Hawkman #0

History

Written by William Messner-Loebs with interior art by penciller Steve Lieber and inker Curt Shoultz, and a cover by Lee Weeks, the issue was edited by Jim Spivey and published with an on-sale date of August 25, 1994 (cover-dated October 1994). It was produced as part of 'Zero Month,' DC's line-wide publishing initiative in which every mainstream ongoing title released a special #0 issue timed to the conclusion of Dan Jurgens's Zero Hour: Crisis in Time miniseries — itself numbered backwards from #4 to #0 — with each zero issue intended to unveil a previously unknown facet of its lead character's background and serve as an accessible entry point for new readers. The groundwork for the transformed Hawkman showcased here had been laid across the preceding 'Godspawn' story arc in Hawkman Vol. 3 #9–13, which introduced the Hawk God entity and built toward the merger depicted in Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #3. A Dynamic Forces signed variant edition, limited to 1,500 copies and signed by cover artist Lee Weeks, was also produced.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First full in-series appearance of the post-Zero Hour 'gestalt' Hawkman — a living avatar fused from Katar Hol, Carter Hall, Shiera Hall/Sanders, and the Hawk God entity.
• Story title: 'Eyes of the Hawk, Prologue: Old Scores.' The issue directly sets up the subsequent 'Eyes of the Hawk' arc (Hawkman Vol. 3 #14–17) and is the prologue to that multi-part storyline.
• Key character transformations debuted: Katar Hol's wings are now organic and retractable (growing from his back), his eyes have become avian in appearance, he can perceive the auras of others, and he has little memory of his life before the merging.
• Supporting characters Naomi Carter and Dennis Baintan provide the in-universe explanation for Hol's transformation: he is theorized to have guided the Hawk God back to its own plane, with the entity passing through him and reshaping him in its image, imparting new Nth Metal-based abilities.
• Hol kills the villain Bad Blood during this issue — a notable moment establishing the lethal, morally darker edge of this version of the character — while the antagonist Viper covertly observes the fight, seeding the 'Eyes of the Hawk' conflict.
• Creative team: writer William Messner-Loebs, penciller Steve Lieber, inker Curt Shoultz, colorist Buzz Setzer, cover by Lee Weeks; edited by Jim Spivey.
• Part of DC's 'Zero Month' initiative (October 1994 cover date; on-sale August 25, 1994), in which every mainstream DC ongoing published a #0 issue as a jumping-on point following the Zero Hour crossover event.
• The series this issue belongs to (Hawkman Vol. 3) ran only until 1996; the post-Zero Hour gestalt Katar Hol eventually went insane from the Hawk entity's influence and was banished to Limbo, after which DC retired the Hawkman name for approximately six years.

Full credits

Variants (1)