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Set in present day, four youths enter through a portal which takes them to a magical land, ruled by the despot known as Luthor, who has in his army a man who alone is that world's worst weapon. Several heroes battle the despot and his adopted son in an attempt to free the land of his evil rule. Those include Green Arrow Longbow, Atomus the Palmer, the Bat-Man, the Flash, the Martian, the Amazonian, the Lord of the Seas, the Green Knight and the Hawk Lord and the Hawk Lady. As you can see, a well rounded cast of Leaguers is mentioned, with the worst weapon in the world being played by Superman. The Hawks were really changed in this story. Both with heads and wings of hawks, they ruled the land of the mountains with their brothers and sisters. It seemed that the Hawk Lady was more in charge than the Hawk Lord.
This story doesn't really contain Hawkman at all. Set in the 1930's, everything is as it appears. Clark Kent is a mild mannered reporter for the Daily Planet, who has above normal strength and stamina, saying that it comes from clean living and fresh Kansas country air. But then things change drastically. Bruce Wayne is down and out, losing the Wayne fortune and becoming a bounty hunter, and as Dr. Carter Hall attested to, a bit of a grave robber. The story shows how Superman and Batman came about under different circustances. As I mentioned before, this story doesn't contain Hawkman so much as it does Carter Hall. It's a throughback to the old World's Finest stories that featured five different stories and six different heroes including Superman, Batman, Green Arrow (Oliver Queen is mentioned as throughing a party) and Hawkman. As mentioned, this story contained Dr. Carter Hall, expert Archeologist and Egyptologist.
Justice RidersSet in the old west, this starts off with Sherrif Prince of Paradise County, dragging two horse thieves back to town, only to find the town has been destroyed. Discovering it was industrialist Maxwell Lord's responcibility, Diana seeks out assistance from close friends which include Wally West, fastest guns in the west, Katar Johnson, mystic hawk shaman living on an Indian Reserve, and John Jones, mysterious manhunter. Along the way they hook up with inventor Ted Kord, better known as the Bettle and maverick gambler Booster Gold. In their travels, they cross paths with Guy Gardner, bounty hunter on the trail of Kid Flash for gunning down Marshall Barry Allen in Aibelene. This rendition of Hawman was pretty damn close to the original, as were many of the characters (with the exception of Guy Gardner, who was actually polite and curteous). Katar originally (as of last writing) was of Cherokee decent. I assume Katar Johnson in this Elseworld was also of Cherokee decent.
Kingdom ComeSet in an unforseen future, the heroes of Earth have aged and changed. Kal El moves back to the North Pole, leading the life of a recluse, in a computer generated Kansas farm field. Hawkman, in this story has also changed drastically. I can only assume he has become all the Hawk champions and the Hawk God all in one, making him a true Hawk-Man. But the North West industrialists call him an eco-terrorist, while the environmentalists call him a champion. While his role is short, he does make a dramatic exit, dying in an explosion in the midst of the American Mid West. We'll have to wait and see what DC's proposed Kingdom series has in store for the future, as the events of Kingdom Come are tied into DC continuity.
JLA: The NailThe latest JLA Elseworlds examined the world of Super-Heroes without Superman. Some suprise turns (Amish, I'll just say Amish) and some surprise villians (Jimmy Olsen?). In this version, Green Arrow has been beaten and broken, his right arm ripped off and his legs shattered beyond repair in a battle with the Amazo robot. But in the same battle Hawkman was killed, leaving only Hawkwoman to serve on the JLA. Black Canary, in responce to the attack on Green Arrow and his injuries forms the Outsiders. All this occurrs while some alien entity is bent on destroying all of Earth's heroes. A dramatic display is seen when Hawkwoman, deciding to leave Earth for good, witnesses a fire and sees two children trapped in the flames. Almost a throwback to the old Hawkworld series where Hawkwoman saves two children from a fire in the projects of Chicago. Turning her back from her escape, she rushes in to rescue the two, having the crowd thank her and cheer her on. One woman mentions how much of a hero her husband is. She does this only to be attacked by unknown police officers and taken to an internment camp. Even in death, Hawkman plays a big role, as Batman uses the Thanagarian Weapons Index Hawkman gave to the JLA to determine weapons appearing on Earth were of Kryptonian origin.
The Golden AgeWhile I personally haven't read the Golden Age (something I plan on rectifying soon) this four issue mini-series does have the Golden Age Hawkman in it. As well as a lot of other Golden Age heroes. With hopes I will soon have the Golden Age trade paperback so I can write a full and comprehensive review of the book for all to see.
Batman: Holy
TerrorWith a completely different setting, Bruce Wayne's parents are brutally killed with the criminal being captured and tried. Bruce grows up with the hopes of becoming a priest, when Inquisitor James Gordon informs Bruce what really happened. Bruce continues his growth in the priesthood, but also begins his quest for vengence. Along the way, we learn of others who were killed or executed, including Oliver Queen and Carter and Shiera Hall. The Halls, archaeologists and Egyptologists, were executed for attempting to use their passports as archaeologists for smuggling weapons back to the United States to support an underground attempting to overthrow the government.
Review of Actual DC Comics Elseworlds |
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