Comic Book Resources got an exclusive look at the cover for Earth 2 #4, revealing the surprise third member of the Earth 2 trinity. No, not Al Pratt the Atom.
We’re talking Hawkgirl, otherwise known as Kendra Saunders.
The existence of an Earth 2 Hawkgirl is no surprised. It has been mentioned that she would appear. What is surprising is who she is. Shiera Hall or Shayera Hol? No. This is Kendra Saunders. At second glance, it’s not so surprising after all. As James Robinson points out, he was the co-creator of the Kendra version of Hawkgirl back in... I want to say 1999.
This version of Hawkgirl proved to be rather successful and was even able to stand apart from Hawkman. She held prominent roles in both JSA and Hawkman, a book that was even retitled Hawkgirl for awhile. She was also a mjor character in Brad Meltzer’s Justice League of America relaunch in 2006. She was killed off during DC’s Blackest Night event and replaced with the former version of Hawkgirl, Shiera Hall. Her death and replacement by Shiera was one of the factors, like Ronnie Raymond nudging out Jason Rusch to be the face of Firestorm, that led some to jokingly refer to Brightest Day as “Whitest Day.”
Comments from Robinson imply that Hawkgirl will fill the Batman role in Earth 2’s trinity whle Alan Scott and Jay Garrick fill the Superman and Wonder Woman roles respectively. Kendra Saunders’ character will revolve around her status as a formidable detective.
The first issue of Earth 2 impressed me, but honestly, nothing about it really excited me or interested me that much. I remain undecided when it comes to the new Alan Scott and Jay Garrick. But this new take on Kendra Saunders is a hit with me. It’s odd that they chose to change her color scheme, but the new costume is really one of the better New 52 redesigns I’ve seen, far better than the treatment Hawkman received. Starring in Earth 2 also lets the character have a role of her own rather than be stuck as mostly just Hawkman’s love interest.
It’s nice to see that DC has possibly learned its lesson about replacing a high profile Hispanic character with the white version.
