Hawkgirl (Kendra Saunders) is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by writers James Robinson and David S. Goyer and artist Scott Benefiel, and first appeared in JSA: Secret Files and Origins #1 (August 1999).
Actress Ciara Renée portrayed the character in The CW's Arrowverse television series The Flash in the first season finale, appeared in the Arrowverse crossover Heroes Join Forces, and starred in the first season of Legends of Tomorrow.
Publication history
The new Hawkgirl was introduced as part of the 1999 revival of the JSA monthly title. The new Hawkgirl is Kendra Saunders, granddaughter of the Golden Age Hawkgirl's cousin, Speed Saunders. Hawkgirl would continue to appear regularly in the monthly JSA series and later in the Hawkman monthly. In 2006, the ongoing Hawkman monthly series was retitled Hawkgirl starting with issue #50 as part of the "One Year Later" jump forward; Kendra replaced Hawkman as the lead character. The Hawkgirl comic book series was finished with issue #66.
Kendra was a recurrent member of the Birds of Prey. Oracle first solicits her assistance in issue #104 in dealing with the Secret Six, for which Oracle rewards her with a car. Throughout the Russian arc, Hawkgirl serves as a team member and develops a rivalry with Secret Six member Scandal.
She was a member of the Justice League of America at its relaunch, but left the team due to injuries sustained in Final Crisis. Kendra and the original Hawkman (Carter Hall) were killed during the Blackest Night storyline; Katar Hol had been killed previously in a final battle with the Hawkgod, and Carter Hall, who had reincarnated in a new body, replaced him as Hawkgirl's partner. Carter and Shiera were resurrected after Blackest Night, but Kendra has since been killed again.
Fictional character biography
Kendra Saunders was a young Latina woman who committed suicide. When Kendra's soul left her body, that of her grandfather's first cousin Shiera Sanders Hall, the Golden Age Hawkgirl and Carter Hall's wife entered it, making Kendra a walk-in. Her grandfather, former OSS agent and globe-trotting adventurer Speed Saunders, recognized this, in part due to a change in eye color, and encouraged his granddaughter to embrace her destiny as the "new" Hawkgirl.
Kendra had a daughter named Mia, who is not shown but mentioned.
Still believing herself to be Kendra, she debuted as a hero using the original Hawkgirl's equipment and set out in search of a being called the Fate-Child (actually her own reincarnated son, Hector Hall). This led to a meeting with the Justice Society and Kendra's induction to that team.
She currently has all of Kendra's memories, but almost none of Shiera's save for fighting experiences. This creates tension with Hawkman since he remembers all of their past lives together and believes they are destined for each other. Kendra has been presented as a very troubled young woman, haunted by the murder of her parents by a corrupt cop and confused by her jumble of memories and feelings. She has operated as Hawkman's partner but only recently begun to actually admit her attraction to him. The truth about Kendra's identity was eventually revealed to her by the angel Zauriel.
She is one of the heroes who fought in space during the Rann-Thanagar War. Following the events of Infinite Crisis, a Zeta Beam transporter malfunction injured many of the superheroes in space, including Hawkgirl, causing her to grow over twenty feet tall. Some time later, her proper stature restored, Kendra was shown living in St. Roch, Louisiana, working in Stonechat Museum and protecting the city as Hawkgirl.
She is also a returning member of the new Justice League, having effectively served with the team when the original members were previously missing. A brewing relationship between Hawkgirl and Red Arrow became one of the major subplots in the series though it appears to have ended. Hawkgirl is now 100% Kendra Saunders. Shiera Sanders' soul left Kendra's body and moved on to the afterlife. Shiera hopes her passing on will finally remove the curse of Hath-Set.
Hawkman Vol. 4 (2002–2006) In the Hawkman ongoing monthly comic book series, Hawkgirl was presented as a very afflicted young woman, seeking clarity regarding the murder of her parents by a corrupt cop and confused by her jumble of memories and feelings. She had all of Kendra's memories but almost none of Shiera's. This created tension with Hawkman since he remembered all of their past lives together and believed they were destined for each other. She operated as Hawkman's partner, but eventually began to actually admit her attraction to him.