The Four Color Media Monitor

Proving they're still firmly stuck on a poor model of storytelling and business, DC's retitled an Adam Strange/Hawkman miniseries as "The Death of Hawkman". But even Gizmodo's not doing much better by asking if anyone cares whether they kill off Hawkman yet again:

Hawkman’s history in DC Comics is as long as it is mind-bogglingly complex. So when the publisher reveals its latest miniseries is called Death of Hawkman, it has us wondering if there’s anyone who’s been able to follow along long enough to care that the feathered hero could meet his maker.

First off, it was only by the end of the 80s that that Hawks' history really took a turn for the muddled. That was when DC editorial decided to mandate a reboot for the Silver Age Hawks that would see Katar Hol and Shayera Thal coming to Earth anew. It was that very reboot that had them falling all over themselves trying to explain the presence of a Hawkman and Hawkwoman in the Justice League, ditto the appearances up to early 1989 with the Hawks present, and it culminated in their telling everybody that it was some sleeper agents from Thanagar. Most importantly, it's not the fault of the Silver Age Hawks for what happened over the next several years. It was a misguided move that shouldn't have been validated so easily by any audience who fell for it, but IMO, it's not impossible to remedy the mistakes made. All that needs to be done in my POV is jettison some of the storylines post-1989 (and certainly from around Emerald Twilight) and start over with scratch if that's what it takes to return to a more comprehensive - if not 100 percent perfect - direction.

Second, I find Gizmodo's attitude galling, as they're implying the audience sees nothing wrong with killing a character for the sake of it, using an allegedly muddled history that wasn't the character's fault to justify the steps. That they're unwilling to prove their own fandom by saying "we object" only makes it worse.

[...] Carter, Katar, Shayera, and Shiera have been killed off, revived, re-written, and re-worked again and again countless times, to the point it’s hard to tell what matters any more.

The real problem is that they won't give an opinion what distinctions should be made between what can matter or not. I've done some thinking of recent, and IMO, what came after the 80s ended could certainly undergo a little scrutiny. Whatever muddles were made may have begun with the Silver Age Hawks, since their origins were rebooted very awkwardly. Is it not possible to reverse this? I'd say yes, by moving away from what came since the 90s, if that's what it took to ensure better direction. Again, it's not impossible to drop anything sloppy that came since then, and even replace some of it with a few other, simpler ideas if they wanted to fill in "missing moments". The same could be done with Adam Strange, also a subject of this new miniseries.

Killing off Hawkman, whether the Golden or Silver Age incarnation, just proves that the Rebirth crossover is no guarantee there'll be a brighter vision in store. In fact, it practically contradicts it.

Labels: dc comics, golden calf of death, msm propaganda