Despite a striking and unique look, Hawkman has suffered in the past thanks to his confusing chronology. Sometimes, he's a reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, at other times, he's a police officer from the planet Thanagar. Although it's not uncommon for superheroes to be rebooted with different origins, it is often unclear which version of the character is canon at any given point - or whether they're all the same person. In his most recent solo series, however, Robert Venditti and Bryan Hitch came up with a (controversial) way of explaining Hawkman's many incarnations.
Following DC Rebirth, Carter Hall was reintroduced to the DC Universe in the Dark Nights: Metal crossover event. In Dark Days: The Forge (from Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Jim Lee, Andy Kubert and John Romita Jr.), Hall was seen conducting research into the mysterious Nth Metal, a material encountered in his past life as Prince Khufu, after a Thanagarian ship landed in ancient Egypt. Although he believes that the Nth metal is the cause of his reincarnation - as well as that of Hawkgirl and their enemy, Hath-Set - a visit to Madame Xanadu reveals that there's actually much more to his history... including many lives he never knew existed.
In Hawkman #7, Carter discovers that his first incarnation was Ktar Deathbringer, the general of the Lord Beyond the Void, for whom he sacrificed millions of lives on different planets - including Earth, Thanagar and Krypton. Just before he can make the sacrifice that will bring his master into the universe, Ktar is compelled by visions of a red-haired woman, the first incarnation of Hawkgirl, to turn on his fellow Deathbringers, and is killed in the process. In the afterlife, Ktar is given a choice (presumably by the Presence, DC's analogue to the Abrahamic God): accept death as judgement for his service to the Lord Beyond the Void, or be reincarnated across time and space until he has saved as many lives as he sacrificed. Ktar takes the opportunity to redeem his crimes, and is reincarnated again and again to make this possible. This means that Hawkman was both Prince Khufu of Egypt and Katar Hol of Thanagar, having lived many lives on different planets, places and realms - including Catar-Ol of Krypton, Airwing of New Genesis, and the Silent Knight of medieval Britain.
While some DC fans were shocked to learn that Hawkman was originally an ancient genocidal tyrant, Venditti's new origin offers an interesting spin on the 'fallen angel' story. As the winged servant to a powerful God - in this case, a particularly evil one - Ktar rebelled against his master and was subsequently cast into another realm (or many different realms) to receive redemption, rather than punishment. This is not the first time that Hawkman has been reinvented as an angel; Grant Morrison, Mark Miller, Howard Porter and John Dell created Zauriel as a replacement for Hawkman in JLA #6 (1997), a guardian angel who willingly came to Earth to become a superhero, since they were denied the ability to use the 'Hawkman' name due to his notorious complexity.
It remains to be seen whether Aldis Hodge's Hawkman will adapt Venditti and Hitch's extended origin for the upcoming Black Adam film, or whether the DCEU will simply focus of his Prince Khufu/Carter Hall incarnations. Either way, Hawkman's complex history makes for a unique and fascinating addition to the DC Universe, and one that has infinite possibilities for future (or historical) exploration.