Thread by @HAWKGIRLS

✧ thread

how justice league unlimited aka jlu/dcau/timmverse got the hawkman/hawkgirl egyptian origin/backstory wrong and why it should be ignored entirely (aka what not to do when writing the hawks) 🦅

- before we start, let me add that the writers for jlu themselves had no clue what they were doing & bruce timm + dwayne mcduffie themselves argued over what happened. timm said it was reincarnation while mcduffie said john & shayera's feelings messed with the flashback sequence.

- the origin jlu set up was that aliens crashed into earth, egyptians bowed to them & let them rule over ancient egypt as they wanted their technology, somehow the alien king has a human best friend who homewrecks their relationship, and everyone gets poisoned & dies.

- there were two episodes, 'shadow of the hawk' & 'ancient history'. contrary to popular belief, geoff johns did not write the story, only the script for ancient history. the story regarding the aliens crashing was already set up by dwayne mcduffie & j.m. dematteis prior.

- strange enough, 'shadow of the hawk' did actually mention an accurate version minus the aliens before the 'truth'. delusional hawkman whose named joseph gardner (not his name in comics) says the couple was killed by a jealous priest. this did actually happen in comics.

- // orientalism

in 'ancient history', the alien king calls egypt a 'savage continent.'

i've seen people say the hawks were egyptian in this show. they were not. they were white aliens in egyptian cosplay with the actual egyptians having a more darker skin tone.

- despite this being an alien in cosplay, still need to bring up how no, RICH egyptian women, especially a queen, did not wear cropped dresses. some dresses were revealing, some see through, but not this. so props off to blatant sexualization to show her behind getting grabbed ig

- the idea that aliens crashed into egypt and built the pyramids was an orientalist conspiracy theory created by white people. jlu used this & even had said aliens rule over egypt. if it happened in comics, then whatever, that would be bad too. but it didn't so 😬

- to make matters worse, they used the name katar hol when at the time, katar hol was established as part NATIVE AMERICAN (mother is human) & thanagarian (father). they even included this version in a batman/superman magazine dcau styled in the 90s. so no clue what happened here!

- for more information on native american hawkman (katar hol), simply check this article from alex jaffe

dc.com/blog/2022/11/2…

- they used the name 'chay-ara hol' when 1) that wasn't her last name & 2) chay-ara was actually egyptian in comics & look at her hair! not a redheaded alien with green eyes. peak representation here people ✨️

don't let that tan fool you, every white woman in jlu had it.

- okay now lets get into the actual comic stuff outside of the obvious. hey green lantern john stewart does not exist in this cycle, he actually hates shayera in comics, and the ship got banned from comics. now we're good 👍🏽

- while orientalism in comics is still prevalent to this day, 1999 & onwards made a huge effort to make the hawks egyptian backstory less... you know. early 90s was harsh though as chay-ara was punished for falling for the exiled egyptian prince khufu

hawkman (1993) annual #2

- despite what jlu had showed, it was actually geoff johns who made the huge step up in making the ancient egyptian story more passable. he had khufu & chay-ara be drawn more brown in his books & even included nabu (dr. fate) and teth adam (black adam) as his advisors.

- hawkman's past life was prince khufu. while chay-ara did not exist in real life, the egyptian pharaoh khufu did and gj even had his real life design incorporated into comics.

- hawkwoman/hawkgirl's past life in egypt was a priest named chay-ara. while jlu made her a needy cheater who had an obsession with spreading her bloodline & was an alien, comic chay-ara was not only a priest, but also an activist & warrior! she cared about doing the right thing!

- chay-ara was specifically skilled in the use of bows and arrows, the most common weapon in ancient egypt really.

- the part that gets confused the most is that aliens crashed in ancient egypt. yes aliens (thanagarians) DID crash in ancient egypt in this story. but they died immediately. and egypt used their nth metal to craft weapons & make armor that could help them fly.

jsa 1999 #21-22

- khufu & chay-ara especially loved flying for their romantic rendezvous. nabu had also said that there was a prophecy where chay-ara & khufu would take part in a big battle thousands of years later, which did come true (as hawkman and hawkwoman/hawkgirl)

- hath-set was one of the few characters jlu kind of got right as he was the one responsible for murdering khufu & chay-ara. what was left out was that hath-set was actually in love with chay-ara. they were both priests who were childhood friends before she married khufu.

- one day, both advisors, teth-adam and nabu had left for a little bit for personal matters. hath-set used this opportunity to finally murder khufu & chay-ara cause he was jealous of their relationship & wanted to sacrifice their bodies to obtain immortality.

- he kidnapped chay-ara to lure khufu away and used a dagger made of nth metal to stab him to death. he did the same with chay-ara as well. khufu & chay-ara vowed to meet in another life but when hath-set killed them with nth metal, he got stuck into the reincarnation cycle too.

- KEY aspect jlu left out is that the hawks reincarnate as different races. they can be anyone. except HATH-SET is included in this too. he can also reincarnate as a woman sometimes. the reincarnation cycle goes that when they fall in love, HE'S the one who kills them everytime

- fun fact: the zamarons also stole khufu & chay-ara's dead bodies after they were murdered & used their bodies as the power source for the star sapphires! their love was THAT powerful!

- nth metal dagger in egypt are essential as the killing weapons as the hawks still have nightmares about it. not poison that jlu used.

- in the 40s, hawkman (carter hall) & hawkgirl (shiera sanders) had a hath-set reincarnation named anton hastor. hawkman 2018 had the hawks go back in time to where it was shayera hol (thanagarian) used. regardless, he dies in a train crash in hawkman 2018 #29

- in hawkman 2002 #11, hath-set is reincarnated in 'present time', confronting hawkman (carter hall) & hawkgirl (kendra saunders). this time he's reincarnated as a woman named helene astar, who killed carter's son, hector hall, back in infinity inc 1984 #44.

she dies in hawkman 2002 #11 by being turnt to stone with the entire cave collapsing on her in hawkman 2002 #12

quick reading guide for the ancient egyptian lovers, prince khufu & princess chay-ara, if needed!

- anyways, that's it for all the egyptian origin stuff. if you want a thread that goes into the modern origin for the hawks (that takes place before egypt), then this thread is available. or just read hawkman 2018.

- prince khufu & princess chay-ara's love story as told in harley quinn: a problematic valentine's day special

written by @deanlorey , @justin_halpern , & @PMSchumacker

- prince khufu & princess chay-ara's love story as told in dc super hero girls, the bird and the bee

written by kristin holloway

continued with a clip of hawkman (carter hall) fighting hath-set

- prince khufu & princess chay-ara's love story as told in smallville s10 ep2, shield (clip is too long to post here)

written by jordan hawley

- black adam's thoughts on prince khufu & princess chay-ara in hawkman 2002 #25

- and that's it! sorry for this long thread but it had to be made 🙏🏽

*forgot to mention... for thanagarians, poisoning is slowed down as they're more resistant. the alien egyptian rulers in jlu dying so quick due to poison makes no sense regardless as it's literally stated in comics (ironically written by geoff johns) that they are resistant 😭

forgot to say but in original comics, khufu & chay-ara were forbidden lovers too lol. chay-ara was a priestess & she cheated on hath-set with khufu. if you want betrayal & drama, jlu wasn't even original with it.