Hawkman gets an Adjective.

Fred Savage

When I hear the word "savage," I think of the song "Savages" from Disney's Pocahontas movie...and that little tyke from The Wonder Years, Fred Savage.  Now I can add DC Comics' new Savage Hawkman comic series to the mix.  

Curiously, Hawkman's series is the only one in the "New 52" in which DC has decided to include an adjective preceding the character's name.  How strange is that?  Marvel does it with a multitude of their comics:  Uncanny X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, Mighty Thor, Incredible Hulk, Invincible Iron Man, Amazing Spider-Man, Savage She-Hulk, Sensational She-Hulk (okay, that one is just dating myself now), etc.  But DC just has...one.  Only one superhero earned an adjective in the "New 52." 

I must admit that I'm kind of fond of the use of adjectives.  It gives the title a little flair and could also potentially distinguish it from other previous volumes (see aforementioned She-Hulk titles). 

Hawkman by Alex Ross

I've never been a particular big fan of reading Hawkman's adventures.  I really like him as a character (probably for his revealing costume -- hello, bulky hairy chest!), but I never read his adventures and thought, "Wow!  Hawkman's awesome!"  or "I wanna be Hawkman for Halloween!"  But the latter is probably because of the revealing costume, too.  And the lack -- on my part -- of a massive chest.

I read the first issue of The Savage Hawkman and thought it was just okay.  I'll continue reading it to see if it leads somewhere good, but it has yet to really sink its claws into me. (Get it -- claws?  A hawk has claws?  Never mind.)

Savage Hawkman #1

Since Carter Hall (Hawkman's alternate identity) is an archaeologist (even in the new DCU), let's hope we get some sort of Indiana Jones-type adventure in the series.  I'd love to see his personal, professional, and costumed lives expand to make him a more well-rounded character.  And so DC doesn't cancel the series due to low sales.  Let's face it: Hawkman doesn't have a very good track record for longevity in his own series, even when paired up with The Atom.  And how random was that?