NIGHTHAWK I (Hannibal Hawkes)	BIOGRAPHY
Created by Robert Kanigher and Charles Paris

Nighthawk (Hannibal Hawkes)

PERSONAL DATA

Real Name: Hannibal Hawkes
Occupation: Traveling fix-it man, vigilante, Hawk Champion
Known Relatives: None. But he had a love affair with Cinnamon I, and almost a father-and-son relationship to his young friend, Jim Peyton.
Base of Operation: The Old West, Arizona territory; later St. Roch.
Group Affiliation(s): None
Gender: Male
Height: 5'11
Weight: 185 lbs.
Eyes: Black
Hair: Black
First Appearance: Western Comics #5 (September-October 1948)
Creators: Robert Kanigher and Charles Paris

OVERVIEW

A masked man in the 19th century American West who fought for the ideals of justice, law and order. He was one of the many re-incarnations of Prince Khufu of Egypt (the current incarnation being Hawkman).

HISTORY

Little is known about the early life of Hannibal Hawkes and how he became the Nighthawk, the legendary masked champion of Western law and order. At some point in the mid-to-late 19th century, he seemingly appeared out of nowhere, clad in his distinguished ebony garb and fighting outlaws with a rightful vengeance.

Nighthawk traveled the Wild West in his alter ago of Hannibal Hawkes, "Fix-It Man", whose covered wagon home/workshop advertised that he could "repair, rebuild, and resharpen anything on the spot." The young craftsman moved restlessly from town to town, earning his keep with his skills and wits. Where evil would arise, however, the Nighthawk would stand in his place, defending the values of law and justice.

Recently it has been revealed that Hawkes was in fact a Hawk Champion, i.e. a human host of the power variously referred to as the Hawkgod or the Hawk Avatar Force, and a reincarnation of the legendary Prince Khufu of Egypt. (Other incarnations of the Hawk Champion have included the legendary Icarus, the Christian Roman Gabriel, and the Silent Knight of Camelot. In modern times, Hawkman Carter Hall has been the most prominent of Hawk Champions.)

Unlike many Hawk Champions, Nighthawk did never acquire the ability to fly, but possibly Hawkes got some of his skills, his desire to do good, and the urge to use a hawk as his symbol, from the Hawkgod or his former incarnations. If this is the whole truth, or if Hawkes had some other particular reason to fight evil, is not known. What is known is that Hawkes himself never understood that he was a Hawk Champion during his entire life.

Nonetheless, Nighthawk, riding on his jet-black stallion Nightwind, proved a potent force for law and order, relying on his skill with his six-gun and lasso to battle injustice whenever he encountered it. Eventually, Hannibal Hawkes took in a young orphan named Jim Peyton after outlaws had killed the boy's uncle, a federal marshal in Flagstaff. The killers tried to murder Jim before he could turn them in, but Nighthawk intervened. As it happened, Nighthawk was captured by the killers. Jim's fast thinking and brave actions saved Nighthawk's life, and he thereafter owed his life to the young boy, who for a long time became his trusted sidekick.

Hannibal Hawkes and Jim Peyton rode the wide-open, often lawless territory together, helping bring peace to the developing area in the nation. Nighthawk's fame spread, and soon became part of the Western legend. Before long, virtually everybody in America knew about his exploits, a fact that could prove both a help and a problem in his struggle for justice.

After a long time together with Nighthawk, Jim remained in one of the towns they visited on their endless journey. He entered the school in Blue Blazes under the teacher Miss Pritchett. After that, the Nighthawk seemed to become more dedicated to his crimefighting, spending a lot more time in his masked identity, and relying less and less upon his life as Hannibal Hawkes.

There is a still a lot of Nighthawk's life that has not been recorded. His debut as a masked crimefighter is clouded in mystery. Virtually nothing is known of his motivations, or vocation, although he said himself that he "got him a calling". Although a loner, he met several of the other famous gunfighters of his era, like Jonah Hex, Bat Lash, Scalphunter, and the time-lost Vigilante (I), Greg Saunders.

Later in his career, Nighthawk settled down in St. Roch in the southeast of America. During a shoot-out in a saloon, he saved the life of the female gunslinger Cinnamon (I). This was the start of an amorous as well as adventurous relationship between the two. In their first adventure together, they saved an innocent black man named Cyrus Evans from being lynched by the henchmen of Matilda Dunney.

Some time later, Hawkes killed another acquaintance of his, the Englishman James "Gentleman Jim" Craddock. Encountering Craddock and Cinnamon having a scuffle in their hotelroom, Hawkes mistakenly believed that Craddock had attempted to force himself on Cinnamon. In his rage, Hawkes dragged Craddock out in the street, took a piece of rope, and hanged him in the gallows. A moment later, Hawkes learned the truth from Cinnamon – that Craddock was not guilty of rape, only of theft. But by then, Craddock was dead. Hawkes regretted what he had done and realized that he would have to live with this for the rest of his life. He was wrong, though – he would suffer even longer than that.

There have been several conflicting accounts of the death of Nighthawk. Some sources tell that he died when the world-shattering Crisis hit the 19th century. Others say that Hawkes was killed and hanged by Vandal Savage, eternal enemy of the Hawk Champions. However, the currently favored version claims that Nighthawk was shot in the head by the aforementioned Matilda Dunney (or Roderic, her married name by then). When Cinnamon avenged her lover, both she and Matilda were killed.

Still, death did not mean that the souls of Hannibal Hawkes and Cinnamon would be put to rest. They were eventually reincarnated as Carter and Shiera Hall, the original Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Past sins caught up with them as enemies such as Vandal Savage, James Craddock (returning as the Gentleman Ghost) and even the offspring of Matilda Roderic, appeared in modern times as enemies of Hawkman.

During the event known as the Zero Hour, another Hawkman, the Thanagarian named Katar Hol, encountered the now corrupt Hawkgod, ultimately defeating him. By doing so, he also absorbed the souls and powers of Hawkman Carter Hall, Hawkgirl Shiera Hall, and all their previous incarnations - including Nighthawk - thereby becoming the greatest and most powerful Hawk Champion of all time. Katar Hol now possessed the knowledge and memories of all previous Hawk incarnations, but he was in control of them. That is, he was in control until the demon Neron awoke the memories of them all in Katar's head. Nighthawk reappeared twice during this course of events, first in a battle with Katar Hol, at which time Nighthawk accidentally killed an innocent man, and then in a duel with another corrupt Hawk Champion pretending to be Katar Hol. This angry soul easily defeated Nighthawk.

Since many of Hawkman’s former incarnations had been unjustly killed before their time, they all had a strong will of justice to be made, and it seems as if the long-time bitterness of them had driven them to the edge of sanity. Because of Katar Hol refusing to let them avenge themselves, they decided to punish him by taking control of his body and harming innocent people. For a while they left Katar's body and instead inhabited the body of the Martian Manhunter. With help from the mage Arion, Lord of Atlantis, Katar reclaimed the Hawk Spirits into himself. Knowing that he was a danger to every man and woman on Earth, he allowed Arion to transport him to the dimension of the Hawkgod with the Hawk Spirits, where they would continue their inner struggle, seemingly forever.

Recently however, Katar Hol gave up his life so that Hawkman Carter Hall could be reincarnated for the new millennium. A complete soul once again, the current Hawkman remembers all his past lives, more or less, including the life of the heroic Nighthawk.

It should be noted that, in recent times, a new Nighthawk has appeared, using the original's moniker and a variation of his Old West garb. However, these are the only similarities between the two. This Nighthawk is a cynical mercenary, valuing money more than anything else. Neither has he any connection to the Hawk Avatars . Nighthawk II was last seen teaming up with Robin and the modern Pow-Wow Smith (another new version of an Old West lawman) to help defeat the new Trigger Twins (a couple of Gotham criminals who have an almost identical resemblance to their heroic Old West ancestors). It is not known what Carter Hall thinks of the man using the name and garb of his former life.

POWERS AND WEAPONS

Nighthawk was chosen and possibly empowered by the Hawkgod. Still, it appears that he had no superhuman powers at all, and unlike other Hawk Champions he never acquired any ability to fly. Nevertheless, he was a crack marksman, doing his best shooting with his own six-gun. He was also an expert in handling the lasso and the bull whip. He was an untrained hand-to-hand combatant, and his fighting techniques seemed brute, but proved effective. He was a masterful tracker and woodsman, and apart from that, he was also very good at fixing broken things.

Nightwind, his black stallion, was an extremely fast, strong, and enduring horse.

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Nighthawk in chronological order click here (1948-2011) and here (2011-present)

PROFILE REFERENCES

Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #16 (June 1986)

Hawkman Secret Files #1 (October 2002)