Hawkgirl vs. Hawkman: What’s Actually the Difference?

Hawkgirl vs Hawkman isn’t really a rivalry — they’re usually the same story split into two people, reincarnated royalty (or, depending which decade of comics you’re reading, alien cops) bonded by Nth metal, ancient weapons, and a villain who keeps coming back to kill them both. The real differences aren’t in their powers. They’re in which era of DC continuity you’re reading, and who’s actually wearing the wings on screen right now.

Where They Actually Come From

The original 1940 version has Egyptian prince Khufu and princess Chay-Ara murdered by a cruel priest named Hath-Set, who kills them with a dagger forged from a strange, gravity-bending ore called Nth metal. The metal curses all three into an endless cycle of reincarnation, a history Wikipedia’s Hawkman entry lays out in full. Khufu comes back as American archaeologist Carter Hall; Chay-Ara comes back as Shiera Sanders. Hall builds Nth-metal belts and wings for both of them, and they become Hawkman and Hawkgirl — a partnership, not a hierarchy, from the very first appearance.

Then DC Rebooted Them as Alien Police Officers

In the 1960s, DC threw out the reincarnation angle entirely and made Hawkman and Hawkgirl into Katar Hol and Shayera Hol, police officers from the planet Thanagar who crash-land on Earth chasing a criminal. Their wings and weapons come from Thanagarian technology instead of a cursed artifact, though it’s still built from Nth metal. This is the version most casual fans actually know, because it’s the one Justice League and Justice League Unlimited used — Shayera Hol’s arc, including her romance with John Stewart, is one of the more remembered threads in that show.

The Modern Comics Version: Kendra Saunders

DC merged its two competing histories in the 2000s by making Kendra Saunders the primary Hawkgirl — a modern-day woman who inherits the reincarnation cycle’s memories, including flashes of both Shiera’s and Chay-Ara’s lives, without literally being either of them, as her own entry documents. Carter Hall has stayed the default Hawkman across most of that same period, which is part of why Hawkgirl’s identity has shifted more times in the comics than Hawkman’s has.

On Screen, They Haven’t Even Been Treated Equally

Michael Shanks played Carter Hall as Hawkman in Smallville’s “Absolute Justice”, which aired February 5, 2010, as part of a Justice Society backdoor pilot that never got picked up. Both characters got a full arc together on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow starting in 2016 — Ciara Renée as Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl and Falk Hentschel as Carter Hall/Hawkman — but once their centuries-long feud with the immortal villain Vandal Savage wrapped in the season 1 finale, the writers felt the story was too complete to keep going and both actors departed as regulars. Aldis Hodge then played Hawkman in 2022’s Black Adam, which grossed $393 million worldwide but sits outside the current DC Universe continuity.

Then James Gunn’s DCU launched, and the pattern flipped. Isabela Merced debuted as Hawkgirl in Superman, which opened July 11, 2025 — and Gunn confirmed she’s playing Kendra Saunders specifically, with wings that are organic to her body rather than Thanagarian tech, a deliberate departure from every prior live-action version. Hawkman, meanwhile, still hasn’t been cast in this continuity. Hodge has said publicly that “plans changed” for his own future in the role once Gunn’s universe took shape.

Why Hawkgirl Keeps Getting There First

It’s an odd pattern once you notice it: across nearly every major adaptation, Hawkgirl shows up with more screen time, more narrative weight, or just gets there before Hawkman does. She’s the one Justice League Unlimited built a real arc around. She’s the one who debuted first in the DCU, and as of this writing that’s a lead of well over a year with no confirmed date for her counterpart.

For a legacy pair whose entire comics history is built on the two of them being equals, the screen adaptations keep treating Hawkgirl as the character worth introducing on her own — and Hawkman as the one you build around her once the timing works. If you’re tracking who else might round out Gunn’s roster before Hawkman does, our breakdown of what Gunn has actually confirmed for Man of Tomorrow is the place to check first.

It’s also worth knowing DC hasn’t stopped reinventing this pair even in the comics: 2025’s Absolute Hawkman reimagines Carter Hall as a much darker anti-hero in DC’s alternate Absolute Universe line — yet another version stacked on top of the three already covered here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Hawkgirl and Hawkman have the same powers?

Basically, yes. Both get flight from Nth metal wings, superhuman strength and durability, and expert training with old-school weapons like maces and axes. Neither version has powers the other one lacks.

Is the DCU’s Hawkgirl the same character from the comics?

Yes. James Gunn confirmed Isabela Merced is playing Kendra Saunders, the same identity DC Comics has used as its default Hawkgirl since the mid-2000s.

Will Hawkman appear in the DCU?

Not confirmed yet. Aldis Hodge played Hawkman in 2022’s Black Adam, which sits outside the current DC Universe continuity, and has said his plans changed once James Gunn’s universe launched. No casting for a DCU version of Hawkman has been announced.

Why do Hawkman and Hawkgirl keep getting reincarnated?

In the original 1940 origin, an Egyptian priest named Hath-Set murdered them both with a knife forged from Nth metal, cursing all three into a repeating cycle of reincarnation — a plot device DC has reused and reworked across more than 80 years of reboots.