Warhawk (Batman Beyond)
Encyclopedia
DC animated universe
The DC Animated Universe is a fan term that refers to a series of popular animated television series and related spin-offs produced by Warner Bros. Animation which share the same continuity. Most of these series are adapted from DC Comics properties...
, voiced by Peter Onorati
Peter Onorati
-Biography:He was born and raised in Boonton, New Jersey and attended Boonton High School. He attended Lycoming College, where he received his B.A. degree in Business Administration. He was an NCAA all-conference wide receiver, and signed up to play in the World Football League...
.
Batman Beyond Appearances
He is based on HawkmanHawkman
Hawkman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published by All-American Publications in 1940....
and created specifically for Batman Beyond
Batman Beyond
Batman Beyond is an American animated television series created by Warner Bros. Animation in collaboration with DC Comics as a continuation of the Batman legacy...
two-part "The Call" as a member of the Justice League
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
of the future. He was initially at odds with Terry McGinnis, Bruce Wayne's successor as Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, because he had been recruited onto the team by Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
without the rest of the League's consent. However, after the new Batman proved himself to be a competent and trustworthy League member, Warhawk's attitude shifted from reluctant ally to devoted teammate. They would eventually become close comrades and colleagues.
In the animated series' related comics, Warhawk appeared in Batman Beyond issue # 21 ("The Blackest Day - Part 1") when Batman teams up with the Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
in a high-voltage adventure as they battle a new villain called Blacklight.
Justice League Unlimited Appearances
Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
season three episode "The Once and Future Thing, Part II: Time Warped". The aforementioned JLU is the present-day lineup, set in current DCAU continuity, as opposed to that of the Batman Beyond
Batman Beyond
Batman Beyond is an American animated television series created by Warner Bros. Animation in collaboration with DC Comics as a continuation of the Batman legacy...
timeline.
In "Time, Warped", Warhawk met the modern-day Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
John Stewart
John Stewart (comics)
John Stewart is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Green Lantern vol. 2, #87 , and was created by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams.-Publication history:...
, the first Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
(Bruce Wayne), and Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
(Diana of Themiscyra), who had been sent into the future by Chronos
Chronos (comics)
Chronos is the name of several fictional characters of DC Comics, both supervillains who take their name from the Greek personification of Time and have the ability of time travel and can manipulate history.-David Clinton:...
. At that time he was a member of the future JLU alongside an aged Static and Batman II (Terry McGinnis).
It was revealed that Warhawk was the son of John Stewart and Hawkgirl
Hawkgirl
Hawkgirl is the name of several female fictional superhero characters, all owned by DC Comics and existing in that company's universe. The character is one of the first costumed female superheroes...
(Shayera Hol); at the time, Stewart was involved with Vixen
Vixen (comics)
Vixen is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics universe. She debuted in Action Comics #521 , and was created by Gerry Conway and Bob Oksner.-Publication history:...
, having broken up with Shayera since the traumatic events of "Starcrossed
Starcrossed (Justice League episode)
Starcrossed is the second-season finale of the Justice League animated series, composed of the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th episodes. It is notably the last episode to go under the Justice League title before the show's transition into Justice League Unlimited....
", despite the presence of latent tension between the two.
Cyclical causality erased memories of the team-up from the future JLUers, the future Bruce Wayne, as well as the present-day Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
(as she had faded from existence halfway through the story). Only Stewart and the current Batman retained knowledge of Warhawk's existence. Learning Warhawk's future existence made Green Lantern suffer indecision between the two women. John decided to keep this information a secret from Shayera, and Batman agreed.
In the episode "Ancient History", Green Lantern finally informs Shayera that she is to become the mother of his child. This information briefly gives Shayera an ecstatic feeling of hope. However, despite knowing that he still loves Shayera, he decides to stay with Vixen and "refuses to be destiny's puppet," preferring to let things work themselves out. After this, Shayera asks Batman to tell her of his time-traveling adventure he shared with Stewart, along with what he knows about her son.
Warhawk's second Justice League Unlimited appearance was in "Epilogue" set 65 years in the future (although the episode aired a season before "Ancient History"). He is still a member of the JLU, working alongside Terry McGinnis (Bruce Wayne's successor as Batman), Green Lantern (Kai-ro), and Aquagirl (Marina).
Fictional character biography
The creative team used for Warhawk's design Stewart's face from model sheets in the pre-production process of the Justice League animated series.However, unlike his mother's organic wings, Warhawk's are made of Nth Metal
Nth metal
Nth metal is a fictional metal in the .-Fictional history:It is native to Thanagar, the home planet of Katar Hol and Shayera Thal, the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman. Among the unusual properties of Nth metal is the ability to negate gravity, allowing a person wearing an object made of Nth...
. Producer Dwayne McDuffie
Dwayne McDuffie
Dwayne Glenn McDuffie was an American writer of comic books and television, known for creating the animated television series Static Shock, writing and producing the animated series Justice League Unlimited, and co-founding the pioneering minority-owned-and-operated comic-book company Milestone...
gives this explanation: "Shayera's wings are organic; like all modern-day Thanagarians she was born with them. ... Not explained on the show (but according to Bruce Timm) Thanagarians used to make their wings, only in the past several hundred years have they genetically engineered themselves to grow organic wings. ... For many generations now, Thanagarians [have been] born with natural wings. Warhawk (Rex Stewart, future son of Shayera Hol and John Stewart) was born without wings, this is as a result of his half-human heritage. Warhawk's wings are artificial. Shayera and a Thanagarian male would produce organically-winged offspring, like any other Thanagarian couple."
Bruce Timm
Bruce Timm
Bruce Walter Timm is an American character designer, animator and producer. He is also a writer and artist working in comics, and is known for his contributions building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, the DC animated universe.-Animation:Timm's early career in animation was varied; he...
has stated on the Justice League Season 2 commentary that Batman Beyond was deliberately ambiguous as to its existence, and that while he knows some fans are upset with him for not giving the John/Shayera romance a set-in-stone conclusion, "you can put two and two together and imagine what happens."
Dwayne McDuffie commented that "John and Shayera have the child, exactly as before. The time-traveling that has occurred is already part of the timeline that produces Warhawk as are the edicts to that timeline, including those we haven't yet seen on the show. The important thing to remember is that Warhawk isn't even 30 in Batman Beyond years [...] a few things are going to occur in that time period to change the current status quo. [Also], it's dramatically more interesting for Green Lantern to believe it's the actual future. If he believes it's only one possibility it doesn't carry any more weight than a particularly vivid dream."
Powers and abilities
Warhawk has powers similar to Golden EagleGolden Eagle (comics)
Golden Eagle is the name of two fictional characters published by DC Comics. The first Golden Eagle was introduced in Justice League of America #116 , and was created by Cary Bates and Dick Dillin. He joined Titans West in Teen Titans Golden Eagle is the name of two fictional characters...
which include enhanced strength, stamina, and speed. He wears a suit of armor which has razor-talons and the ability to cover him in protective liquid-metal plates, along with flight capabilities of artificial set of wings and thrusters.
Other versions
In Justice League of America (vol. 2) #25, the trickster god AnansiAnansi
Anansi the trickster is a spider, and is one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore.He is also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, and Anancy; and in the Southern United States he has evolved into Aunt Nancy. He is a spider, but often acts and appears as a man...
creates an alternate version of the DC Comics universe, with many altered heroes. One of these heroes is an alternate version of Hawk
Hank Hall
Hank Hall is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe who first appeared in Showcase #75 as Hawk of Hawk and Dove. He later became the supervillain Monarch in the crossover event limited series Armageddon 2001...
, who wears a red version of Warhawk's costume.