Warning: The following contains spoilers for Justice League #55 by Joshua Williamson, Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques, and Romulo Fajardo Jr., on sale now.
Hawkgirl, Kendra Saunders, is one of the fiercest warriors in the DCU. When the chips are down and it looks as though defeat is imminent, Hawkgirl could single-handedly change the course of a battle. Kendra is also a fiercely loyal friend, and for those who win her heart, lover. In Justice League #55, a crossover issue in the current Dark Nights: Death Metal event, Hawkgirl's love for a fellow Leaguer puts the entire team in mortal danger and threatens to ruin the League's plan to stop Perpetua.
During the end of the Dark Nights: Metal event, by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, and FCO Plascencia, Hawkgirl proved how fierce she is by teaming up with Wonder Woman and Doctor Fate and journeying to the Rock of Eternity where they were looking for Nth metal. The heroes were ambushed and Hawkgirl battled side-by-side with the Amazonian to hold back the forces of the Dark Multiverse. After this event, Kendra was recruited by the Justice League to become one of its core members where she and Martian Manhunter fell in love.
Now, Hawkgirl and the rest of the remaining Justice League, which includes Nightwing, Starfire, Cyborg, Detective Chimp, and Lex Luthor, are fighting their way across the Valley of Starro to locate Perpetua's Throne where they must free the Legion of Doom who are imprisoned by the Mother of the Multiverse and being used to power her mission to destroy the Multiverse.
After narrowly escaping a mental attack by Starro, the League quickly approaches Brimstone Bay where they will face a sort of final showdown. Luthor, who knows the lay of the land in this new world, leads the way and tells the others that their only chance of getting close enough to free the Legion of Doom is not by going in with guns blazing, but stealthily as "thieves in the night." But as the League approaches Brimstone Bay, Hawkgirl receives a psychic pulse from Martian Manhunter and knows that he's in danger. When Hawkgirl tells Luthor she is leaving to help J'onn, Luthor yells ar her that "the world has bigger concerns than you being in love." This earns Luthor a brutal punch in the face before Kendra flies away. Hawkgirl's emotional decision places the League directly in harm's way as the Omega Knight becomes aware of their presence and attacks them.
Kendra deciding to help J'onn may have ruined their plans to cut off Perpetua's energy source and defeat her. J'onn is being held captive by the Dark Mindhunter, a deranged combination of Batman and Martian Manhunter, who hopes to essentially hack into J'onn's mind in order to find out what Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman are doing in their campaign against Perpetua. More than just spying on the heroes, Dark Mindhunter may be able to use his powerful mind to turn the heroes against one another.
Hawkgirl's decision to go after J'onn wasn't an altruistic choice to help in their plans to defeat Perpetua. She selfishly put everyone, and the entire world, at risk by following her heart instead of her head. Time will tell if Hawkgirl's lapse of judgment was a fatal one for the League, or if she can recover from her error and save her teammates.