During
the
1980's,
when
Infinity Inc. was
published, Hath-Set was reincarnated as a woman named Helene
Astar, and used the curse he'd put upon the Hawks to take
control of their son Hector Hall, then the Silver Scarab, and
with him attacked the team. Luckily, they managed to defeat
him, but at the cost of Hector's life.
Alexander the Great
First appearance: Flash
Comics #2, February 1940
This was the second most notable adversary that the Winged
Warriors had to deal with after Hath-Set in his modern-day
incarnation as Anton Hastor. He later turned up again in All-Star Squadron Annual #3,
1984, in a special flashback story dealing with a plot hatched
by the evil scientist Ian Karkull (who in turn later turned up
again in JSA #9 in
2000), a notable adversary of Dr. Fate and the Justice Society
who'd been turned into a shadow-like being by Fate, to wreck
havoc on the US using several notable supervillains to carry
out his evil deeds.
Gentleman Ghost
Real name: Jim Craddock
First appearance: Flash
Comics #86 Vol 1, October 1947
Height: 5'11
Weight: 174 lbs
While it hasn't been fully proven, the Gentleman Ghost claims
to be the spirit of early 1800s English highwayman "Gentleman"
Jim Craddock, who swore vengeance at the time of his execution
that he'd come back and loot the troves of those who'd
condemned him to death. As he fell to his death through the
floor of the gallows, in the instant the rope pulled tight
around his neck, Craddock plunged through a momentary rift in time,
reappearing in modern day London as a disembodied spirit, a
side effect of his strange journey through time.
Then, true to the threat he'd made on the gallows in his
previous life, Craddock disembarked on a criminal spree taking
him to all the prominent capitals of Europe, and eventually
drew the attention of Hawkman and Hawkwoman, who successfully
thwarted many of his schemes, but never managed to bring him
to justice, because Gentleman Ghost's ability to vanish at
will makes him near impossible to capture.
As the Gentleman Ghost, Craddock's lived a varied afterlife,
having also been an adversary of Batman's, who also managed to
foil some of his schemes, but even he hasn't been able to stop
Craddock completely. Gentleman Ghost also made a special guest
appearance in The Flash during 1988 at a party the Rogues were
throwing, where former Kid Flash and now main Flash Wally West
accepted an invitation to join along with a girlfriend of his.
Monacle
Real name: Jonathan Cheval
First appearance: Flash
Comics #64, April-May 1945
An initially law-abiding citizen who ran an optical shop once
belonging to his father and grandfather, Cheval had secretly
built a pair of lenses that could project all manner of
radiation. But when his landowner's receipts were stolen by
six directors of a NYC bank that maintained his mortgage, in
order to pay off debts they'd run into in order to prevent
themselves from going to prison, he turned to crime, using his
inventions to exact revenge on the six bank directors in the
guise of the Monacle. He murdered five of the bankers, but
Hawkman and Hawkgirl succeeded in stopping him from murdering
the sixth. Both he and the sixth banker, Donnelly, went to
prison for the crimes they'd both committed in their own way.
Years later, Cheval got out of prison and moved to southern
France, where he made a fortune in laser technology
refinement, and turned to crime again, this time joining the
Ultra-Humanite's Injustice Society, doing battle with the
Justice League, Justice Society, and Infinity Inc.
Byth Rok
First appearance: The Brave
and the Bold #34, February/March, 1961 (original), Hawkworld prestige
miniseries, 1989 (modern)
A criminal from Thangar who'd been a weapons and narcotics
smuggler, who targeted Hawkman and Hawkwoman of that location,
and who supplied the Shadow Thief with Thanagarian shadow
technology. He ran some criminal operations on earth in
Chicago, Illinois, and was later captured and returned to
Thanagar.
Artemis
Real name: Artemis Crock
First appearance: Infinity
Inc #34, January 1987
The daughter of the original Tigress/Huntress, Paula Brooks,
and the first Sportsmaster, Crusher Crock, Artemis is a
full-fledged super-villianess who uses weapons and skills
similar to both her parents. She's worked as a member of
Injustice Unlimited, and even the Olympic Team of the criminal
state of Zandia, which served as the headquarters of the
Church of Brother Blood for many years. During the 1986 DC
mini-series Legends, the people of America were
influenced by Glorious Godfrey against heroes, and a law was
drafted that no one could operate legally wearing a costume.
Obviously, this did not affect the villains much, as they were
already breaking the law. For Artemis Crock it proved an
opportune time to break her parents out of the Empire State
Detention Center. Calling herself only Artemis, she joined the
Wizard in his new Injustice Society – which he called
Injustice Unlimited. They overpowered the security at the
International Trade Conference in Calgary, Canada, namely
Infinity, Inc. and a contingent of the Global Guardians, and
forced the heroes to help in some mayhem. For Artemis, she
took Nuklon and Rising Sun to New York and, with their help,
freed the elder felons. They all returned to Calgary to share
in the stolen wealth, but the plan went haywire when Hourman
revived and freed himself, as well as when Solomon Grundy was
brought in from the Arctic Circle. It was Solomon who thwarted
Artemis and her parents, but in the confusion they were able
to escape.
Only weeks later Artemis again joined with the Icicle and
Hazard, as well as the new Harlequin, the Dummy and Solomon
Grundy. The Dummy wanted to head a revived Injustice Unlimited
and planned to murder the members of Inifinity Inc to make a
name for themselves. Their first target - Skyman (formerly
Star-Spangled Kid) - was successfully killed by the Harlequin
and then Artemis went after Jade. After believing her dead,
Artemis returned to her cohorts. A plan was hatched to bring all
the remaining Infinitors to Stellar Studios and kill them, a
plan defeated only by the unwillingness of Hazard to cooperate,
and the sudden reappearance of Jade and Brainwave Jr (both of
whom had been thought dead). During the fight Artemis went
one-on-one with Wildcat (Yolanda Montez) and lost. In the end
Artemis was given over to law enforcement.
Hawkman 3
Real name: Fel Andar
First appearance: Action
Comics #600, May 1988
The most short-lived member of the Hawkworld, Fel Andar was
sent to earth to gather information regarding the aliens who
were planning the attack that took place in the Invasion crossover of
early 1989 that was written by Keith Giffen. He pretended to
be Carter Hall Jr, the son of the first Hawkman, and as per
his assignment, he met with and ended up marrying an
earthwoman, Sharon Hall, who would later join him as another
Hawkwoman. While he acted as if he didn't really care much for
the idea of joining the Justice League, it suited his mission
in that he could get the chance to gather information on the
superhero community, so he and Sharon joined.
Towards the end of the battle in Invasion, he'd stayed in
character, and also helped Animal Man to defuse a bomb that
could've destroyed the west coast. However, Sharon overheard
him talking with Thanagarian spies, and realizing this, he
decided to kill her to keep his secret. She managed to escape
from him and warn the Martian Manhunter in her dying breath.
With his cover blown, Andar decided to retreat to Thanagar
with the rest of their own forces. Only a few members of the
JLI actually learned about Andar's background, but decided to
keep quiet about it for fear of hurting Carter Hall's
reputation.
Andar returned to earth a few years afterwards, with Shayera
Thal in tow, this time posing as Katar Hol, the second
Hawkman, who was trapped on Thanagar at the time, to retrieve
an Aonian Voyager Hol himself had fought earlier. Andar's
uncle had told him to kill Thal as she had threatened to
reveal that she was really Pul's own daughter, since this
could cost him his high-ranking position on Thanagar. Luckily,
the plan backfired, and Andar was brought down by Hol, who'd
managed to escape from Thanagar, and was eventually sent home
again to rot in prison.
Simple Simon
First appearance: Flash
Comics #53, May 1944
This crook, whom Hawkman and Hawkgirl fought at least twice,
used common objects as his weapons and tools in his crimes.
Ricochet
First appearance: Hawkman
Annual #2, 1991
Shadow Thief
Real name: Carl Sands
First appearance: The Brave
and the Bold #36, June/July 1961
An American born criminal
raised in Japan, Sands made a name for himself as the
notorious industrial ninja spy/assassin Shadow Thief. When he
was hired by the Thanagarian criminal Byth to steal the
spacecraft of Hawkman and Hawkwoman, Byth provided him with a
Thanagarian device that could turn him into an intangible, two
dimensional wraith. Even beforehand, there is much that
implies that he employed a similar device when battling with
the original Hawkman and Hawkgirl, a "Dimensionmeter Belt",
built by a Xarapion scientist named Thar Dan, which he used in
battle both on his own and with the Injustice Gang when
battling the original Hawkman and the JLA.
Since getting the even more advanced technology from Byth,
he's used it during encounters with Captain Marvel, Black
Canary, Flash, the new Batgirl, and even the current Hawkman
and Hawkgirl, and
even had it upgraded by Neron at one point.
Kanjar Ro
First appearance: Justice
League of America #3, February-March 1961
This galactic warlord from the planet
Dhor invented a weapon called a gamma gong to render people
motionless, and later developed mind controlling powers with
which to seperate auras from their bodies. He's been a
personal adversary of Adam Strange and the Justice League, and
has plagued the earth-born space hero and the superhero team
with recreations of his old menaces and a time-hopping effect.
He's also been an antagonist towards Katar Hol as well, having
once plotted to take over Thanagar in DC Showcase #101-103*
when taking control over the armies of Rann. He later turned
up in Hawkworld
posing as a Thanagarian bureaucrat, and even managed to make
his way into the job of being the minister of defense for the
planet Kylaq in JLA,
but was thwarted in his actions there.
* Since the Crisis,
this story may not be in continuity now, yet it's possible
that it could, depending on if Katar and Shayera had still
been around and in business even then.
Matter Master
Real name: Mark Mandrill
First appearance: The Brave
and the Bold #35, April-May 1961
This character was a master alchemist who fought the Hawks and
the Justice League during the Silver/Bronze Age. He was
working on an experiment to turn metals into gold, and in the
process, discovered the secret of a chemical called Mentachem
that would obey his commands. Building a special wand through
which to convey the substance, it gave him control over any
material in natural state. He was also the one who
accidentally gave Charley Edmund Parker of the Teen Titans
West his powers as the Golden Eagle, in hopes of gaining
revenge on Hawkman by coming up with a "new" one,* but things
didn't turn out as he'd hoped, as his use of the Mentachem Rod
to gain a wish only succeeded in coming up with another
authentic superhero. He fought against the Winged Warrior and
the Justice League of America for many years. He has no innate
superpowers, but as long as he is in contact with his wand he
can reshape, transmute, or levitate any matter. The effect
vanishes over time or as soon as he loses contact with the
wand, explaining why he doesn't simply use the wand's power to
become rich without resorting to crime.
* Post-Crisis, this
connection may have been done away with, and Parker was
reinvented as a simpler beach-bum/surfer character whose exact
origin was mostly kept under wraps.
Lion-Mane
Real name: Ed Dawson
First appearance: Hawkman
#20 vol 1, June-July 1967
This archaeologist and lion-hunting scientist touched a
mystical meteor called the Mithra, and was transformed into an
almost mythological-ish creature called Lion-Mane (or, you
could say, a were-lion). Hawkman helped restore him to normal,
but it was not the last he'd endure of that curse, and he
returned later on to commit more acts of crime in his new
guise.
An interesting thing about Lion-Mane is that he seems to have
a tendency to "roll" his dialect whenever speaking.
Trygg the Sorceror
First appearance: All-Star-Comics
#1, Summer 1940
Haitian sorceror who learned the secret to reviving and
controlling zombies.
I.Q
Real name: Ira Quimby
First appearance: Mystery
in Space #87, November 1963
The leader of the I.Q Gang gained super-mental powers from an
irradiated fragment of stone from the planet Rann.
(Post-Crisis, this villain may no longer exist.)
Fadeaway Man
Real name: Anton Lamont
First appearance: Detective
Comics #479, September-October 1978
A villain armed with a cloak
that wields all sorts of menacing powers, including
teleportation, that may have belonged to the 18th century
magician Cagliostro. Lamont was a professor who was
cataloguing a collection he'd discovered, and in doing so,
found out about the cloak's abilities, using it to start a
professional career as a criminal.
Kite-Man
Real name: Charles "Chuck" Brown
First appearance: Batman #133, August 1960
A criminal who armed himself with kite weapons for committing
crimes. He flies with a big kite strapped to his body. He also
uses a barrage of kites to overwhelm his enemies. He has run
afoul of Batman, Robin, Hawkman and Hawkgirl on different
occasions. In his first appearance, he uses kites for a
variety of crimes, including helping criminals escape prison.
Batman uses kites of his own to defeat him. In a later
appearance, Kite-Man came back sporting a visor. He hired
several men, whom he later betrayed. Batman again defeats him
with his own kite. Len Wein brings him back in a 1979 story
about payroll heists, although that time the gimmicky kites
were not used.
Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Zatanna later confronted him in
Hawkman's 1986 title. He is defeated and crashes into a tree.
Kite-Man is one of many criminals to take advantage of the
villain-friendly atmosphere of the fictional country of
Zandia. Towards the end of the Young Justice series in
2002, he ends up joining its sports team and later becomes
involved in a fight against an invading troop of super-heroes.
The character's name, interestingly enough, was inspired by
Charlie Brown, the star of the Peanuts comic strip, who also
flew kites.
Copyright Avi Green. All rights reserved.
Hath-Set
