Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Comic Book Review: Death of Hawkman #6

By: Jerry Montgomery
March 5, 2017

The Death of Hawkman #6
“Out of Time, Pt. 6, Blood and Metal”

Written by: Marc Andreyko
Pencils by: Aaron Lopresti

Death is the finality of it all. The end of life. The end to existence. However, life can spring from death in renewal and  ressurection.  Such has been the case with Hawkman. Ever dying and ever renewed, having lived multiple lives and incarnations throughout his history…and he’s not happy about it. That and his life on Thanagar.  In fact, he’s pretty angry on his homeworld, butting heads with his superiors over his brutal police methods, wishing he could be back on Earth to lead the life of a hero.

Hawkman, the Thanagarian policeman and Adam Strange, the galaxy hopping adventurer have teamed up to avert a war between Thanagar and Strange’s adopted home planet, Rann.  It’s  been an uneasy peace between the two worlds who have been enemies forever and now, that peace has been shattered with the destruction of Rann at the hands of several suicide bombing attacks and it would seem, at the hands of Thanagar. So began the long strange trip of Katar-Hol and Adam Strange as they sought to solve the mystery of the attacks and avert another devastating war. In doing so, each becomes a wanted man

Throughout 5 issues the brash and angry Hawkman and the calmer, level-headed Adam Strange, discovered that Despero has been behind the attacks on both worlds, having escaped from his prison on Earth and used Strange’s zeta-beam to get to his home planet and proclaim himself ruler after killing the elders who had originally banished him. Why start a war? So he can build a “super” zeta-beam to transport his mind controlled  army anywhere in the universe and, oh yeah, siphon the remaining Nth-metal from Thanagar, blowing up one of it’s moons in the process, to infuse it within himself and essentially make himself immortal. Rayn-Kral, Hawkman’s young police partner becomes his sector’s new Green Lantern when Isomot-Kol, the former one, is killed battling Despero. Can an inexperienced Green Lantern turn the tide? By the end of issue 5, an Nth-metaled Despero goes one on one with Hawkman with the intent of getting the Nth-metal from Katar-Hol’s body.

Issue 6 and the last in this limited series doesn’t let up as the battle rages on and all hell breaks loose as Hawkman and Despero continue the fighting for the Nth-metal inside Katar’s body. Adam Strange and new Green Lantern, Rayn-Kral try to stem the tide of Despero’s mind controlled army to open the zeta-beam leading to Earth and bring his plan of destroying all meta-humans. It will take all Hawkman, Adam Strange and Rayn-Kral can muster to defeat this threat to the universe. There are many challenges to overcome as Despero possesses the strength and the numbers. You can only guess how this one ends due to the title but this is Rebirth, right? It can’t end all bad…can it?

The Verdict: This is the final issue in this limited series, so, if you’ve been following this one from the beginning, you cant miss this one. The title says it all here ominously, so you can probably guess what to expect by the end of the comic, though death these days may not be what it used to be in comics. With the ressurections of some major characters such as Jason Todd or Bucky Barnes, ones that helped to shape others heroes lives, one is left to ask if something has been taken away from the living. The action here is non-stop, in your face with little room for character development but probably not needed this late in the game.  Writer, Marc Andreyko has promised that this 6 issue limited series is just a lead in for future adventures for Hawkman and Adam Strange, so no matter what the title implies, this isn’t the end.

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