and SHOULD be read in conjunction with all of my other Hawkman material on the DC2, as it is the culmination of that over-arching story. I did try to fill in the blanks to refresh the memories of readers who may have last read the other stuff 8-10 years ago, but as you very correctly pointed out, that led to some expository ruminations that may have bogged down the pace (case in point: believe it or not, this is about 1/3 shorter than DARKEST DEPTHS).

Your criticism is valid, but I'm not sure I could have written this issue any other way. I think it's simply a consequence of what I'm trying to accomplish. I will certainly accept the accessibility problems of that approach, and take my lumps (lack of interest/feedback), but I'll sleep better knowing I told the story I set out to tell.

That being said, most of that stuff is out of the way now, and the concluding chapter should move and pace a whole lot better.



This is where things get wibbly-wobbly. I think it would be a mistake to explicitly lay out how the psycho-receptive Nth metal, the curse of Hath-Set, and the destiny laid on Khufu and Chay-Ara by Horus (or maybe I should say "Horus"...?) combine to create the cycle of reincarnation. Just as Valyra Thal comes from the same era as Chay-Ara, Kar'taral comes from the same era as Khufu, yet that doesn't mean Carter Hall isn't the reincarnated Kar'taral (the Thanagarians seem to think he is), so shouldn't it stand to reason that Shiera's spirit, merging with the storm of Nth Force, could find recorporealization in the resurrected Valyra Thal?

As an aside, I've always explained the psycho-receptive field of Nth metal (that Nth force mentioned above) as a fundamental force of the universe, like gravity or time/space, but I've also thought about it in terms of the spice from Dune, in the same mystical and unique sense. Not necessarily important to the story, but an insight into how I've approached this crucial aspect of the Hawk mythos.



Horus is the Power that set Prince Khufu down the road to being a proto-Hawkman, way back in The Immortal Legend of Hawkman mini from 2005. That story is essential reading to FINAL FLIGHT. Thus the quandary you raise (and I attempt to rationalize) above.

And, yes, it appears that Hawkman and his Patron (for lack of a better word) are no longer seeing eye-to-eye... Again, culmination of events put (somewhat unwittingly) into motion ten years ago.



Very perceptive reading, sir. I will neither confirm nor deny. I will just say that any reveal will be true to the longer story of the Hawks that every issue has been building to, but also (of course) this is a Great Disaster tie-in.



Katar's incredulity is not completely unfounded. Always before, the cycle of reincarnation has come from rebirth, two souls reborn into new bodies, not one soul resurrecting into an existing body (as Carter believes has happened in the case of Shiera coming back through Valyra). I can see how you might feel this way though, as in the DCU this exact thing did indeed happen, as Carter Hall was resurrected into Katar Hol's body in Robinson and Johns' JSA run. But the DC2 Katar Hol (son of DC2's Carter Hall) doesn't know what House Of Mystery knows, thus his response. Plus, my Katar is a pretty pragmatic guy, and I'm sure he doesn't want to see his father get wound up about his soulmate's return, and then be disappointed when she turns out to be a crazy Thanagarian zealot assassin.

I originally had planned a separate emotional arc for Katar and Kendra, but the more I thought about this story, the more I realized it was Carter's, and if I was going to get it done in two issues, I needed to focus on him, and skip directly to Katar and Kendra's happily-ever-after. But I love those characters. And, FWIW, not writing a team-up book with them will always be part of that unfinished business I mentioned above. *sigh*




Again, more unfinished business! The Satellite-Era JLA team that I assembled with my New Outsiders Special a few years back (Hawkman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, the Atom, Red Tornado, Zatanna, Huntress) would have been a great opportunity to explore those stories. The first arc was going to be my long-gestating "Mastermind Agenda", but the second would have started a traditional Bronze Age-y type JLA/JSA crossover--- and I think you and I even talked about bringing in your Big Seven Justice League, too.

Alas.



You make another very good point here. I actually thought about doing this, and in hindsight should have, given the continuity-heavy nature of this particular story. Maybe when I have some time I will edit the issue to do just that.



No, you didn't miss anything, there is no Hector Hall in DC2 continuity, and this is the first mention of the Silver Scarab. The answer is revealed next issue, and thanks for the vote of confidence.




All is made clear next issue!

BTW, Charlie and I have already had a chuckle about how we've independently of each other, both have a character called the Shrike in our 10YL books. Lest there be confusion, they are not the same character (his is the grown-up Tim Drake). Just a weird coincidence.




Absolutely! And thanks not just for reading, but for the thoughtful feedback!