"The End" Week: Hawkgirl #66!

I know I picked up the first few issues of Hawkgirl based on the creators alone: written by Walt Simonson, with art by Howard Chaykin. But for some reason, it didn't seem to click for me, and I only stayed for four issues...and stumbled into the last one, Hawkgirl #66, "Dead or Undead!" Script by Walt Simonson, art by Renato Arlem.

We begin with a fight with a mummy, but the current Hawkgirl, Kendra, isn't home at the start of the issue; she currently seems to be possessed or channelling the spirit of Shiera, the original Hawkgirl. Shiera had been reincarnated dozens of times throughout history with her lover Katar/Carter Hall/Hawkman, usually to get killed by a similarly reincarnated Hath-Set. Hath-Set cursed the Hawks to continually reincarnate, have to find each other again, then die at his hands; although I'm not sure he's completely thrilled with always coming back himself.

Hath-Set orders his mummy kids (they may or may not be actual mummies, but whatever...) to kill Hawkman; they fail pretty miserably as Shiera "disarms" Hath-Set. On the ropes, HS drains the ka spirit-energy from his kids to power back up. He figures he can always have more...possibly by making Shiera their new mother!

Speaking more as Kendra here, Hawkgirl continues to fight, eventually cutting Hath-Set in half, then torching his mummy corpse. Shiera then says goodbye to Carter: she will be leaving, and Kendra will have her body to herself, although together they did break the curse of Hath-Set. Shiera also tells him that Kendra might love him, if he remembers that she is her own woman and not Shiera.

Arlem's art is pretty good, except he seems to draw Hawkgirl with the same yelling mouth two out of three times!

Kendra and Carter then escape Hath-Set's collapsing tomb, and while they're not a couple now, Kendra doesn't preclude the possibility later. This series seemed to be intended to capitalize on the popularity of the Justice League cartoon's Hawkgirl, but didn't quite get there. Still, not a bad ending, although I'm positive some other writer would jack it up later...