He ’s been a member of theJustice Leagueand a fixture of the DC Universe since his debut , butHawkman ’s history extend even further into the past times . As the rebirth of an ancient Egyptian prince , DC ’s fly poor boy has had several embodiment throughout history . This clever twist has allowed various creators to total in and put their own unique spin on the character .

Hawkman has often been a continuity incubus in DC Comics lore . Various contradictory versions of the character have float around throughout the years , and their contradictory histories have only been exacerbated bycontinuity - changing events like Crisis on Infinite ground . In attempt to streamline Hawkman ’s history , it was subsequently explain that all premature interpretation of the character stemmed from the Egyptian prince Khufu . The prince and his buff Chay - Ara ( the ascendent of Hawkgirl ) are obliterate with an Nth - metal sticker by rival priest Hath - Set , which have all three of them to be transmigrate over and over again across the centuries .

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This concept of uninterrupted renascence provide a rich chance for creators to fill in the blanks of Hawkman ’s story . One such incarnation was detail in 2004’sHawkman#27 , a one - off level bywriter Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips . The creative team follow in for this exclusive issue to do what they do well : namely , hard - boilednoir . The reincarnated “ Hawk ” in this instance is Pinkerton detective Jim Wright , who arrives in the city of St. Roch in 1917 on the trail of a black chick statue . thing are complicated when Wright also has a rivulet - in with his old flame Sheila Carr , currently the fancy woman of mobster Big Louie Moretti . As it call on out , Sheila is the reincarnate Chay - Ara , and Big Louie is the reincarnation of Hath - Set . The crime gaffer is the only one of them to realize the verity , and orchestrated events to bring them all together so he can enact his revenge on the doomed lovers . Wright and Sheila remember who they are once the detective lays hands on the bird statue that brought him into town , bring out that it contains a mob made of Nth - metallic element . It winds up being too late , however , as the story ends the only path it could : in tragic , classically - noirfashion .

Coming in between “ seasons ” ofBrubaker and Phillips ' critically - acclaimed seriesSleeper , the creative squad ably flip on the intemperately - boiled classicThe Maltese Falcon . In the story , Jim Wright has a cooperator he visit “ Sam , ” who bears more than a passing resemble toFalconauthor Dashiell Hammett . The tangible - life Hammett ( whose first name was in fact “ Samuel ” ) in reality worked for the Pinkertons from 1915 - 1922 , heavy drawing on his experiences when venture on his writing life history shortly thereafter . With employment likeThe Maltese Falcon , Hammett is often considered to be amongst the “ founding begetter ” of the literary and film effort that would later be classify asnoir . Brubaker and Phillips use their story here to pay protection to Hammett , utterly encapsulating the tough - talking dialogue and doomed love story that has its origins in the writer ’s investigator fiction .

In a clever nod to Hammett , Brubaker and Phillips even go so far as to imply that it was the case of the missing black bird statue that would later inspire his originative work , withpresent - sidereal day Hawkman Carter Hallstating that Wright ’s old partner eventually “ did a turn of writing ” as the last panel depict a shelf living accommodations a copy ofThe Maltese Falcon . While it may not have happened quite like that in our reality , the world of DC Comics is far richer by tying the history ofJustice LeaguememberHawkmanto a classic of literarynoir .

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Humphrey Bogart in the Maltese Falcon with Hawkman from DC Comics

Hawkman #27 by Ed Bruaker and Sean Phillips.

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