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Carter Hall


Family	Shayera Hall (wife, deceased)
Occupation	Museum curator, archaeologist, chairman of the JSA, member of the Justice League
Powers and Abilities	Super strength, Flight, Reincarnation
Played By	Michael Shanks
Status	Deceased (Icarus)

"I guess you never know what fate has planned for you." - Carter to Lois Lane, Shield

Carter Hall was the leader of the Justice Society of America and the superhero known as Hawkman. He came out of retirement to take down a vengeful Icicle with help from the Justice League. He also stated that he and Stargirl were going to re-form the Justice Society.

He returned again to help Clark Kent and the Justice League defeat Zod and his army. When Clark said that he would use the Book of Rao to take him and his people away from Earth, Carter told him that he admired him and saluted him.

When Slade Wilson exposed the vigilantes as terrorists to the public eye, Carter fought against him, and sacrificed his own life to save Lois Lane. His body was entombed in Egypt, next to his wife Shayera.

Physical AppearanceEdit

Carter is a large, imposing man with dark blond hair and blue eyes. He is always seen with slight scruff on his face. While Carter is in civilian clothing, he usually wears a brown leather jacket.

As Hawkman, his costume is composed of dark green leather pants, knee-high brown boots, and a muscle cuirass (metal chest plate designed to look like a man's torso). He wears a golden harness that is attached to a pair of large gray wings, which allow him flight.

In the center of the wing harness is a red-and-black hawk emblem. Carter also wears a golden helmet designed to look like the head of a hawk with large golden wings on either side. Carter carries with him, at all times in costume, a large spiked mace.

PersonalityEdit

Carter was an extremely blunt, straight-forward, tense and stern individual, but as the same time, believed in justice and morality. His apprehensive nature could have manifested after his wife, Shayera Hall, died, although it is unclear as to why he is so up-tight.

Powers and AbilitiesEdit

Reincarnation: Carter is cursed to come back to life again and again.
Expert swordsman: Carter proved to be an expert swordsman; he was capable of using his mace in battle effectively against Slade blocking his slashing attacks and countering . (Icarus)

As Hawkman, Carter has displayed many abilities, such as:

Super strength: Carter possesses greater strength than that of a normal human. This was demonstrated when he was fighting Cameron Mahkent. The next time was during a battle with Slade Wilson when he was able to smash his mace through the floor. (Absolute Justice, Icarus)

Flight: Carter is capable of flying at high speeds and altitudes. (Absolute Justice, Icarus)

Invulnerability: He is more durable than a normal human. He is also capable of crashing through the window without any injury. He is able to withstand large amounts of pain, such as remaining coherent after being stabbed through the chest, and possibly not being pulverized after falling many stories. His body is also able to absorb large amounts of shock, such as when he allowed his body to take much of the damage from falling after catching Lois. However, it is possible that he was able to soft land using his wings after catching Lois and then collapsed from his sword injury off screen. (Icarus)
Super speed: While Carter does not possess speed equal to that of a Kryptonian, he is fast enough to deflect bullets with his vambraces (metal armor on his forearms). (Icarus)

Early lifeEdit

"Hard to believe. What would someone like me know about love? When I only know it ends and it always ends. In every one of my lives, past and present. Shayera and I were born a thousand years ago. We were cursed by one of our enemies, destined to fall in love with each other only to watch each other die lifetime after lifetime." – Carter Hall, Absolute Justice

Carter and his wife Shayera were cursed thousands of years ago by one of their enemies, so that they would live to see each other die, forever. In the 1970's, when he was with the Justice Society of America, he was their leader. As their leader, he made many mistakes. Carter was close with many members of his team; he even married Shayera, who became Hawkgirl. When she was murdered, he went after her murderer, Joar Mahkent, the first Icicle, and put him in a catatonic state. He and most of the other JSA members were taken into custody, but he eventually got out and started to take care of his long-time friend and ally Kent Nelson.

Season NineEdit

"It's been a long while since I made someone bleed... Time to go hunting." – Carter, Absolute Justice, Part 1

Since the dissolution of the JSA, Carter took care of Kent Nelson and looked after the JSA's old headquarters. When Clark Kent came to tell Carter about the deaths of Sylvester Pemberton and Wesley Dodds, Carter simply told Clark to leave. He then enlisted Doctor Fate and Stargirl, who later befriended another hero team consisting of Clark, Chloe Sullivan, Oliver Queen, and John Jones.

Begrudgingly, Carter and Oliver seemed to learn a few things from one another. The two groups of heroes finally acted as one when Cameron Mahkent, the second Icicle, wearing the Helmet of Nabu, tried to kill them all at Watchtower, but their combined forces were able to stop Icicle and retrieve the helmet. Carter then took the helmet to the museum and placed it on its mantle, where it awaits its successor. He revealed to Clark that he had contacted the rest of his surviving friends and invited them and their own protégés to restart the JSA.

Months later, Carter and Courtney joined Clark and Chloe's team of heroes to battle General Zod and his army, along with John, Black Canary, and Cyborg. He wanted to launch a full-scale attack against the Kandorians against Clark's wishes, but was talked down from it. Carter was the first to salute Clark on his choice to leave Earth in order to stop the Kandorians, before signing off.

Season TenEdit

"With every great relationship, Lois, comes a great burden... and the strength to carry it." - Carter to Lois, Shield

For a few weeks, Carter had been having visions that indicated he would soon reunite with Shayera in another life; he knew that he would go out fighting soon. At Clark's behest to watch over her while she was there in Egypt, Carter introduced himself to the reporter Lois Lane, whom he had found looking at his discovered ancient Egyptian artifacts including a papyrus manuscript belonging to Isis in his tent. Carter reported back to Clark that Lois was safe, and realizing that she knew Clark's secret, related at distance the story of himself and his beloved wife Shayera Hall, from his past life as Prince Khufu.

They shared a bottle of whiskey while he tried to affirm to her that she was important to Clark's destiny. Partially due to being quite drunk on whiskey, and possibly because he had been having recurrent visions of her of late, Carter had a vision of Shayera in Lois's place and leaned in to kiss her. Lois slapped him and stormed off but after realizing what might have been wrong she forgave him and explained that she knew who he was, the prince of his story. In the midst of all this, Carter had washed his face in a water basin, not knowing that a chemical tracer was put in it by a disguised Plastique, thus tagging him with the mark of the Suicide Squad.

After Lois was possessed by the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis, Clark tried to call him so he could help him to release Lois, but he couldn't find Carter.

Later, Carter was present at Lois and Clark's surprise engagement party at Watchtower, which Tess hosted. He congratulated the pair and spoke with Oliver about Chloe.

When Slade Wilson kidnapped Lois, Carter dueled the corrupted general before he was impaled through the back with Slade's sword during their battle. A lamp near a gas line exploded and Carter used his wings which were set ablaze to protect Lois from getting burned however the shock wave of the blast from the explosion sent Lois hurtling out the window and plummeting down into the street below. With the last bit of his strength Carter flew down with his wings on fire to save Lois.

Falling to the street below, Carter shielded Lois from suffering the impact by protecting her in his wings. Clark arrived on the scene to hear Carter's last words of encouragement to him as well as reassurance that Clark had all the help he'd ever need with Lois by his side. A grieved Clark and Lois attended his funeral with the League and Courtney, watching him be buried next to his beloved Shayera.

Other Faces of HawkmanEdit

AppearancesEdit

Season Nine: Absolute Justice, Part 1, Absolute Justice, Part 2, Salvation
Season Ten: Shield, Icarus

In the ComicsEdit

There are two commonly recognized interpretations of Hawkman.

He was created initially as Carter Hall by Gardner Fox, appearing in Flash Comics #1 (January 1940). This is generally known as the Golden Age version.
In 1961, Fox and Joe Kubert re-created Hawkman as Katar Hol. This version of Hawkman first appeared in The Brave and the Bold vol.1 # 34 (February–March 1961) and is commonly known as the Silver Age version.

The Smallville version of the character is based on Carter Hall, the reincarnation of a prince named Khufu who lived during the reign of Ramesses II in the 19th dynasty of Egypt. He and his beloved Chay-Ara discover a spaceship from the planet Thanagar in the desert. The dying passenger only says the words "Nth Metal" as she dies. Khufu and Chay-Ara use the Nth metal that powered the ship to create weapons and devices that negate gravity. Khufu and Chay-Ara protect their lands with other ancient heroes that include Nabu and Teth-Adam, making them a group of superheroes in ancient times. The Nth metal itself, in addition to being usable as a weapon, strengthens the souls of the two, binding them together in their love, as well as imprinting them with knowledge of Thanagar. The two, however, are tragically killed by the priest Hath-Set. The two are destined to be reincarnated again and again only to die at the hands of a reincarnated Hath-Set.

Khufu is reincarnated as archeologist Carter Hall in the 1940s. He recovers his memories from Egypt and uses the hawk motif of the Egyptian god Horus to become Hawkman. He fights crime for some time and soon realizes that his love has been reincarnated as a woman named Shiera Saunders. She is kidnapped by a Dr. Anton Hastor (the reincarnation of Hath-Set) but rescued by Hawkman. She becomes his lover and ally, and soon becomes Hawkgirl. They fight crime side-by-side in the 40s, and soon help found the Justice Society of America, a team with Hawkman as leader. The two, along with many heroes, become less active in the 1950s due to investigations by the government. The two have a son named Hector Hall who takes up the mantle of Dr. Fate in adulthood. They, like many JSA heroes, age slowly and come out of retirement when Hawkman joins the JLA as a mentor. He is a mentor and friend to the alien Hawkman Kator Hol, just like he was to his father and the superhero The Atom. Soon, almost all the members of the JSA, including Carter and Shiera, are forced into a war for many years with evil beings merged with Norse gods in the realm of limbo. They are believed to be dead. They return some years later when a group of primitive but super-powered people take their places in the great battle. Death, however, finds Carter and Shiera again as they are merged with Kator Hol and transformed into a "HawkGod," but the individual is very dangerous and is forced into limbo.

Their souls may not have remained in limbo as a young woman named Kendra Saunders (who is related to Shiera Saunders) may have had the spirit of Chay-Ara walk into her body when she attempted to kill herself. Her grandfather, the man who raised her, is convinced she does have the soul of Shiera and, after she recovers, encourages her to become the new Hawkgirl. Kendra as the new Hawkgirl joins the new JSA and is taken to the troubled planet Thanagar, which is under threat from a space conqueror, by priests of the planet who seek a champion to save them. They use her soul's connection to Khufu and call forth the new Hawkman, who is Carter Hall in soul and mind but Kator Hol in body. Following this, Hawkman has all the memories of both Carter Hall and Kator Hol (a possible result of their time fused together).

The Hawks and the JSA save the planet and return to Earth, where Hawkman becomes a JSA member again. Carter, still retaining his memories, attempts to start a relationship with Kendra but she has no interest as she does not remember any of her past lives.

Hawkman soon begins to fight in many adventures with the JSA himself and even with Kendra, who grows close to him as a friend but not a lover. The two become separated for some time when Carter is left on the planet Thanagar to deal with unfinished business involving the murder of the alien Hawkwoman, a partner to the alien Kator.

By the time he returns, Hawkgirl has joined a newly established JLA and he rejoins the JSA. JSA member Power Girl may have had a relationship with him. Carter fights as a member of the JSA for many years. During this time, many heroes believe Hawkman has become more violent.

In the recent Blackest Night series, Hawkman and Hawkgirl are seen arguing over whether they should visit the grave of Atom's wife Jean, who had murdered another deceased superhero's (Elongated Man's) wife Sue Dibny. The two are then attacked by the re-animated corpses (Black Lanterns) of Elongated Man and Sue Dibny. They impale Hawkgirl in the chest with a spear, piercing her heart, while Hawkman is beaten in the face repeatedly with a mace. The corpse of Elongated Man screams that Hawkgirl hates him. As she dies, she admits she loves him, then Hawkman's heart is torn out of his chest and he is killed. Soon Hawkman and Hawkgirl are made Black Lanterns as well. Later during the storyline, it is revealed that the corpses of Carter and Kendra's original bodies, Khufu and Chay-Ara, were placed in a power battery by the love-based Star Sapphires. Their love is said to be source of the Star Sapphire's powers.

In the final battle of Blackest Night, the White Light restores Hawkman and Hawkgirl (who is revealed to be Shiera Hall), and the two are reunited.

During the course of Brightest Day Carter and Shiera are relevead to be together again only to discover they may be threatened once more by Hath Set.

Both neither content with continuing the process seek out to stop him only to discover that has been involved in a plan to invade Earth with Queen Khea someone revealed to be Hawkgirl's mother. Their quest takes them to Hawkworld a planet between Earth and Thanagar from which most Nth Metal comes from. The two were separated on Hawkworld where Hawkman gains a vision from the White Light telling him his goal in this new life is to prevent the invasion from Queen Khea. While Hawkman and Hawkgirl stopped the invasion and broke the cycle of their curse it soon became clear the group of heroes and villains were resurrected in an effort to stop the elemental Swamp Thing who had been corrupted many of those brought back to life took the form various elements of Earth with Hawkman and Hawkgirl taking the form of wind and in these forms powered Swamp Thing's human counterpart Alec Holland. After the battle between Holland and Swamp Thing many of the heroes took their own mortal forms again Carter searched for Shiera only to discover she never was revived separating the two possibly permanently.

Since the new 52 reboot of the DC universe, Hawkman has been somewhat redesigned though also seemingly with some of his previous history intact. He is now working as an archaeologist. Although he tries to rid himself of the nth metal and his previous costume, the nth metal has become part of his body. He can now materialize his costume and weapons from within his body. He has thus far stopped the alien Morphicius and also battled a zombie outbreak started by the Gentleman Ghost. Carter currently resides in New York City.

NotesEdit

In the comics, Carter and Shiera had a son named Hector who grew up to become a superhero known as the Silver Scarab and later took on the mantle of Doctor Fate. However, it hasn't yet been confirmed if Hector exists in Smallville's continuity.
In the comics' current continuity, there have been five different Hawkmen.

The first is in the Golden Age Hawkman, Carter Hall, a reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian prince, Khufu. He is also the current Hawkman (c. 1940).
The second, Katar Hol, was an alien police officer from the planet Thanagar and is considered the Silver Age / Bronze Age Hawkman (c. 1961).
The third (Post-Crisis) Hawkman, Fel Andar, was a spy from the planet Thanagar (c. 1985).
The fourth, Zauriel was an Earth-bound angel of the Eagle Host of angels, one of the four hosts of Heaven (Eagle, Human, Bull and Lion). Since the dawn of creation, Zauriel served the Presence (God) as a guardian angel, protecting the souls of countless women, including Cleopatra, Mona Lisa, and Joan of Arc (c. 1997).
The fifth is a retconned version of Golden Eagle named Charley Parker. He was an orphan in Midway City’s Sisters of Mercy orphanage. He bounced around from different foster homes and orphanages for the better part of his youth. As a young man he was mentored by Carter Hall, who's secret identity was Hawkman of the Justice League. He soon took up the mantle of Hawkman (c. 1975, 2005)

Carter Hall being an archaeologist has been demonstrated in many versions of the character, such as the Justice League Unlimated series. However, his being one in Smallville may also be considered a nod to Michael Shank's previous role as Daniel Jackson on Stargate SG-1. On Stargate, Shanks' character is an archaeologist, has a dead Egyptian wife named Sha're, and has died and been revived on the show. Interestingly, both shows have run for ten seasons, although Shanks did not appear as a cast member in all ten seasons of Stargate SG-1.
Hawkman and Dr. Fate are both killed by being stabbed in the back and both of their last acts were to save the lives of others.
Carter is the first member of Smallville's Justice League to become deceased.

External linksEdit

Hawkman at DC Comics
Hawkman at wikipedia.org
Hawkman at the DCAU wiki
Hawkman (Carter Hall) at the Batman:Brave and the Bold wiki
Hawkman at the Young Justice wiki
Hawkman at the SuperFriends wiki
Hawkman at the DC Database wiki
Hawkman (Golden Age) at the JSA Member List
Hawkman (Golden Age) at Don Markstein's Toonopedia™
Hawkman (Golden Age) at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
Hawkman FAQ
Hawkfan - A fansite dedicated to Hawkman and Hawkgirl