20 Lesser-Known Female Superheroes

Hawkgirl (Image via DC Comics)

15. Hawkgirl

Given that Hawkgirl has been around since her first appearance in Flash Comics #1 (January 1940), there is a lot to talk about. Thanks to over seventy years of appearances, her story is especially tangled. In fact, there have been multiple characters to take on the mantle of Hawkgirl.

In the early Golden Age, Hawkgirl was a regular human named Shiera. She is apparently the reincarnation of an Egyptian princess. Because she and her lover were killed by a knife forged from Nth metal (long story, really), they’re reincarnated over and over. In the 20th century, she teams up with the current incarnation of her lover, Carter Hall. Togther, they become Hawkman and Hawkgirl.

Things changed during the Silver Age of the 1950s. This time around, Hawkman are Hawkgirl are alien police officers from the planet Thanagar. This version of Hawkgirl is named Shayera Hol (pronounced just the same as Shiera Hall, wouldn’t you know it). The duo defeat a villain and decide to remain on Earth to study the humans’ policing techniques.

Since then, Hawkgirl has gone through many different iterations. She briefly went by Hawkwoman, which, alas, didn’t stick around too long. She’s changed bodies, helped and menaced other heroes, and died at least a couple more times.

During all these journeys, her powers typically remain the same. Thanks to a belt made of Nth metal, she can fly and heal faster than normal. Hawkgirl is a formidable fighter as well, especially when she’s carrying a spear or her more well-known mace. Depending on what version you’re reading, that useful/pesky Nth metal also lets her reincarnate multiple times.