Death of Hawkman

Death of Hawkman #1-6

by Marc Andreyko (Writer), Aaron Lopresti (Penciler), John Livesay (Inker)

Rann is in ruins. The perpetrators? The winged people of Thanagar.

Or are they?

When Adam Strange returns to Rann to find his newly adopted home planet razed to the ground, war with the neighboring planet Thanagar seems inevitable. On the other side of the battle lines? Carter Hall, Hawkman! Can the two find out the real villain behind it all? Or will they destroy each other first?

From the mind of Marc Andreyko (Manhunter, Batwoman) comes the fight of the century in Hawkman vs Adam Strange!

Collecting: The Death of Hawkman 1-6

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 14, 2017

About the author

Marc Andreyko is a comic book and screenplay writer, best known for writing the 2000s ongoing series Manhunter for DC Comics.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

At a time when DC looked at most of its line and said “Rebirth”, they looked at one character and one character only - Hawkman - and said “DEATH!”. And y’know what? This is why they’ve been selling gangbusters this past year-and-change, because DC suddenly know what the people want. The only Hawkman comic I was ever going to read would be one where they iced this motherfucker!

Why the hate? Let me answer that with another question: did you ever read New 52 Savage Hawkman? First of all, if you didn’t, DON’T, and I’m sorry if, like me, you did and hope you got over the trauma of that nightmarish experience - it was most comics readers’ own private Vietnam! Especially if you ended up reading both volumes of that title, the second of which was even more dire, written by Rob “Let’s Put A Gun On That Sword!” Liefeld.

(When it came out I got a bunch of GR friends to buddy-hate-read that one and I’m amazed they’re still friends with me. It might’ve been the worst New 52 title and that line had its share of horrorshows! Read their hilarious reviews here. I’m sorry again, guys - you were right not to follow me on this one!)

But at least now we get closure - now we get to see the hairy-shouldered winged caveman mace aficionado, arguably the worst superhero DC has (and they have a raft of shit superheroes), eat it once and for all!

Don’t do it. Really. Even to see Hawkman die. I mean, it’s appropriately bad because it’s a Hawkman book (could it have been anything else?) but still. It stiiiinks!

Death of Hawkman is a crap buddy-cop movie starring Hawkman and Adam Strange. Who? Just some dude with a gun. Together they’ve gotta defeat Despero. Who? Just some demon-looking dude. Why? Nth metal. Throw in some Green Lanterns for no reason and you can wrap a bow on this turd!

Probably because it’s the only memorable storyline featuring Hawkman, the Rann-Thanagar War is brought up again - they’re two neighbouring worlds who get along about as well as Jews and Muslims in the Middle East do! Writer Marc Andreyko attempts some kind of story about a conspiracy to reignite hostilities and Hawkman/Adam Strange gotta stop them but it’s never once interesting to read.

Most of the book focuses on boring Adam Strange and his even more boring wife while Despero hams it up as the cackling villain. Snooze. But at least DC deliver on the title: Hawkman does die - HOORAY! Except there’s rumours Scott Snyder’s gonna bring him back. Fuck’s sake… we can’t ever have nice things, can we?!

If you’re wondering whether a comic can kill you or not, give Death of Hawkman a shot; otherwise I’d say there’s never been a more ignorable comic ever published before than this one.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of an Adam Strange book than a Hawkman book but I guess Death of Hawkman sells better as a title. Thanagarians set off a bomb on Rann killing Sardath along with several hundred others. Rann ramps up for war, meanwhile on Thanagar no one knows anything is going on and Hawkman is doing his best Dirty Harry impression. Adam Strange shows up and they both end up on the run, well because. They figure out Despero is actually behind everything and he's building a Zetabeam to steal all the Nth metal on Thanagar, which he turns into a suit. Yes, this is beyond stupid. Despero's control of the Nth Metal is killing Hawkman, they both die until Despero morphs back into himself. The end.

The Good: Aaron Lopresti's art is good.

The Bad: I thought Andreyko was a better writer than this but this is awful.

The Ugly: With the new 52, DC had a chance to fix Hawkman's many origins but they screwed him up more than ever. Geoff Johns was able to fix him once pre-Flashpoint. Maybe they can get him to quit making movies long enough to fix him again.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

News flash: this is actually much more of an Adam Strange book, but if that's not a deal-breaker for you it was pretty entertaining.


Katar Hol isn't messing about.

Glad I finally crossed this one off my Hoopla TBR.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't believe I enjoyed this as much as I did, but I couldn't put this book down. Hawkman and Adam Strange, the other star of this series, are favorites of mine, so this was a nice pairing. I admit I'm not sure where in continuity this now works, but writer Andreyko does a pretty good job of creating a good sci-fi tale that is a good testament to both of these heroes.

Aaron Lopresti does a great job on the art, although the time we see Hawkman naked, he gives Katar absurdly huge feet that almost made me laugh out loud. He does a good job with the various alien races and manages to make both Thanagar and Rann familiar yet still otherworldly.

My only quibble is with the back copy and the cover to one of the issues, where it is implied that Thanagar has sent Hawkwoman to help capture Hawkman. But no Hawkwoman ever shows up, other than that cover. Am I missing something?

[Will Robinson Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am real sucker for a cosmic comic book adventure. Writer Andreyko & artists Lopresti and Buchemi take full advantage of a short run mini series here with solid storytelling and fast paced action. Andreyko doesn't waste much time we jump into the middle of the conflict. We are caught to speed on who Adam Strange is in the DC Comics universe and his close relationship to Hawkman. I really love this opportunity to be able to return to the DC Comics cosmos without there being focus on the Green Lantern Corps. which many fans may already know about. If readers really want just a little more background on our heroes I suggest reading Justice League United, Vol. 1: Justice League Canada & Justice League United, Vol. 2: The Infinitus Saga by Jeff Lemire. Lemire did a great job introducing the New 52 version of Adam Strange. The basic plot of the book finds Adam Strange of Earth caught between a suspiciously instigated war between his wife's (Alanna) planet of Rann & Hawkman's home world of Thanagar. Adam Strange escapes Rann to enlist the help of the Justice League and Hawkman. Unfortunately the Justice League are on an away mission and it falls to Strange, Hawkman, and few allies to get to the bottom of the mystery of who is trying to start a war between Rann and Thanagar. So we join Adam Strange and Hawkman on an action pack buddy space adventure. I feel like the title of this book is a gimmick in a way because for the most part the story is told from Adam Strange's point of view. I don not want to spoil anything but I felt like the ending was a bit anticlimactic. It will be interesting to see how this story will play into the current larger DC Comics continuity. Hawkman is one of DC Comics most under used heroes so I was happy just to read a story where he plays more of a key role. The drawbacks to this series is that newcomers may feel a little lost on who some of the characters are and on some of the concepts on how Hawkman's powers work. Surprisingly the Nth metal concept is playing an important role in Dark Days: The Casting #1, Dark Days: The Forge #1 & Dark Nights: Metal (2017-) #1 as part of the DC Comics Metal event. For those looking for a fun quick space story this is a pretty good comic. If you are looking for current cosmic action I recommend: The Mighty Thor, Volume 3: The Asgard/Shi'ar War, Poe Dameron, Vol. 2: The Gathering Storm & Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps (2016-) Vol. 2: Bottled Light (Hal Jordan & The Green Lantern Corps.

[Café de Tinta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Se salva por el humor que tiene en algunas escenas, porque en general es bastante aburrido. Lo he leído como introducción a "Noches oscuras: metal" y espero que lo que viene sea más entretenido.

[Wing Kee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zzz...

World: The art is fine, I think it's a bit too cartoony for tone the book was going for (but then again the tone was all over the place also). Hawkman needs a really gritty art style and Strange needs a really slick Flash Gordon art style but both were not achieved here so yeah the art is highly forgettable. The world building here is basic, it's there to serve the story so we get the Rann/Thanagar conflict again and someone in the middle messing things up, all in all it's just the stage for the story.

Story: The story is safe, it's paced well and it's expected but man is it boring and cliched and inconsistent in tone. The dialog is terrible, most of the jokes are flat and distracting and the dialog is fairly basic and 90s. The emotional impact of what we were suppose to feel with Katar was a miss and the stuff with Strange pretty much took the story away from Katar. I love Adam he's a fun John Carter character but both Conan analog Katar and Carter analog Strange were fairly basic and not fully fleshed out. The story ends with a whimper and also no consequence at all to the main characters, this was billed as a death but you know how Hawkman is.

Characters: As I said above the dialog did not work so therefore the character interactions were stilted and uninspired. Strange is just your typical space hero and Katar barely has anything to say except spout story progression dialog. Despero was interesting but he's a fairly boring character and with boring dialog he became just zzz. Alanna was used well but you knew it was this once Despero showed up.

Fairly boring and inconsequential, it's better to skip this series, for Hawkman fans this is a meh.

Onward to the next book!

[Tom Ewing · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've had a soft spot for Adam Strange ever since he shoved a bloke off a toilet to catch a zeta beam ride in Swamp Thing. But perhaps sensing that his name on a miniseries is not sales gold, DC dropped him from the billing and gave this odd-couple team-up a juicier title. This leaves Hawkman in the position of feeling like a guest star in his own Death mini, which seems a fitting end (though of course it won't be) for one of DC's more abused IPs.

I'd feel more pity - or more anything, really - if the miniseries wasn't such a clunker. The set-up is soporific enough - war between Rann and Thanagar, which is a plot DC keep returning to like a thirst-maddened bison to a dried up watering-hole. Nobody cares! Nobody has ever cared and the not caring will continue until the storyline is used for something other than schedule-filler miniseries.

The execution is worse, though - the book's idea of "buddy comedy" is one character cracking jokes and the other character telling him his jokes are awful. Since the jokes are, in fact, awful this is less chemistry and more stating the obvious. Add in a story based on super-hypnotism which can affect entire planets but not, conveniently, our heroes, and a desperate "The End OR IS IT" finish, and that's your lot. Little blame accrues to writer or artist - DC has been releasing these mediocre, runty miniseries since Dan DiDio first took charge and Death Of Hawkman is a typically pointless one, though even DC don't have the cheek to put this turkey out with their sales-bumping Rebirth branding.

[Scott Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was all right. DC space stuff--other than Green Lantern--has always felt a bit weird to me. Still, Hawkman was pretty cool for a while some years ago, and I wanted to see what was happening here, especially as I'd already read Dark Nights: Metal and figured I'd go back and figure out how Carter died.

This was okay. It's yet another play on the Rann/Thanagar conflict--Adam Strange is the actual P.O.V. character throughout the book--this time orchestrated by a super pumped up Despero who has escaped prison on Earth and can now manipulate people across vast reaches of space (how is never explained as he's doing it before he gets hold of the Nth Metal.). Strange and Hawkman are the only ones who seem to be free of Despero's influence--neither has any trouble with it throughout despite the fact that Despero seems ultra powerful--and they manage to fight through and save the day, although, as the cover says, Hawkman dies in the process.

It's an okay science-fiction adventure. Light stuff. Like a popcorn movie worth seeing once.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

De vez em quando, personagens que já foram populares retornam aos holofotes em minisséries e edições especiais. É o caso de Gavião Negro e Adam Strange. O primeiro apareceu em Legends of Tomorrow e o segundo co-estrelará a vindoura série Krypton. Embora a DC tenha trazido vários especiais com eles ao longo dos anos, a Panini Comics Brasil praticamente ignorou a maioria. Os dois são os maiores heróis de dois mundo em constante tensão bélica:o planeta Tanaghar, lar dos homens-gaviões e planeta o Rann, os portadores da tecnologia de teleporte dos raios zeta. Entretanto, nessa edição, em que os dois heróis desbaratam um plano do monstro Despero, não taz nada de novo. Embora a primeira edição traga um trabalho de narrativa interessante por parte do roteirista Marc Andreyko e o desenhista Aaron Lopresti, a história parece uma repetição da mesma história que Rann e Tanaghar vêm vivenciando há anos, tanto no universo diegético como no extradiegético. "Un déja-vu que nunca llega a su final", como diria Shakira. Uma pena, pois gosto dos personagens e dos artistas envolvidos. Mas desta vez não foi, IMHO.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure where this title falls in the D.C. Universe timeline, Post-Crisis, New 52, Convergence, Rebirth or other - not convinced D.C. knows either - but it was good as a stand alone story.
I like the sci-if superheroes, and I have always felt that Adam Strange deserved more face time in the DCU. It was nice to see him front and center during the Infinite Crisis events in the mid 2000's. The Rann-Thanagar books along with the Mystery in Space series that originated with them, were some of my favorites of the time.
The Death of Hawkman uses a similar scenario where the planets Rann and Thanager are on the brink of war due, this time due to a perceived terrorist attack on Rann by Thanagarians. Adam Strange enlists the aid of Hawkman to try and bring the true villain to justice before war breaks out.
The art was very good.
Worth reading to see the Green Lantern Hawkman. That needs to be a permanent character.

[Norman Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably closer to 3.5 stars. I can understand why some people didn't like this story. I began reading it as individual comic book issues when it came out and I remember thinking that a lot of it didn't make sense. But by restarting it and going through in one sitting it made much more sense. The roadblock is that there are a lot of flashbacks, and if one isn't paying attention it can get a bit confusing as to when events are taking place. The advantage to this kind of storytelling is that it can start in the middle with our heroes in trouble, drawing the reader into the story, then going back and filling in some of the backstory for these characters that admittedly not everyone is familiar with.
The pairing of Hawkman, man of action, and Adam Strange, scientist and somewhat reluctant hero, worked. Unlike a lot of these types of stories, the protagonists actually think to call on the Justice League and the Green Lantern Corps when things get too hard to handle. It was, however, disappointing that the Justice Leaguers were "away on missions." I think Superman or Hal Jordan could have solved the crisis in about two seconds. But then there wouldn't be a story.
Whether this story was planned as a prelude to DC's Dark Metal event or not, I suspect the events here will play a part there. And whether Hawkman (and other casualties) stays dead is certainly up for discussion. Hopefully, some iteration of Hawkman will return.
The artwork by Aaron Lopresti and John Lievesay is excellent, with clean, modern lines.

Note: I read this as individual comic book issues.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chciałbym rzec dużo złego o tej pozycji, ale nie potrafię. Prosta jak drut historia z dwoma bohaterami, którzy może miłością do siebie nie pałają, ale iskrzy momentami mocno. Autor nieco przynudza w dialogach, ale jak do akcji wkracza Carter Hall aka Hawkman oraz Adam Strange z Rann, to zaczyna się robić ciekawiej.

Dochodzi do zamachu na powierzchni planety Rann. Winą obarczono terrorystów z Thanagaru, którzy wyglądają jak ludzi, tyle że mają skrzydła i całkiem fajne zbroje z motywem jastrzębia. Ktoś próbuje napuścić na siebie dwie nacje, a nasi herosi ruszają w bój. Okazuje się, że przeciwnik jest już kilka kroków przed nimi. W dodatku ma on swoje własne plany na temat tzw. metalu Nth. Gdyby go posiadł to byłby niezwyciężony...

Całość wygląda naprawdę ładnie. Chwilami się dłuży, bo autor prowadzi takie sobie dialogi, ale całość wynagradza akcja i relacje pomiędzy głównymi bohaterami. Aha, mimo że tytuł brzmi, jak brzmi, centralną postacią wydaje się być tu Strange nie Hawkman. Tak tylko uprzedzam. Rozumiem, że marketing ma zadziałać i zwiększyć sprzedaż.

Ale nawet mimo tego w Śmierci Hawkmana znalazłem prostą rozrywkę i tak traktuję ten tytuł. Nie ma głębi, mamy za to udane relacje pomiędzy dwoma przyjaciółmi naznaczonymi przez los. I bardzo mnie ciekawi co dalej, bo końcówka... No jest mocna.

[Xander Haan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Death of Hawkman - 2 / 5 Stars

I love Hawkman I think it’s great when he gets moments to shine. For example, the Hawkman series by Vendetti is wonderful. Some amazing action and great plot. Hawkman can be a leading man for sure…

This book didn’t give him that treatment really. For a book called “Death of Hawkman” you’d think he would be the main character. But nope! This was an Adam Strange book. Which, luckily, I enjoy Adam Strange. I didn’t really mind it for that reason. I just wish Hawkman played a larger role.

I bet this was under a different title but then they renamed it to death of Hawkman so they could sell more copies. That’s just my guess I have no evidence to prove that though.

The book was alright. It was enjoyable but it didn’t feel very substantial. It felt very rushed to me! And the characters didn’t have a lot of weight to them. Like I didn’t feel very attached to anyone (even Hawkman… rip)

If you’re a big Adam Strange or Hawkman fan then this might be worth your time. But I wouldn’t go out of my way to read it personally. Still had some great moments though. And the art is gorgeous!! I love the front cover so much.

Onto the next book!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Hawkman. Really love the character and have done for decades. He's gruffer and hairier here than usual but that suits me to a "T". DC's sexiest character! Love that he's paired again with Adam Strange. Jim Starlin's series without a name that is comprised of Strange Adventures, Mystery in Space and The Rann-Thanagar Holy War, is one of my favorites of the new century. The book hits all the right buttons for me. Though, I must say I was a bit startled by Alanna's new race. She's a character I've followed since the 60's. I'm used to her being drawn a certain way. She also acts very out of character but that is resolved by the end of the book.

Oh the whole, I'm delighted by the new Hawkman and Adam Strange material! It is so few and far between - chances to interact with favorite characters I mean. I'd love to see a new Adam Strange series. And I hear there is a new Hawkman series coming soon! It's a great day to be a Hawkman fan.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is many things but a Hawkman book isn't one of them. This is an Adam Strange book. Maybe a Rann/Thanagar War book. Hawkman, and his death (obviously not a spoiler based on the incredibly stupid title), are side notes. The story could be good but it has serious missteps. The antagonist is way overpowered especially considering his history. The relationship between Adam and his wife is done very poorly. The involvement of Green Lanterns is maddening. The ending is bizarre. I enjoyed the dialogue and think Mark Andreyko had some good ideas but they fell apart. The art by Aaron Lopresti was solid throughout. Overall, a bummer.

[Shyue Chou Chuang · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a story involving Hawkman (Katar Hol) and Adam Strange and an impending war involving their respective planets. The machinations leading to war is that created by Despero, a supervillain. The exchanges between Hawkman and Adam Strange is reminiscent of those buddy or bro movies and is rather grating, they are both neither funny nor convincing. Through a fair bit of convolutions with the Green Lanterns of the respective planets brought in, the conclusion leads to the ultimate sacrifice as the title of the volume suggests. The artwork is generic and forgettable. All in all, rather this is a tedious volume.

[Will Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, Rann/Thanagar wars are always lackluster, and especially this one since...

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
Despero has taken control of...all the minds? Because he wants Nth metal. But if he has control of a ton of minds and wants destruction, he should just have everyone create an all out war and then kill themselves so he can claim all the Nth metal. Not just make people distrust each other. He's crazy powerful! It's a bad case of bad guy who is powerful enough to implement his plan not doing so.

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not Andreyko's strongest work by a long shot and the artwork really suffered in the back half when the fill ins started to show up (there was a scene where Strange's costume is restored and it's his classic costume, he even comments on it in the story, only after that panel the old costume is never seen again). I imagine the impetus for this series was to take Adam Strange off the board and kill Thanagarian Hawkman so they could use the eternal version in the upcoming Metal event.

[Ross Cudmore · Rating 2 out of 5]

A weak buddy-cop book set in space. Adam Strange is the defender of the planet Rann, who have long been at odds with their neighbour Thranagar. Hawkman is a police officer on Thranagar. After a terrorist attack sparks the threat of all-out war they must work together to find the culprit.

Unfortunately the dialogue is pretty weak and the villian boring. Adam Strange and his wife Alena felt out of character, having little of their previous characterisation.

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, it's a really good story line, and the artwork is fantastic. The title gave away the ending, but I still wish it was a happier ending. There's also a couple of bait and switches that drew my ire, but it's still a good book.

[Chad Bunch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not too much to say about the story in this one; it was awful. I only rated it 2 stars because the artwork is really good. Aaron Lopresti (pencils) is great. Too bad he wasted his talent on such an awful story.

[ISMOTU · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second modern revamp the Rann-Thanagar War storyline from "Showcase" #101-103 in the late 70's. Here we have the New 52 versions of Adam Strange and Hawkman trying to stop an interplanetary war orchestrated by Despero. Spoiler alert: the title is a spoiler.

[José Miguel (TheHudson) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Le dejo sólo dos estrellas debido a que debo leer Noches Oscuras: Metal para entender el contexto y su repercusión en la historia central.

Bien podría servir como una historia alternativa o elseworld de Adam Strange.

[Duc Hieu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this accidentally because it will lead to Dark Nights: Metal. But it's a good book, after all.

[Nuno Gil Franco · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have to say that I'm kinda torn between this. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't nothing special as well. Too rushed is the biggest complaint I have about this book.

[David Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Juvenile.

[Dean Simons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun romp. Characterisation frequently ropey but I was entertained.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title might give something big away.

All Hawkman canon is so choppy.

Well why doesn't Adam Strange get double billing?

Okay cosmic DC story.

[Kerry · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible. Hawkman and Adam Strange are great classic characters, and they deserve better treatment than this.