Hawkman Vol. 4 #9

This volume collects issue #9 of Hawkman Vol. 4, originally published by DC Comics in 2002, written by Geoff Johns and James Robinson, with interior art by Rags Morales, inks by Michael Bair, and cover art by Andrew Robinson. In the story, Doctor Fate of the JSA, Hector Hall, pays a late-night visit to his father, Hawkman Carter Hall. He comes to deliver a warning: the evil force that has hunted the "winged wonders" across countless lifetimes has arrived in this era, and the only thing holding it back is Hawkwoman Kendra Saunders's as-yet-unresolved feelings for Carter. In other words, once Kendra admits she loves Carter, the two may be killed and reborn into the next life, just as in countless cycles past. Carter is thus caught in a dilemma: he longs for Kendra's response, yet must find a way to push her away. Meanwhile, Kendra is plagued by nightmares. The dream takes her back to childhood, when she and her mother were maliciously assaulted by two policemen; the young girl seized a gun and fought back, seriously wounding one and killing the other. This secret, buried deep since she left Austin, is the key to understanding why she finds it hard to trust others and to enter intimate relationships. When she tries to confide in Carter, she finds him strangely distant and cold. Through the dual threads of "past and future," this volume unveils another layer of the rules governing Hawkman and Hawkwoman's reincarnation destiny, and pushes their relationship into an even more complicated place.