Warning: contains spoilers for Superman '78 #3!
Christopher Reeve's depiction of the Man of Steel is one beloved by fans - acting as the blueprint for every superhero movie that has followed - which is why DC has chosen to continue the saga in comics form, with the latest issue of Superman '78 actually adding Clark Kent's Justice League allies Hawkman and Hawkgirl to the expanded continuity of the cinematic canon. While Carter Hall and Shiera Sanders aren't mentioned by name, Thanagarians in their iconic costumes are shown to be prisoners of Brainiac.
Beginning shortly after the events of the first film - and ignoring the subsequent movies - Superman '78 sees Brainiac arrive on Earth, seeking Superman. Brainiac shows the Man of Steel his immense power and reveals he's set on adding any Kryptonian survivors to his collection. Realizing that Brainiac will destroy Metropolis unless he gets what he wants, Superman surrenders. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor, now out on parole, has struck an alliance with Brainiac, but Luthor clearly has his own agenda. In Superman ’78 #3, written by Robert Venditti, with art by Wilfredo Torres, colors by Jordie Bellaire and letters by Dave Lanphear, Superman - now on-board Brainiac’s ship - makes a stunning discovery.
Brainiac sees himself as a collector and a cataloger, roaming the universe in his ship for any specimens that might interest him. Brainiac has been known to abduct whole cities at a time, shrinking them down and storing them in glass bottles. As he wanders Brainiac’s ship, the Man of Steel gets a good look at some of the alien cities Brainiac has collected. One bottle in particular catches his attention; as he looks in, he sees captives from Thanagar - the homeworld of Hawkman. Superman looks closer and sees two Thanagarians that seem to be stand-ins for Hawkman and Hawkgirl. The duo's costumes are traditional Thanagarian dress, so it's hard to say for sure, but the positioning of characters who look like Carter and Shiera invites the reader to assume these are the specific alien heroes they know and love. Even though Superman does not know this race, he is still horrified by what he sees. Before he can do anything to help liberate the bottled cities, Brainiac begins torturing him.
Superman ’78 respects the spirit of the first film, celebrating everything that made it great. At the same time, the book is moving the story forward by introducing characters who appear in the comics to the mix. Brainiac is obviously the biggest addition, but the title has given shout-outs to other, non-Superman characters too. Kord Industries, headed by Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle, was name checked in a previous issue and now Thanagarians have been introduced to the mix. It's no surprise that the comic would include Hawkman, as writer Robert Venditti only recently concluded a celebrated comic run with the hero.
While it is possible these mentions could simply be fun shout-outs, they could also be foreshadowing these characters’ relevance to the narrative. Superman could liberate the captives, and lead them against Brainiac; perhaps the two Thanagarians Superman saw close up stay on Earth, fighting crime? Even if this scenario does not play out, it's a fun cameo that teases what a cinematic DC mythos would have looked like by the standards of 1978. Superman ’78 continues to build on the blocks Christopher Reeve and director Richard Donner laid down, introducing characters and concepts such as Hawkman and Hawkgirl to delight comic and movie fans alike.