Are Green Lantern & Hawkgirl Together? Relationship Explained
DC Universe includes various media and different timelines where we see versions of characters being put in different situations. DC Animated Universe is one of them and enjoyed massive success among the public, citing great projects that became part of the popular culture. Of course, this meant the difference between the canon of the DC Universe, including some romantic relationships between notable superheroes. Green Lantern and Hawkgirl are one of the aforementioned romantic couples who got their ‘spotlight’ within the DCAU. So are Green Lantern and Hawkgirl together?
Green Lantern (John Stewart) and Hawkgirl (Shayera Hol) have a son in the DC Animated Universe, a superhero named Rex Stewart, known as Warhawk, and they are together. Their romantic relationship is canon in the ‘Justice League’ and ‘Justice League Unlimited’ series. After the initial break up, John and Shayera eventually came back together after John’s former girlfriend, Vixen, was killed by Shadow Thief – revealed after the ‘Justice League Unlimited’ finale in a digital comic book ‘Justice League Beyond.’
‘Justice League Unlimited’ was an enjoyable animated series in DCAU that connected some older notable shows, like Batman Beyond. Green Lantern and Hawkgirl’s story is really interesting within that universe, so let’s discuss it in more detail.
Do Hawkgirl and Green Lantern get together?
John Stewart was the first black superhero in DC Comics and the third Green Lantern in line who first appeared in December of 1971 and January 1972. After Alan Scott and quite popular Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern Corps started expanding, and John Stewart became one of the most popular superheroes in the 1990s and 2000s.
On the other hand, Hawkgirl first appeared in 1940 and was one of the founding members of the notable Justice League of America. The first Hawkgirl who carried the mantle of the notable superhero was Shiera Sanders Hall, who was the reincarnated version of the Egyptian Princess Chay-Ara.
Hawkgirl resulted from the ancient romance between the esteemed Princess and her husband Khufu, whose love and destiny have transcended centuries. There is no Hawkgirl without Hawkman, who also appeared in DC Comics in 1940 with the civilian identity Carter Hall.
The original curse was bestowed on the ancient couple by their common enemy, Hath-Set, who made sure they died and were reborn repeatedly every time they met and fell in love with each other.
Hawkgirl and Hawkman are basically soulmates, and even their more modern versions are seen to be together. After Shiera Sounders Hall, Shayera Hol was the second Hawkgirl and the first Hawkwoman in DC Comics. Her “soulmate” was Katar Hol, the second Hawkman, and both of them first appeared in the Silver Age of Comics.
However, their romance wasn’t always ‘endgame,’ at least in the alternate universes within the DCU. In DC Animated Universe, many superheroes have different partners from the main DCU continuity, and the same happened to Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. Their romance starts in the ‘Justice League’ animated series, where John Stewart is one of the founding members of the Justice League team.
After facing false allegations of destroying an inhabited planet and ultimately proving innocence, John Stewart gets close to Shayera Hol, who has her own emotional traumas to deal with, and the couple ends up together.
The couple constantly bickered initially, but their feelings for each other were stronger. However, their romance is short-lived. After Thanagarians shot down the Gordanian vessel over Washington D.C., Hawkgirl’s mission on Earth was complete.
She was eventually outed as the spy and revealed that she was engaged to the Thanagarian commander, Hro Talak. John was devastated since he proved his love before by sacrificing himself to save Hawkgirl.
Hawkgirl distanced herself from the Justice League members, citing her loyalty to Thanagar and her duties as a soldier. But things get even more complicated than that.
Who did Hawkgirl end up with?
After Hawkgirl decides to stay loyal to Thanagarians, her blind fate for her homeworld and people leads her to hurt her former teammates and lover. However, after a revelation that Thanagarians are using Earth for their own goal by destroying it, Shayera turns her back on Thanagarians and proceeds to expose Hro Talak and his mission.
Everyone but John turned their backs on Shayera, which led to her giving him back the power ring and facing the Hro Talak and his allies alone. She is captured by Kragger, Hro Talak’s right-hand man, and after proving she loves John, the rest of the Justice League helps her defeat her former fiancé.
This marks the end of the Hawkgirl in Justice League because her actions led to other members not trusting her. After seeing the results of her actions, with a heavy heart, Hawkgirl decides to depart the team and move on with her life. John and Shayera have an emotional goodbye when the superheroine tells Green Lantern that she loves him. While leaving, John says ‘I love you’ back.
That’s not the end. In the next series, ‘Justice League Unlimited,’ Hawkgirl finds her solace with Doctor Fate and his wife, Inza. Months after departing the Justice League, Hawkgirl is “forced” to help her former teammates after Solomon Grundy is resurrected by dark chaos magic. Only her mace made from Nth metal can stop the undead, and she tearfully kills her former friend to finally have peace in the afterlife.
After John and the rest of the Justice League members reveal to Hawkgirl that she was never officially dismissed from the team, Shayera is eventually back as a member of the superhero group.
She abandons her Hawkgirl mantle and insists on the new superhero name, Shayera. Her fresh start didn’t bring her John Stewart, who was in a romantic relationship with Vixen, his Justice League teammate.
Surprisingly, Shayera and Vixen bond over their love for John, who is confused by their strange friendship. Vixen even admits that she knows John still loves Shayera but wants to see what will happen to them first.
Another shock for John arrives when Vixen is murdered by Shadow Thief, a dark side of Joseph Gardner (Carter Hall), which was split after the influence of the Thanagarian computer, Absorbacron.
After Carter Hall’s efforts to persuade Shayera to ‘fulfill their destiny,’ the Shadow Thief kidnaps John Stewart. During the extraction, it was revealed that Princess Chay-Ara, the predecessor of Shayera Hol, fell out of love with Katar Hol (predecessor of Carter Hol) and instead fell in love with Egyptian General Bashari – the predecessor of John Stewart.
They don’t end up together at the end of the ‘Justice League Unlimited’, but the digital comic book released after the end of the show titled ‘Justice League Beyond,’ reveals more details about Hawkgirl and Green Lantern’s love.
Who is Hawkgirl and Green Lantern’s son?
After Shadow Thief is defeated, John Stewart reveals to Hawkgirl that he met their son from the future, Rex Stewart, known as the superhero Warhawk. In season one of ‘Justice League Unlimited,’ the two-part episode, ‘The Once and Future Thing’ sees the alternate future members of Justice League Unlimited rescuing the modern-day Justice League, including John Stewart.
Warhawk was among the surviving members of JLU and introduced himself as the son of John Stewart and Shayera Hol. Of course, John is shocked and doesn’t say anything to Hawkgirl until the end of the ‘Justice League Unlimited’ animated series. After defeating Shadow Thief, John tells Shayera of their son Warhawk from the alternate future, and despite her hopes of being together again, Green Lantern dismisses his former lover, saying he won’t be the slave of his destiny.
The digital comic released after the end of the series, ‘Justice League Beyond,’ continues ‘JLU’ and clears out the endgame for John Stewart and Shayera Hol.
In the comic, Green Lantern and Vixen are still going strong. However, their relationship ends after Shadow Thief returns and kills Vixen. Shayera vows to help John avenge their teammate and lover, which leads to Green Lantern breaking his oath by shooting Shadow Thief and ultimately killing him.
John and Shayera bury Vixen in her village, Zambesi, and knowing that he will never be Green Lantern again, John decides to stay in Africa permanently. Shayera stays as well and, after some time, rekindles their romance and eventually has a son, Rex.
Rex Stewart eventually becomes a Warhawk and grows up learning about his Earth and Thanagarian roots. With the help of his mother, Warhawk learns how to master Nth metal and technology, becoming a superhero and the eventual member of Justice League Unlimited, as is seen in the notable Batman Beyond animated series.
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