Warning: SPOILERS for Hawkman #18
The heroic Hawkwoman has made her triumphant return to the pages of the DC Universe to help Hawkman defeat a new villain: Himself. In case fans missed it, Sky Tyrant, the evil version of Hawkman hailing from Earth-3 has stolen the spotlight of the latest Hawkman issue. As one of the chosen team members of the villainous Batman Who Laughs' Infected army, the Hawkman fans knew has been corrupted... or in this case, taken prisoner in his own body.
Since it was announced in September, DC fans have been waiting to see which six of their favorite heroes would be turned into villainous dupes for "The Infected" plot line featured in Batman/Superman. Those six characters have now all been revealed: Shazam, Supergirl, Hawkman, Donna Troy, Blue Beetle, and Jim Gordon. But even if Hawkman is just one of the "Infected" (all recipients of one-shot comic book issues tied into the "Infected" story), the Sky Tyrant is a different kind of villain, and a different kind of corruption. Which means it's a good thing Hawkman won't have to face this monster alone.
The latest issue of Hawkman #18 brings Sky Tyrant to Carter Hall's Earth Prime, forcing the hero out of his own body, becoming a translucent spirit visible only to the winged villain. Sky Tyrant -- being another Hawkman of another world -- is technically one of Carter Hall's past lives. Thus, Carter now exists only in the head of the current incarnation. Which means he's forced to watch as Sky Tyrant plans bloodshed for no reason at all, and prepares to blast a passenger plane full of people out of the sky for no reason (more than the fact that he likes violence, because he's one bad bird). Carter is forced to fight Sky Tyrant off within his own mind, but he's barely able to disorient him without much actual strength. Which is where Hawkwoman soars in to save the day.
For anyone unfamiliar with DC's Earth-3 reality, it's the one in which the universe flips standard DC heroes into villains, and their villains into heroes. From what the feathered foe is already spewing about how much he loves being "the angel of death," and how Earth-3 is super cool because of the lack of guilt there, and how he's Shadow Thief's biggest fanboy, it's clear: Sky Tyrant is bad. He's a bad, bad guy... a fact every reader knows before even opening the pages -- since it is a featured issue from "The Year of the Villain." But at least this one villainous act is foiled before he can launch it.
Sky Tyrant describes the aforementioned passenger plane as "nice and plump with lives," but he hasn't actually explained why he wants to kill people or why in this incarnation of Carter Hall, he speaks like a villain in a Grimm's fairytale. Which means Hawkwoman will hopefully help to answer the question in every reader's head, as if Sky Tyrant were a great thespian beginning his most challenging scene: "What's his motivation?" Hopefully, we'll find out in the next issue.
Hawkman #18 is available now from your local comic book shop.