Monday, March 19, 2018

Rumor: Hawkgirl to join the Justice League?

And the Hawk-news keeps on coming!  After the announcement last week about the new Hawkman ongoing by Rob Venditti and Bryan Hitch, now rumors are coming down that Hawkgirl -- in the form of Kendra Saunders -- will be appearing in the new Justice League, with the creative team of Scott Snyder and Jim Cheung.

Much as Dark Nights: Metal introduced Carter Hall into the post-Flashpoint, Rebirth-era DC Universe, the series also gave us our first glimpse of the Earth-1 version of Kendra Saunders for the same continuity.  Of course, we've had plenty of Kendra Saunders in the post-Flashpoint run -- over on Earth-2.  Being introduced to readers as Lady Blackhawk, this Kendra is one of the drivers of the story (which is written by Snyder), and is later confirmed to be having previously been Hawkgirl.  Her connection to Carter is played upon in Hawkman Found, as well.

Now, the speculation comes from the appearance of a sketch image by Cheung purported to be a promotional image for the new team, which surfaced online via DC's bookstore distribution website.  We also get what sure looks like the solicitation for the first trade paperback:

Visionary author Scott Snyder makes his mark on DC's most legendary team in Justice League Vol. 1!

Spinning out of the cataclysmic events of Dark Nights: Metal and the universe-defining No Justice, the core members of the Justice League--Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash and more--are finally reunited!

The cosmos suddenly opens up to new threats that the Justice League could not imagine! As Lex Luthor and Batman race to solve a mystery going back to the beginning of the DCU, the rest of the League dive deep into new corners of their own mythologies!

One of the most critically acclaimed authors of his generation finally scribes DC's flagship title in Justice League Vol. 1! Collects Justice League #1-6.

The big takeaway from the image for me is that even though we saw Kendra in a severe, almost villainous black and silver costume in DN:M, the sketch shows her in a more traditional uniform.  Obviously we cannot see any colors here, but the helmet, halter top, and gauntlets do echo her old costume.  Furthermore, the twin holsters on her hips remind me a lot of the Earth-2 Kendra, as do the bare shoulders combined with forearm sleeves.  I would imagine that this will be rendered in green and orange, but I could just as easily see this in blue and black ala Earth-2, especially considering the color palettes of some of the other characters featured.

There's other stuff to get excited about in this image, as well.  John Stewart as the team's Green Lantern is making a lot of waves online, which is just fine with me given that we have had seemingly every other GL but Stewart in the League since Flashpoint.  The appearance of both Cyborg and Martian Manhunter in the image brings a grin to my face, when one considers that Cyborg "replaced" Manhunter in the New 52 version of the Magnificent Seven.  And just the idea of Snyder, who has made some serious hay with his Batman stuff, handling the Justice League ongoing is exciting in and of itself.

For now, it seems like the Hawks are coming back in a big way this summer at DC Comics!  So what do you think?  Will we see Hawkgirl in the League?  And will you be picking it up?

Image: "Justice League .1" image, Jim Cheug, 2018, retrieved from Penguin-Random House.

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