Crisis on Earth-Blog: Super Powers Collection 25th Anniversary

I've written before about my memories of the Super Powers Collection from my misguided youth. Well, the 25th Anniversary of the SPC is upon us, so it's high time we take a look at two of Hawkman's starring turns from the mini-comics which were included in the first few waves of the toyline! That's right, it's another Crisis on Earth-Blog crossover!


Issue: Super Powers Collection #12: Hawkman
Title: n/a
Published Date: 1983
Generation: Silver Age Katar
Retcon Status: Super Powers Continuity

Summary: In Midway City, Carter Hall's evening is disturbed by a flock of crazed birds crashing through the window of his office. Quickly changing to his heroic identity of Hawkman, he investigates, finding his winged friends stealing pricess artifacts. Hawkman quickly spots the problem in the form of Lex Luthor's Lex-Soar 7 ship. The Winged Wonder swoops in to attack, but Lex zaps his wing harness with a laser. Falling, Hawkman is saved by the sudden appearance of Green Lantern and the Flash. While GL repairs Hawkman's wings, the Flash is trapped in an energy net from the Lex-Soar 7. Lex then sends a flock of crazed birds at Hawkman and Lantern, but GL quickly whips up hundreds of emerald bird cages to hold them. Hawkman then uses his wings to create a great burst of wind, which crashes the Lex-Soar 7 into a lake. Green Lantern hauls the ship out of the drink, Luthor is arrested, the artifacts recovered, and the birds revealed to be robots.

Review: Well, if you were a little kid who just got a Hawkman toy as a gift and had no idea who he was, this is a pretty decent primer. Sure, it leaves out the whole alien thing, and Hawkgirl is nowhere to be found, but for this basic adventure I can't complain too loudly. The art is simplistic but effective, and the script is basic enough for a child to follow easily enough. There's some nice co-sells for the other characters and the Lex-Soar 7, which is always nice, heh. Also nice is that Hawkman uses his action feature (flapping wings) to defeat Lex Luthor. Coincidence? Yeah I think not! I wonder how many kids read this comic and then became Hawkfans?

Image: Super Powers Collection #12: Hawkman, 1983, ???.


Issue: Super Powers Collection #6: The Penguin
Title: n/a
Published Date: 1983
Generation: Silver Age Katar
Retcon Status: Super Powers Continuity

Summary: Bruce Wayne is hosting a charity ball, a guest of which is the "illustrious" Carter Hall. Things take a turn for the worse when the Penguin and his gang of highly trained birds attack the party and rob all the patrons! Bruce and Carter leap into action, changing into Batman and Hawkman. While the Winged Wonder calms Penguin's fiesty flock, Batman hits the Batmobile and gives chase. As Penguin and his goons gloat, Hawkman catches up to them and captures the gang in a net. Thinking he is now home free, Penguin is surprised by Batman, who uses the ejector seat in the Batmobile to launch himself up and grab the Bad Bird. With Penguin and his gang in the hands of the police, the heroes head on back to the party.

Review: What a classic set-up: a charity ball attended by the hero(es) gets robbed by the bad guy and they have to give chase? That's "Old School" my friends! A fun little showcase for all three characters, as each gets a chance to shine. Hawkman showcases not only his *wheet wheet* powers, but also breaks out an ancient weapon in the form of a net, which was a treat. But Penguin and Batman are the real stars here, unsurprisingly, and this depiction of Penguin as someone who would use a helicopter umbrella to rob a penthouse is charming and delightful. I also like the co-sell for the Batmobile, as well as the clever way of avoiding having to mention Robin (what would a kid be doing at a stuffy old ball, anyway?). I can really see this as a springboard story for kids to invent their own capers with their new Penguin action figure.

Image: Super Powers Collection #6: The Penguin, 1983, ???.

Notes: Hawkman also appears in the mini-comics for The Flash, Robin, and Red Tornado.

Also, check out my thoughts about the Super Powers Hawkman toy, one of the earliest posts I ever made here on Being Carter Hall.


What would a crossover be without, well, crossovers? Be sure to go and check out these other fine superhero blogs and sites and explore the 25th Anniversary of the Super Powers Collection in more depth and detail than you ever thought possible!

Aquaman Shrine
Bat-Blog
SpeedForce
Crimson Lightning
Dispatches from the Arrow Cave
Love Dat Joker
Justice League Detroit
Idol-Head of Diabolu
... nurgh ...
Doom Patrol (covering Red Tornado)
Fortress of Baileytude
Firestorm Fan
Once Upon A Geek (covering Dr. Fate)

What a collection of super-talent! Special thanks to shag of Firestorm Fan and Once Upon A Geek for putting this crossover together!

Blogs Will Live! Blogs Will Die! Crisis on Earth-Blog!

Crisis On Earth Blog: COIE Slipcase by Perez and Ross

One of the great shames of my life as a comic book fanboy is that I have never read Crisis on Infinite Earths. In fact, I can't say as I have ever read a Crisis on Any Earth! Growing up, I was always a Marvel fan. I knew more about COIE from Wizard than I ever did from actual DC comics! Only years later did I get my "mad on" for the DCU, and really start learning about the Crisis, but to this day I have never read the actual series.

Not exactly the best way to endear me to anyone reading this post, I know, but I figure honesty is the best policy in this age of full disclosure.

Anyways, despite the fact that I have never read the series, I have been in love with this George Perez-pencilled, Alex Ross-painted wraparound cover since the first moment I laid eyes on it. I mean, just, wow! That's really just an intense looking cover!



The full image is even crazier. With a mind-boggling 562 characters featured, it has got to be one of the largest collections of super-folk ever.



Unsurprisingly, given their longevity in the DC Pantheon, the various Hawk-characters appear in the series, and thus, appear in this piece.

Up first is Earth-1 or Silver Age Hawkman, Katar Hol. Found on the exteme left-hand side of the image, in front of who I assume is Chemo, Katar looks appropriately awed by the situation. I am not sure why he has who I am guessing is Zatanna flying through his wing, but I really like the bright, clean look he has here.



Earth-1 Hawkgirl (or Hawkwoman as she was called by this point) Chayera Hol is next, found in the middle third of the image, right under Phantom Lady's boot. She's flying right at the reader, so we don't see much of her, but what we do is really sweet: her beautiful wings and downright awesome helmet!



Next is Earth-2 or Golden Age Hawkman, the blonde bombshell known exclusively as Carter Hall. Almost directly above Hawkwoman and right behind Starfire, Carter is depicted in his "lucha libre" style masked look. I imagine that this was done to help differentiate between the two versions, as otherwise they'd be identical! Once more the bright colors really pop in this format.



Last but certainly not least is the Earth-2 Hawkgirl, Shiera Sanders. Found immediately next to Supergirl's right hand, Shiera is in a pretty prime piece of real estate. She looks very graceful in flight here, and I like seeing her red-and-green costume used.



You can find a guide-map of all the characters over at the Annotated Crisis on Infinite Earths web site.



Like any good crossover, this would not be complete without a few others getting in on the action as well! So in the same spirit of bringing different characters together to fight a threat, we're bringing different bloggers together to post about this sweet piece of art! Check out these other character-driven comic book blogs to get the low-down on some other fan favorites.

The Aquaman Shrine

Doom Patrol

Firestorm Fan

I am the Phantom Stranger

Idol-Head of Diabolu (Martian Manhunter)

Justice League Detroit

Mail it to Team-up

Plastic Man Platitudes

Speed Force (Flash)

Blogs will live! Blogs will die! Who will survive the... Crisis on Earth Blog?!

Special thanks to Shag, who provided me with all of the COIE imagery, and to rob! for the awesome logo!

Read: The Brave And The Bold #43

Issue: The Brave And The Bold #43 (Reprinted in Showcase Presents: Hawkman v.1)
Title: "The Masked Marauders Of Earth"
Published Date: Aug/Sep 1962
Generation: Silver Age Katar
Retcon Status: Out Of Continuity

Summary: In Midway City, an entire jewelry store is bizarrely stolen by even more bizarre thieves: giant hawks wearing vaguely humanoid masks who shoot beams from their eyes.  The store is returned, but with two large rubies missing.  Police Commissioner Emmett contacts Hawkman on Thanagar, who recognizes the thieves as the Manhawks, a roving band of criminals who introduced the concept of theft to Thanagar years earlier.  This new rash of crimes -- Thanagarians committed thefts for the sheer thrill of it -- forced Katar Hol's father Paran Katar, to turn his anti-gravity belt and artificial wing inventions (originall devised to study birds) in the tools of combat.  Katar used his father's invention and infiltrated the Manhawks, then stole one of their masks and reverse-engineered it's weapon, developing a counter-measure: the Hawk helmet, complete with shields against the Manhawks' eyebeam attacks.  Rendering their weapons ineffective, the Manhawks were quickly put in prison, but the damage had been done; crime was now on Thanagar, and thus Paran's inventions were used to arm the new police force.

The Hawks make their way to Earth, armed with the same counter-measure Katar had used earlier against the Manhawks.  But, their foes have deduced this one, and their eyebeams are now resistant to the Hawks weapons.  Planning to strike at Thanagar, the Hawks probe their Earth history, and figure out that rubies are needed to make a laser beam.  They attack the Manhawks ship, then use a black chemical rain to negate the Manhawks' eyebeams (not having enough light to properly amplify, the attacks are not very dangerous).  The Manhawks are captured and imprisoned on Earth.

Review: The second feature-length Hawk adventure in a row is as good as the previous one.  We get more great Katar and Shayera interaction, a crazy new set of villians, and more Thanagarian backstory, which is always welcome.  Plus, this story will always be remembered as the case on which Hawkman earned his Honor Wings, and regained his classic winged helmet look.  There's some typically murky Silver Age Science going on, but the story is fun enough that you roll with it, which has been my experience with such SAS so far in reading DC's from the period.  The Manhawks would eventually return a couple more times to menace Katar and Shayera during the Silver and Bronze Age, and would be re-imagined in a substantially more gruesome manner in the Hawkworld series.  Really fun DC science fiction tale.

Image: The Brave And The Bold #43, 1962, Joe Kubert.

Read: The Brave And The Bold #42

Issue: The Brave And The Bold #42 (Reprinted in Showcase Presents: Hawkman v.1)
Title: "The Menace of the Dragonfly Raiders"
Published Date: Jun/Jul 1962
Generation: Silver Age Katar
Retcon Status: Out Of Continuity

Summary: Katar and Shayera return to Thanagar to report to the Chief of Police, Andar Pul.  After debriefing the couple on what they have been up to and what they have learned on Earth (allowing for a recap of previous adventures, including with Byth, who is in prison, and the Matter Master), he gives them some time off.  Soon they discover that Thanagar is being victimized by tiny thieves who ride dragonflies, and bizarrely use Terran criminal methods.  Soon it gets even stranger as it is revealed that the tiny thieves are actually robots, and the dragonflies commit the crimes themselves!

Katar suspects that somehow Byth, who had previously ingested a formula to change his shape at will, is behind the crimes, but he appears to be still incarcerated.  Stuck without a new lead, the Hawks pay a visit to the Veil of Valmoora, which is where Katar and Shayera first met years ago.  On that case, the rookie Shayera saved the older and more experienced Katar's life, which helped create the bond between the two of them.  Inspired by her memories, Shayera devises a plan to bring the robbers into the open by displaying a "gem tree" the dragonfly raiders can't resist.  The raiders do as suspected, and the Hawks trail them by following the trace radioactivity planted on the gems.  They discover that Byth is behind the crimes, having had the necessary elements for his formula smuggled in on envelopes.  A furious battle begins, with the raiders changing into all sorts of strange alien creatures.  It the end it comes down to Hawkman and Byth, who has changed into a Mirage Bird, which is able to create a falsh duplicate image of itself.  Katar is able to outwit Byth, and the mastermind is once more locked up -- this time without access to envelopes.  For his bravery in solving the crime, Katar Hol is awarded the Honor Wings, which are permanantly attached to his helmet.

Review: We get a lot of Thanagar in this issue, the first full-length Hawkman story since the character was revived in 1961.  Although I do wonder why there was a year between Hawkman stories?  Did they want to retool him into being a straight space hero with adventures on Thanagar, perhaps?  I don't know.  The addition of the Honor Wings brings the costume back full-circle to the original, Golden Age look, as well as the look that most fans think of when they think of Hawkman.  The team of Fox and Kubert are very easy to read on the Hawks, this story included.  The extra legnth allows them some time to play around and add details which are appreciated, including the "meet cute" of our couple.  I really enjoyed the history between Katar and Shayera and the explanation for the wing harnesses.  And it's good to see Matter Master again, even if it is a flashback.

Image: The Brave And The Bold #42, 1962, Joe Kubert.  

Read: The Brave And The Bold #36.2

Issue: The Brave and The Bold #36 (Reprinted in Showcase Presents: Hawkman v.1)
Title: "Shadow-Thief of Midway City"
Published Date: June/July 1961
Generation: Silver Age Katar
Retcon Status: Changed Generations

Summary: Hawkman and Hawkgirl are recalled to Thanagar by their superiors, but before they can head home, a strange shadowy creature robs the Midway Bank right in front of the helpless security guards!  The Hawks give chase, but the two-dimensional Shadow-Thief is able to escape since they can't lay a hand on him.  With their sharp vision, though, they are able to see his profile, and identify him as Carl Sands, convicted burglar recently released from prison.  Conveniently reminiscing, Sands recalls how he became interested in shadows and light while in prison, and how he accidently discovered another dimension by messing with a color-disk projector.  A being in the other dimension, Thar Dan, was in trouble, and was saved by Sands' meddling.  Rewarding his savior, Thar gave Sands a device known as the Dimensiometer, which gives Sands his two-dimensional abilities.  Unfortunately, if over-used, the device will destroy the Earth by creating another Ice Age -- a fact Sands was unconcerned with.

The Hawks spring a trap on Shadow-Thief when he commits his next job, trapping him in the air.  Realizing that he needs to become three-dimension to escape, Sands tears the Dimensiometer from his wrist, but that is his downfall, as the Hawks are able to catch him in that moment.  As for the device itself, it is now ruined -- just one activation away from causing a new Ice Age.

Review: The most well-known of Hawkman's Rogues Gallery (admittedly not a huge feat, considering) makes his first appearance here, and Shadow-Thief is so well realized, that while some of the details changed, his basic motif has remained the same ever since.  A thief makes a great foe for a museum curator, and when you have heroes who rely on weapons, making him a shadow who cannot be touched is brilliant.  Definitely the "A" story from this issue, with lots of action, police work, and the always-awesome Kubert art, especially on the strangely proportioned Thief.  So far, this has been one of my favorite stories in the first Showcase volume.  

Image: The Brave and The Bold #36, 1961, Joe Kubert.

Read: The Brave And The Bold #36.1

Issue: The Brave and The Bold #36
Title: "Strange Spells of the Sorcerer"
Published Date: June/July 1961
Generation: Silver Age Katar
Retcon Status: Changed Generations

Summary: Mavis Trent makes a minotaur appear accidently when she reads an incantation from an ancient relic.  Later, the weirdness continues when Hawkman and Hawkgirl encounter and battle a legendary Phoenix in the skies over Hawk Valley.  The monsters are stealing items which, when combined, can be used to cast a powerful spell to give a sorcerer amazing powers.  But, local occult expert Konrad Kaslak dismisses this theory, saying that the monsters are just illusions created to cover the thief's tracks.  Hawkman and Hawkgirl don't buy it, and do battle with more monsters including a dragon, some centaurs, and Medusa herself, before finding the would-be wizard: Kaslak himself.  The Hawks put an end to his magical ways and recover the artifacts. Unconvinced, Hawkman and Hawkgirl attempt to intercede before the remaining two objects are also acquired, by battling a dragon, centaurs, and Medusa, as they deduce that Kaslak is the would-be sorcerer. They arrive just in time to prevent his spell from succeeding.  
 
Review: A pretty unremarkable story, considering.  Kaslak is not compelling as a villian and there is little sense of threat to the Hawks from him.  The monsters summoned by him are more interesting, at least.  Mavis Trent continues to give the Silver Age Lois Lane a run for the money in the "bumbling girl" department.  Perfectly servicable "non-cover" story for the era, but not as high quality or memorable as similar stories -- such as those featuring the Flash from the same general time period.

Image: The Brave and The Bold #36, 1961, Joe Kubert.

Read: The Brave And The Bold #35.2

Issue: The Brave And The Bold #35 (Reprinted in Showcase Presents: Hawkman v.1)
Title: "Valley Of The Vanishing Men!"
Published Date: Apr/May 1961
Generation: Silver Age Katar
Retcon Status: Changed Generation

Summary: Mavis Trent disappears in the Himalayas after a run in with a Yeti.  Investigating the disappearance, Hawkman is clued in about the legend of the Yeti, which prompts an Absorbascon-flashback.  It's too late, though, as Hawkgirl encounters a Yeti and also disappears.  It's then that Katar is filled in by one of his feathered friends: the Yetis are aliens who crashed on the Earth thousands of years ago, and are unable to repair their ship.  Anyone who sees a member of their race is teleported and put in suspended animation in order to keep themselves hidden.  Taking the fight to the Yetis, Hawkman soon discovers that wood can scramble their technology; by holding onto a wooden staff, he is able to resist their teleportation power.  Finding the Yeti village, Hawkman discovers the artifact which is holding Hawkgirl, Mavis, and the others captive.  Freeing the prisoners, Hawkman shows the villagers how wood will protect them from the Yetis, and a peace is negotiated.

Review: Nice little Silver Age DC story.  As a DC hero in the late 50s and early 60s, I think there was a contractual obligation to meet up with aliens at least 4 times a year.  I did like the use of the wooden weapons to overcome the alien technology.  Kubert's art is of course amazing, even in the black and white reprint.  

Image: The Brave And The Bold #35, 1961, Joe Kubert.

Image: Swamp Thing and Hawkman Encounter That Never Happened

Here's an oddity I found on Mike Sterling's always fun Progressive Ruin blog: a "Next Issue" blurb for a series that never made it to the next issue, in this case, Swamp Thing, taken from issue #24.  Seems that ole Muck-face was apparently supposed to have a run in with the Winged Wonder in Portland, OR, of all places, but sadly, the tale was never told, as far as I know.  

Image: Next Issue Blurb, Swamp Thing #24, 1976, Artist Unknown.

DC Minimates Hawkman and Hawkgirl

I got this adorably blocky pair a few weekends back, after getting the chance to play with them a bit at Adama's place when visiting Atlanta back in July.  Minimates are always attractive because of their small size and small price point, and these two are no exceptions.

Included in the set are Katar and Chayera, their wings, removeable helmets, and attachable hairpieces, as well as a flail, a mace, and a shield.  Each of the Winged Wonders stand about 2.5" tall at the top of their helmet wings, and have typical Minimate brick articulation.  The wings have very small ball joints, and plug into the back of each figure.  This is a very distressing task: the balls themselves are mounted on very tiny stems, and I was very concerned with snapping the ball off completely while trying to mount the wings.  In the end I managed to get all four wings in place with out damaging them.  *Whew!*  I decided to give the mace and shield to Hawkman and the flail to Hawkgirl.

The figures themselves are good likenesses of the Silver Age Hawks... well, "good" being a relative term here.  The colors are bright and vibrant, as they should be for this pair.  The wings are not the most visually impressive pair you will ver see, but they fit nicely on the small frames.  The accessories are a neat touch, although I wish they had come with two shields so each could have one.  The hairpieces are a goofy touch, but not unwelcome, as one could go sans-helmets and still display them very nicely.  Standing up is a bit of an issue thanks to the right-angled feet, but a little patience and a lot of balance goes a long way.  

I had purchased some Minimates before (namely the Iron Man vs Doctor Doom set), so I knew what I was getting with these two.  I am very happy that I got this set, as it only put me back about 10 bucks, and is a very fun pair of figures.  DC and Marvel have lots of Minimates at this point, so if this sort of thing looks neat to you, chances are you can find some of your favorites.

Image: DC Minimates Series 5 Hawkman and Hawkgirl, retrieved from DC Direct.

Read: The Brave and The Bold #35.1

Issue: The Brave and The Bold #35
Title: "Menace of the Matter Master!"
Published Date: Apr/May 1961
Generation: Silver Age Katar
Retcon Status: Changed Generation (Silver Age stories which originally featured Katar now featuring Carter)... at least, I think so.  

Summary: After an armored car is robbed in Midway City, and then strange living meteor men rob the Midway City Art Center, Hawkman and Hawkgirl investigate.  The run into scientist Mark Madrill, who had been trying the old trick of transmuting lead into gold.  Instead, he accidentally created a strange element (dubbed Mentachem) which allowed him to command inert matter, and control any matter in it's natural state.  Forming his Mentachem into a wand, he created a costume and dubbed himself the Matter Master.  The Hawks fight his meteor men, but the Master is able to escape by turning animated helicopter blades on our heroes.  Later, Matter Master uses animated flowers to steal an ancient parchment from the Midway City Museum, which Hawkman is able to track, finding the Master's cave hideout.  After a struggle involving all of the air being sucked out of the cave, the Hawks seperate the Master and his wand and arrest him.

Review: The first Hawkman villian which anyone has ever heard of is introduced here, and it's a pretty typical Silver Age story.  Matter Master fits in with alchemy-styled baddies including, that's right, Dr. Alchemy.  The Mentachem wand is put to good use, but his Merlin-esque costume is a little silly and not very menacing.  Still, he's not a bad villian, but it's too bad he didn't show up much more in Hawkman's solo adventures.  Midway City continues to get fleshed out, and Police Commissioner Emmett makes another appearance, and Byth pops up in a flashback.  Kubert's art is top notch, and Fox's straight-laced story (despite the living chopper blades and rock men) is enjoyable for the era.

Image: The Brave And The Bold #35, 1961, Joe Kubert.
Image: Matter Master, unknown date, unknown artist.

Read: The Brave And The Bold #34

Issue: The Brave And The Bold #34  (Reprinted in Showcase Presents: Hawkman V.1)
Title: "Creature of a Thousand Shapes!"
Published Date: Feb-Mar 1961
Generation: Silver Age Katar
Retcon Status: Out Of Continuity

Synopsis: Katar Hol and his wife Shayera, police officers on the planet Thanagar from the Polaris system, track the criminal Byth to Earth.  Using their technology, they imprint all of the collected knowledge of humanity into their brains, equip themselves with anti-gravity Nth metal flying harnesses, meet up with Midway City police Commisioner George Emmett, and get established in their secret identities as Carter and Shiera Hall, curators of the Midway City Museum.  Byth, a crook who commits his crimes for kicks, has stolen (and ingested) a formula which allows him to assume the shape of any creature he has seen.  After several attempts to capture him, Byth faces down the Hawks as a large Thanagarian beast that resembles a dragon.  Hawkman and Hawkgirl put an end to his spree by tricking him into swallowing their maces, which were filled with an anaesthetic, then exploting the beast's only weakness -- getting punched in both of its face at the same time.  Byth defeated, Katar and Shayera decide to stay on Earth to study police methods and procedures.

Review: In line with the other DC Silver Age revivals, this story is pure science-fition, making no mention of anything historical save the weapons in the museum.  All the trappings of the "classic" Silver Age status quo are established here -- the secret identity, the confidant who knows said secret identity, the home city, the main superpowers, the "romantic" interest (of sorts), and the motivation.  Kubert's art is graceful and elegant, obviously best suited to the flying scenes.  Fox is in his element, with a not entirely threatening but still entertaining villian in Byth, as well as the dunderheaded Mavis Trent, who hangs all over Carter despite the fact that his wife is his assistant.  The Hawks are an impressive pair, really working as partners and not hero-sidekick, brandishing weapons such as maces, bows, and cestus.  I never really figured that Shayera was side by side with Katar from the start, but that plainly is the case.  Also, this is the first time I have ever read a story where Hawkman did not have his "Honor Wings;" it takes some getting used to from a visual standpoint.  Shayera, however, looks as classic as ever.  From this first story, it is not hard to see how the feature caught on at the time, with a fairly imaginitive backstory and the very attractive artwork.