Hawkman #5
Cody White
Recap
Carter's quest has led him to the Microverse and directly to his dear friend and brilliant scientist, Ray Palmer/The Atom! The two old partners compare notes at Ray's current headquarters in the Microverse, where Ray's expertise in quantum mechanics helps Carter to disentangle some of the theories of time and space as Carter continues to learn more aspects of his reincarnation.
These revelations help to confirm that Carter indeed must have experienced a past life in the Microverse, leading the two to investigate what clue he may have left himself there. After scanning for Nth metal, Ray determines that Carter deposited a cache of Nth metal in the most dangerous place in the Microverse-- the sentient planet Moz-ga!
The duo is attacked on/by Moz-ga and a battle ensues, during which Ray reveals that in the Microverse, he can also use his powers to grow larger. The issue ends in the midst of the fight.
Review
Every single month, Hawkman is an absolute treat! The reunion of Hawkman and The Atom and having them travel to Moz-Ga is an excellent example of Venditti’s mastery over the winding history of Hawkman without losing a view of the present. Moz-Ga is a recent creation in Atom lore, created during Steve Orlando’s run on Justice League of America, but the relationship between Ray and Carter stretches back decades. Past and present collide on Carter’s search for answers.
The inclusion of Ray Palmer in this quest is not merely homage to the history of Hawkman, however, as Ray provides instrumental insight into the operations of time and space to help clarify how Carter’s reincarnations could operate. The questions of Carter’s humanity, as he has been Kryptonian, Thanagarian, and likely countless others, adds a philosophical element to the series through the questioning of what it is to be human, and perhaps even disassociating that notion from any sort of ideological primacy. We talk of characters like Superman and say how they are “more human than humans”, but what is it about humanity, other than primacy, that marks them as something to strive for? This series seems to be aiming at a connection deeper than humanity, but rather the connection of life. In the introduction of a living, thinking planet, that connection seems to grow deeper still.
Bryan Hitch recently Tweeted that this page was his favorite from this issue. Aside from it being obviously a gorgeous page, the comment from the superstar artist gets at a deeper point. Hitch is enjoying working on Hawkman. He has mentioned it via Twitter a number of times, but even if we were in an age without social media, his love and care would still be evident. Not a single panel is wasted, no opportunities missed. With Venditti’s obvious study of the character, the entire toy box is open and ready for play and Hitch appears to be having the time of his life.
Final Thoughts
If you're in the group of comics readers that isn't buying this series (and based on the sales figures of about 27k sold for #4, that's a lot of you), run-- don't walk-- to your LCS and put Hawkman on your pull list. You'd be hard pressed to find a more thoughtful, fun, and beautiful comic on the shelves right now. What a great time to be alive!
Hawkman #5: Reunited and it Feels So Good!
- Writing - 10/1010/10
- Storyline - 10/1010/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10
