DC Comics has released art teasing the upcoming Hawkman: Found #1, a one-shot about the long-missing Carter Hall returning to the land of the living… or something like it. The one-shot ties in with Batman: Lost #1, which sees Bruce Wayne trapped in the Dark Multiverse after being tricked by the bat-demon Barbatos into releasing a horde of evil Batmen in Dark Nights: Metal. It looks like Hawkman: Found will also place the newly-rejuvenated Carter in that same dark dimension.
The preview art starts with Hawkman in mid-flight, only to be struck down by an unseen force. He falls from the sky, only it’s not a body that lands. Instead, there are only bones left, mingling with Hawkman’s Nth metal armor. It’s important to note at this point that metal has played a key role in transporting Batman to the Dark Multiverse.
In the next page, a man, perhaps Carter, wakes and immediately sets about making weapons, a spear and a crude mace – nothing more than a rock attached to a stick.
The man then makes his way down a long cave. In the first panel, it looks like he’s observing some writing on the wall. Perhaps this is his own writing (there’s no indication how long he’s been in this world) or the writing of the local inhabitants. Speaking of the local inhabitants…
The final two-page spread shows the man emerging from the cave and into a full-blown battle. Men in armor appear to be fighting a war against actual hawk people -- hawkmen that come streaming out of an otherworldly ship floating in the sky. The man, whoever he is, seemingly isn’t afraid. He prepares to do battle, readying his spear and mace for the terror that some screeching down at him.
The preview art is seemingly connected to Batman: Lost by the final panel, which shows the two armies going toe-to-toe with each other. One of the preview for Batman: Lost shows two armies warring, though different in appearance.
The armies in Batman: Lost look as though one side is adorned in armor similar to Batman’s, while the other side wears armor similar to Hawkman’s. Whether all of these factions are different and operate in the Dark Multiverse independently, or are somehow the manifestations of the Dark Multiverse’s victims – would Bruce Wayne see something different from Carter Hall if the Dark Multiverse feeds on fear? – is yet to be answered. Considering the cover art for Hawkman: Found shows Batman and Hawkman in a fight, it’s reasonable to assume the two will at least meet in the Dark Multiverse.
Available for purchase at comic book stores on Dec. 27, Hawkman: Found is written by Jeff Lemire, with art by Bryan Hitch and Kevin Nowlan.