Hawkman Vol. 4 No. 17

This issue is Hawkman Vol. 4 No. 17, the concluding part of "The Thanagarian" trilogy. The story takes place during the St. Roch festival: Hawkwoman and Animal Man (Buddy Baker) confront the Thanagarian shapeshifter Byth Rok. In the melee Animal Man is struck down and Hawkwoman is seized by Byth, who forces her to pilot the Hawk ship back to Thanagar and intends to execute her upon arrival. During the flight Hawkwoman performs a series of violent maneuvers and breaks free of Byth's control; Carter Hall (Hawkman) bursts into the ship and hurls Byth out of the cabin into space. Hawkwoman leaps after him without wings, while Carter rams the ship into Byth, rendering him incapacitated. After the battle, Hawkwoman and Carter visit Kata Hol's grave to pay their respects, and Kendra Saunders (Hawkgirl) tells her: you are fully qualified to be a fine police officer on Thanagar. In the end, Hawkwoman returns to Thanagar in the ship with the captured Byth Rok. The issue was written by Geoff Johns, drawn by Rags Morales, with an official cover date of September 2003 and an actual release date of July 9, 2003.