WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Batman/Superman #4 by Joshua Williamson, David Marquez, Alejandro Sanchez and John J. Hill and Hawkman #18 by Robert Venditti, Patrick Olliffe, Tom Palmer and Jeremiah Skipper, on sale now.

The six infected DC heroes have been fully revealed by the Batman Who Laughs, along with his machinations to make the core DC Universe just as twisted as the dark multiverse. Yet, while it was largely darkness that already existed in the heroes that was targeted for corruption, the corruption of Hawkman into Sky-Tyrant has a deeper connection to the greater DC multiverse.

The Infected Hawkman was tiwsted partly by his newly restored memories of his time on one of the darkest Earths in the DC Multiverse: Earth-3.

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THE SKY-TYRANT

The six heroes infected by the Batman Who Laughs finally make their move in Batman/Superman #4. While the Scarab corrupts the computers within the Fortress of Solitude, his new allies -- Sky-Tyrant, Deathbringer, and the Commissioner, aka Hawkman, Donna Troy and James Gordon -- attack the remaining heroes. While fighting Batman and Superman, the corrupted Hawkman and Donna Troy try to use their memories and emotional connections with the two heroes to distract them and bring them down physically. Hawkman attacks Batman, playing up his inherent dislike for the Dark Knight.

During their short battle, the warped Carter Hall reveals that exposure to the Joker toxin brought back more of his memories of his previous lives across the DC multiverse. This includes a period where he was living on Earth-3, which he favorably compares to this world because Owlman was alive there.

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THE HORRORS OF EARTH-3

Earth-3 is a ruthless version of the DC Universe. Just the memory of living there would be enough to make anyone darker, explaining a lot of the brutality that the new Sky-Tyrant brings to the fight. The moralities of people on Earth-3 are turned inside out, which means crime and pain are citizens' core motivators instead of kindness and love.

This corrupted world is controlled by the Crime Syndicate, a twisted version of the Justice League that rules with an iron fist. The Crime Syndicate eventually fought the core heroes and villains of the DC Universe during Forever Evil and were largely wiped out over the course of multiple events. Among their number was indeed a version of Carter Hall, although he didn't appear until recently.

This version of Carter Hall was also known as Sky-Tyrant. However, he eventually died in battle against the Justice Society of All-Stars. .He lived briefly again in his own timeline, before being murdered and having his powers stolen by the Alexander Luthor of his world.

Hawkman #18 reveals that the core Carter Hall persona still exists within Sky-Tyrant. Carter initially tries to control the villain within him from attacking civilians. But the persona from Earth-3 is helping fuel Sky-Tyrant's attempted massacres. All those new memories might mean that, even if the Infection is removed down the line, Hawkman will have to contend with the darkest version of himself remaining in his psyche and memories -- something that could deeply impact him down the line.

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