Superman’s Isabela Merced Opened Up About Hawkgirl’s DCU Backstory, And It Has Me Hopeful The Franchise Is Setting Up Another Superhero

In addition to David Corenswet playing the title protagonist in James Gunn’s Superman, this 2025 movie release will also feature the superheroes Mr. Terrific, Guy Gardner, Metamorpho and Hawkgirl. The latter heroine is being brought to life by Isabela Merced, who has prior superhero movie experience from Madame Web. Anyone who’s done deep reading on Hawkgirl knows she has various convoluted backstories. Fortunately, Merced has cleared up what’s going on with her version of the character in the upcoming DC movie, and it leaves me hopeful that this will in turn set the stage for the DCU to introduce another specific superhero at a later date.

The DCU’s Hawkgirl Will Mix Her Reincarnation And Alien Origins

It would take way too long to delve into the specifics of the numerous ways Hawkgirl/Hawkwoman have been depicted over the decades, but to summarize, three women have held the mantle: Shiera Sanders Hall, Shayera Hol and Kendra Saunders. Sometimes the character is the reincarnated form of a princess from ancient Egypt, sometimes she’s a police officer from the planet Thanagar, and there have even been instances where both origins have been melded together. The DCU opted to go with that third approach, with Isabel Merced informing the DC Studios Showcase Official Podcast:

Although Superman marks Hawkgirl’s theatrical debut, she’s certainly no stranger to being adapted outside of the comics. The two most notable versions that come to mind include Maria Canals-Barrera’s from the DCAU (where she was one of the founding members of the Justice League) and Ciara Renée’s from the Arrowverse. The former went the Thanagarian route and the latter the reincarnation route, so I’m definitely eager to see how Isabela Merced’s turned out. The actress continued:

I doubt we’ll go too deep into Hawkgirl’s background in Superman given that she’s a supporting character and there’s already enough packed into that movie. Having said that, now that these details have been revealed, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if a certain other hawk-themed DC Comics character will be introduced at some point.

This Likely Means We’ll Meet Hawkman In The DCU Someday

Like Hawkgirl, Hawkman and convolution go hand-in-hand. There are even more characters who’ve used that identity in the comics, though the two most well-known are Carter Hall and Katar Hol. The former is the latest reincarnated form of Prince Khufu, and the latter is also a Thanagarian police officer. Aldis Hodge played the Carter version in the Black Adam movie, and Michael Shanks and Falk Hentschel respectively played him in Smallville and the Arrowverse.

I could see a world where if Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl was strictly a Thanagarian, the DC Universe might not feel inclined to introduce Hawkman. But if James Gunn, who’s also co-running DC Studios, felt the need to also incorporate her reincarnation backstory, that surely means that she and Carter/Katar have that millennia-spanning romantic history with each other. So while not a guarantee by any means just yet, I’m hoping that Hawkman and Hawkgirl will come together in the DCU someday, even if they’re not the leads of the story where this happens.

For now, what we can count on is seeing Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl fly into action when Superman comes out on July 11. Then she’ll reprise the role in Peacemaker Season 2, which premieres on August 21 to Max subscription-holders.