Kendra Saunders (New Earth)

From DC Database

Hawkgirl

Gallery

Real Name

Kendra Saunders

Current Alias

Hawkgirl

Aliases

Chay-Ara; Sheila Carr; Lady Celia Penbrook, Kate Manser; Shiera Sanders

Identity

Secret

Affiliation

Justice League of America; formerly a member of the JSA, Birds of Prey

Relatives

Michael Saunders (father, deceased); Trina Saunders (mother, deceased); Cyril "Speed" Saunders (grandfather); Mia Saunders (daughter); Shiera Hall (Hawkgirl, great-aunt, deceased); Carter Hall (Hawkman, great-uncle); Hector Hall (Dr. Fate, 2nd cousin); Northwind (cousin through adoption); Hippolyta Hall (Fury, cousin through marriage); Sandman (Daniel Hall, 3rd cousin), Death, Destiny, Destruction, Delirium, Desire (3rd cousins)

Universe

New Earth

Base Of Operations

St. Roch, Louisiana, JLA Watchtower; formerly Manhattan, New York (as a member of the JSA)

Characteristics

Gender

Female

Height

5' 9"

Weight

135 lbs (54.43 kg)

Eyes

Green

Hair

Red

Unusual Features

No unusual features

Status

Citizenship

American

Marital Status

Single

Occupation

Adventurer, Film School Student, Temp Curator of the Stonechat Museum

Education

Unknown

Origin

Origin

Committed suicide and was reborn with the soul of her great aunt Shiera Sanders Hall and became the new hawkgirl

Place of Birth

Texas

Creators

James Robinson, David Goyer and Steve Sadowski

First appearance

JSA Secret Files and Origins #1

History

The current Hawkgirl is Kendra Saunders, a young woman who committed suicide. When Kendra's soul left her body, that of her grand-aunt, Shiera Hall, the Golden Age Hawkgirl, entered it. ^[1] Her grandfather, former OSS agent and globe-trotting adventurer Speed Saunders, recognized this change and encouraged his granddaughter to embrace her destiny as the "new" Hawkgirl.

Hawkgirl

Still believing herself to be Kendra, she debuted as a heroine using the original Hawkgirl's equipment and set out in search of a being called the Fate-Child (actually her own reincarnated son, Hector Hall). This led to a meeting with the Justice Society and Kendra's induction to that team. ^[2]

She currently has all of Kendra's memories, but almost none of Shiera's. This creates tension with Hawkman since he remembers all of their past lives together and believes they are destined for each other. Kendra has been presented as a very troubled young woman, haunted by the murder of her parents by a corrupt cop and confused by her jumble of memories and feelings. She has operated as Hawkman's partner but only recently began to actually admit her attraction to him. The truth about Kendra's identity was eventually revealed to her by the angel Zauriel.

She is one of the heroes Donna Troy recruited for a deep space mission to avert a coming crisis. A Zeta Beam transporter malfunction injured many of the superheroes in space, including Hawkgirl, causing her to grow over twenty feet tall. ^[3] Some time later, her proper stature restored, she is protecting St. Roch, Louisiana, in the absence of Hawkman. She has also taken over as curator of the Stonechat Museum. She is also a returning member of the new Justice League, having briefly served with the team when the original members were previously missing. A brewing relationship between Hawkgirl and Red Arrow has become one of the major subplots in the series.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Reincarnation: Additionally, the Nth metal knife which murdered Hawkgirl in her original incarnation as Chay-Ara had an unusual effect upon her soul and that of her lover Khufu (Hawkman). The pair are locked in a seemingly endless cycle of death and rebirth throughout the centuries. While not a superhuman power per se, this propensity for reincarnation has allowed Hawkgirl to cheat death and return to active duty in her current incarnation.

Abilities

Expert Combatant: expert at hand-to-hand combat, skilled in a number of martial arts techniques.

Strength level

Hawkgirl possesses the strength level of a woman her height and weight who engages in intensive regular exercise. Her strength is augmented due to the properties of her Nth Metal harness.

Weaknesses

Spontaneous Deja Vu: Hawkgirl occasionally experiences flashes of déjà vu from her past lives. These can often be disorienting, and can also prove distractive in the midst of battle.

Curse: every time she is born again she must wander the earth till she meets again with her eternal soul mate. But as soon as they form a deep bond, they are destined to be murdered again.

Paraphernalia

Equipment:
Artificial Feathered Wings: Flight through the use of Thanagarian Nth Metal wings; also direction controlled self-powered flight. Her wings allow her to control navigation and guidance during flight, though they can be "flapped" through use of shoulder motions.

Nth Metal Belt & Boots: Hawkgirl flies by way of an anti-gravity Belt & boots constructed from Thanagarian Nth Metal its abilities are controlled mentally.

Nth Metal Enhancements: Through exposure to the Nth Metal. The metal is psycho-reactive, responding to its bearer's thoughts and in it's base form has a number of electromagnetic/gravitational properties.

• Enhanced Strength

• Enhanced Durability

• Enhanced Reflexes

• Enhanced Vision: observing objects at great distances and at speeds faster than can be perceived by the normal eye. (she can count the flaps of a hummingbird's wings)

• Enhanced Minor Healing Factor: capable of mending all but the most serious of wounds.

• Temperature Regulation: exposure to the Nth Metal allows her to regulate her temperature to withstand cold temperatures.

• Flight: Flight. Hawkman has been able to fly at speeds of 200 MPH. Red Arrow once said that Hawkgirl is a lot faster than Hawkman in the air.

• Energy Disruption: It has been revealed in Justice League comics that Hawkgirl's Nth Metal can disrupt the very force drawn from the fabric of space/time. Kanjar Ro's sceptor generated this force but it could not affect Hawkgirl in hardly any way.
  

Transportation: Flight
Weapons:

• Hawkgirl's dart gun: Kendra employs a custom-made dart gun, developed by a reformed criminal known as the Mole.

• Archaic Weaponry: She specializes with a mace
  

Notes

• Due to her paternal relationship to Carter and Shiera Hall, Kendra can also claim the cosmic entities known as The Endless as part of her extended family.
  

Trivia

• Kendra is the first female "Hawk" character to to be featured in her own series. Following the events of Infinite Crisis, Hawkman (Volume 5) switched its title to Hawkgirl.
  
  

Essential Reading

• Hawkgirl #51-present
• Hawkman (Volume 5) #1-50
• JSA #1-87
• JSA Secret Files and Origins #1
  
  

Related Articles

• Cinnamon (Kate Manser)
• Hawkgirl (Shiera Sanders Hall)
• Hawkman (Carter Hall)
• JLA
• JSA
• Zauriel

See Also

• Discuss Kendra Saunders (New Earth) on the forums
• Appearances of Kendra Saunders (New Earth) (Chronological)
• Appearances of Kendra Saunders (New Earth) (Alphabetical)
• Character Gallery: Kendra Saunders (New Earth)
• Fan-Art Gallery: Kendra Saunders (New Earth)
• Quotations by Kendra Saunders (New Earth)

Recommended Reading

• None.

Links and References

• Hawkgirl at Wikipedia.org
  
• Hawkgirl article at Wikipedia
• Hawkgirl article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe
• Hawkgirl.net
• Hawkman F.A.Q.
  

Footnotes

[[Category:James Robinson, David Goyer and Steve Sadowski/Creator]]

Justice League of America member This character is or was a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from both interstellar and domestic threats. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice League of America members" category.