Nighthawk (DC Comics)

Nighthawk
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Western Comics #5 (Sept./Oct. 1948)
Created by	Robert Kanigher and Charles Paris
In-story information
Alter ego	Hannibal Hawkes
Team affiliations	Rough Bunch
Partnerships	Jim Peyton Cinnamon
Notable aliases	ancestor of Prince Khufu
Abilities	Repair skills, expert marksman and horseman

Nighthawk is a fictional character, a cowboy in the DC Comics universe. His real name is Hannibal Hawkes and he first appeared in Western Comics #5. In his secret identity, he worked as a traveling repairman. He had a sidekick named Jim Peyton.

Created by Robert Kanigher and Charles Paris, his later adventures were handled by writers France Herron, Don Cameron, and Gardner Fox; and artists Gil Kane and Carmine Infantino.^[1]

Fictional character biography

He was shown as dying during Crisis on Infinite Earths,^[2] although this has been retconned twice to fit in with the later revelation that he was a reincarnation of Prince Khufu^{[citation needed]} — who would later be reincarnated as Carter Hall, the Golden Age Hawkman. Current continuity has it that he was shot by a criminal named Matilda Roderic,^{[citation needed]} who was presumably a reincarnation of the evil priest Hath-Set, who is apparently destined to kill Khufu in every life. Roderic's descendant is the current Hath-Set.

The Hawkman retcon also revealed he was the partner and lover of the Western heroine Cinnamon,^{[citation needed]} who was the reincarnation of Khufu's wife Chay-Ara.

Nighthawk appears in Guy Gardner #24^[3] during the "Zero Hour" incident. He sported white sideburns at this point in time. His group of allies, which includes El Diablo and Bat-Lash, were forming to take on the villain Extant and several men Extant had brainwashed. Nighthawk calls this group the "Rough Bunch" on more than one occasion. The time-lost heroes Steel, Supergirl, Guy Gardner and a version of Batgirl show up to help in the fight.

A modern-day version of the character appears in the Western-themed Robin Annual #6,^[4] as a mercenary. He worked with Robin and the modern day Pow Wow Smith to track down the modern day Trigger Twins. They have a literal main-street showdown in a western themed tourist attraction located near Gotham City.

Other media

He was slated to be a playable character in Lego Batman: The Video Game, but did not make the final release.^[5]

See also

• Gunmaster — a Charlton Comics character very similar to Nighthawk

References

1. ^ Markstein, Don. "Nighthawk," Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Accessed Aug. 13, 2011.
2. ^ Crisis on Infinite Earths #3 (June 1985).
3. ^ Guy Gardner: Warrior #24 (Sept. 1994).
4. ^ Robin Annual #6 (1997).
5. ^ "New LEGO Batman Characters Revealed - Wii News at IGN". Wii.ign.com. 2007-10-29. http://wii.ign.com/articles/830/830948p1.html. Retrieved 2011-04-02.