From DC Database
Characteristics
Status
Occupation
Hawk champion; craftsman; gunfighter
First appearance
Last appearance
—
History
Hannibal Hawkes was a traveling repairman who wandered across the American West in the 19th Century, with his sidekick Jim Peyton. However, when mystery threatened, he would don the guise of Nighthawk, a masked gunfighter.
He was friendly with other Western heroes of the time, such as Jonah Hex, Bat Lash, Scalphunter and Johnny Thunder.
Nighthawk was killed during the Crisis on Infinite Earths by waves of antimatter, after fighting valiantly against the Shadow Demons with a crew of other heroes. [1]
Nighthawk reappeared in the new universe established by the great Crisis, with portions of his history changed. He met and fell in love with a gunfighter named Cinnamon, who he traveled with.
Hawkes also assisted Guy Gardner during Zero Hour, where he led a group of heroes including El Diablo and Bat Lash angainst several men who had been brainwashed by Extant. Nighthawk had grown sideburns by the time he led this group (which he referred to as "the Rough Bunch").
Nighthawk was eventually killed when both he and Cinnamon were shot dead by a criminal named Mathilda Roderic.[2]
Years after his death, Nighthawk was revealed to be a reincarnation of Prince Khufu - who would later be reincarnated as Carter Hall, the Hawkman. With this revelation, Roderic is revealed as an incarnation of Khufu's nemesis, Hath-Set.[3]
Legacy
A new hero going by the name
Nighthawk has since shown up in the contemporary
DC Universe. At one point, this character met
Robin and US Marshall Ohiyesa Smith, and the three heroes fought the modern-day
Trigger Twins in a showdown on the main street of a Western-themed attraction near
Gotham City. This character was a mercenary.
[4] He was also active during the
Infinite Crisis.
[5]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
As a mortal human being, Hannibal Hawkes possessed no superhuman powers. Upon his death however, his spirit gained the ability to manifest itself in the material world.
Abilities
Nighthawk was an accomplished marksman and hand-to-hand combatant. He was also highly skilled in the use of a bullwhip and lasso. Nighthawk was a proficient "fix-it" man, who brought his unique talents from town to town, earning himself a meager sum
Strength level
In his prime, Nighthawk possessed the strength level of a man his age, size and weight who engaged in intensive regular exercise.
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Lasso and bullwhip
Transportation
Horse and covered wagon.
Weapons
Nighthawk usually employed two six-shooter revolvers.
Notes
- Originally, Nighthawk met his fate in Coyote, Texas in the year 1879 during the Crisis on Infinite Earths in Crisis on Infinite Earths #3.[6] However, as his death took place prior to the reboot of the DC Universe, the details behind his death are considered non-canonical. Recent material has revealed that Nighthawk was operating in the town of St. Roch, Louisiana as late as the 1890s. A deranged woman named Matilda Dunney (an ancestor of modern-day crime figure Kristopher Renard Roderic), shot Nighthawk dead from an elevated position in Hawkman (Volume 4) #7.[7]
See Also
Recommended Reading
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