The Arrival Of The Sky Terror In Hawkman #18
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
We learn the origins of Sky Terror; he was the Hawkman of Earth-3 and was slain by the Shadow Sheriff of the Justice Society All-Stars. He has now awakened on our Earth in the body of our Hawkman. He seeks more blood to spill, and his goal is to be reincarnated as many times as possible. However, Carter Hall is still conscious in the back of Sky Terror’s mind, and he can effect the Sky Terror’s actions…but for how long? Sky Terror spent a long time completely dormant, and the same may be true for Carter Hall very soon. Who will stop the Sky Terror then?
Hawkman #18 introduces the Sky Terror and his past life on Earth-3. He is a bloodthirsty dark reflection of Hawkman, and he is alive once again thanks to (presumably) some combination of Lex Luthor, the Batman Who Laughs, and Shadow Thief.
His motives are surprisingly simple; he seeks to live forever. The only way he can do that is to kill more people, thus forcing Hawkman into more reincarnations and, eventually, bringing back Sky Terror.
Also, Sky Terror is a freaking metal supervillain name.
This does beg the question of whether or not all Hawkman’s across the multiverse are connected since Sky Terror was an incarnation on Earth-3. Of course, there’s also an omniverse now, so would Hawkman’s incarnations extend to multiple multiverses?
Regardless, this is a damn good read, and Pat Olliffe continues to give this book a gritty and dirty feel. It suits Hawkman excellently, even more now that Sky Terror has arrived. The design of Sky Terror is quite fantastic on the whole, especially the weird dreads coming out of his helmet. Tom Palmer does great work on the inking too, and Jeremiah Skipper gives the book a fittingly grim color treatment.
Hawkman #18 is an intense new start for the title. Sky Terror has arrived, and there’s no way of knowing if Carter Hall will be able to regain control. However, he has some surprise help at the end which leaves yours truly excited for next issue. This one gets a recommendation. Check it out.
Hawkman #18 comes to us from writer Robert Venditti, artist Pat Olliffe, inker Tom Palmer, color artist Jeremiah Skipper, letters from Richard Starkings and Comicraft, cover artist Tyler Kirkham, and variant cover artist Richard Pace.
Final Score: 8/10
