Thousands of years ago, Egyptian Prince Khufu and his lover, came into contact with Nth metal, an element from the planet Thanagar. Exposure to the extraterrestrial material imprinted racial memories from the alien Thanagarians onto the couple and combined with their true love, strengthened their souls and the bond between them. Soon after their exposure to Nth metal, the lovers were murdered by Hath-Set, a corrupt priest of Anubis. Over subsequent, and mostly unrevealed lifetimes, Khufu and Chay-Ara were reborn again and again, destined to meet and fall in love.
In the middle of the 20th century, Khufu was reborn as the independently wealthy Carter Hall, who after handling an Egyptian knife, realized his true lineage and continued his quest for vengeance against his murderer Hath-Set, reborn as Anton Hastor. Utilizing the anti-gravity Nth metal to construct an anti-gravity belt and wing harness in tribute to the Egyptian hawk god Horus, he adopted ancient weapons of war, becoming Hawkman. Hawkman was one of the founding members of the original Justice Society and the two winged heroes would both serve as members of the early Justice League.
When Hawkman and the Justice Society willing entered Limbo to prevent Ragnarok, his identity was assumed by a Thangarian spy Fel Andar who claimed to be the original Hawkman's son Carter Hall Junior. Andar teamed with his Earth born spouse Sharon Parker who was brainwashed into believing that she was the second Hawkwoman. When Andar was exposed as a spy he fled to Thanagar abandoning his son Ch'al Andar (Golden Eagle) who for his protection had been placed in an orphanage at an early age.
After the reality altering event known as the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Thangarian Police Officer Katar Hol (Hawkman IV) assumed the identity as the new Hawkman. Hol was partnered with another Thanagarian police officer named Shayera Thal, who while on Earth went by the convenient alias Shiera Hall.
During the timeline-shifting battle known as "Zero Hour," the original Hawkman and Hawkgirl, the Egyptian prince Khufu and his consort Chay-Ara, along with other hawk avatars were merged with Thanagarian policeman Katar Hol. Chay-Ara would ultimately not survive the merging and died, leaving Khufu without his soul-mate. Hol would eventually banish himself to the realm of the Hawkgod, in an attempt to stop the murderous hawk avatars that were possessing him.
A dimension away in the realm of the Hawkgod, Carter Hall was separated from Katar Hol, who subsequently perished. Returning to this dimension Hall would eventually be reunited with his soul mate on the planet Thanagar. Although Saunders was unwilling to accept the reality of what Hall would tell her, he would join his onetime soul mate in the Justice Society, as Hawkman.
Carter and Kendra were reunited, only to be attacked by Black Lanterns Ralph and Sue Dibny, who were recently resurrected by Black Power Rings, before having their hearts torn out from their bodies, and becoming undead Black Lanterns themselves; however, by the end of the horrific crisis, Carter and Shiera Hall (no longer looking like or believing herself to be the deceased Kendra), along with ten other people, were reanimated by the power of the White Lantern.
Current Version:
Hawkman (Air Elemental)
Former Versions:
Hawkman (Carter Hall)
Hawkman (Katar Hol)
Hawkman (Black Lantern)
