| TOMAHAWK (Tom Hawk) | BIOGRAPHY |
| Created by Joe Samachson and Edmund Good |
PERSONAL DATA
Real Name: Tom Hawk
Aliases: Name has also been given as Thomas Hawk, Tom Hawkins and Tom Haukins
Occupation: Frontiersman, guide; later freedom fighter, then tax collector and farmer
Citizenship: American
Marital Status: Common-law marriage
Known Relatives: Moon Fawn (common law wife); Hawk and Small Eagle (sons), Grey Elk (father-in-law), Wise Owl (uncle-in-law)
Base of Operation: North America circa 1770-1800, American Southwest circa 1820s
Group Affiliation(s): Tomahawk's Rangers
Gender: Male
Height: 6'1" (later 5'9")
Weight: 184 lbs. (later 150 lbs)
Eyes: Blue.
Hair: Blond (later grey)
First Appearance: Star Spangled Comics #69 (June 1947)
Creators: Joe Samachson and Edmund Good
OVERVIEW
A legendary hero of America's Revolutionary War.
HISTORY
Over the years, the deeds and heroics of the founders of the United States have been handed down, through first oral and written traditions, later over new media such as the dime novel, pulp magazines, comic books, radio, television and movies until the facts and legends mix and it is hard to tell the truth from the fictions. This is true with one of the first great American Heroes, Tomahawk.
Little of his life prior to the beginnings of the Tomahawk legends is known, but the man most commonly known as Tom Hawk (other spellings and pronunciations exist, as standardized spelling did not become common until later in the century into the 19th Century) grew up on the eastern seaboard of the colonies of North America. One recent account of his origins give him to be a young man near Boston, becoming pulled into the growing turmoil of American Independence, until finding himself lost and rescued by a tribe of Native Americans. He stayed with them, becoming proficient in the throwing axe called a tamahaac or tomahawk. Later throwing off his traditional Western mannerism and allegiances, becoming a voice and a go-between for the Native Americans and the European settlers, later as an agent for the newly born United States against the British in the War of Independence.
Another account has him beginning as early as 1770, without the metaphysical overtones of other accounts.
In any case, by the time that the colonies began their revolution against Britain, Tomahawk was well known to settlers and natives alike, treated with respect for his upholding of the common laws. He was aided by a young man named Dan Hunter. (Again, accounts and stories vary. Dan Hunter is often shown as a young adult or teen, but other accounts show him as a young man in his mid-twenties. The second has been revealed to be a time traveler from the late 20th Century, and his eventual fate has not been revealed, neither has the final fate of the younger Dan.) Dan and Tomahawk were aided from time to time by a large Irish Wolfhound named Tracker, who was left in the care of the Captain of Fort Courage.
After the beginning of the American Revolution, Tomahawk was given the task of heading a group of men that would encompass all areas of the Army and Navy, who would go on secret missions aiding and supplying troops. These men would be called The Rangers, and would come to be as legendary as Tomahawk in their own right.
After America had won her independence, Tomahawk and the Rangers aided settlers in moving out into the new American wilderness. The group disbanded after several years, and Tomahawk roamed the wilderness before tiring and returning to Gotham Town to take up a job collecting taxes for the government. Turning sour and inward, it took the young maiden Moon Fawn, seeking to fulfil a prophecy from the time-traveling Swamp Thing and an attack by Tom Haukins' enemy during the War, Lord Shilling, to bring him back to his senses.
Leaving civilization behind, Tomahawk joined with Moon Fawn and met with the time-lost Earth Elemental, before sending him on his way back through the timestream. In 1800, Hawk, Tomahawk's son was born and 12 years later, Small Eagle, his other son was born.
As Hawk grew to manhood, so did America. As settlers moved westward, Tomahawk and his family moved ahead of them. Helping his son find his place in the "White Man's" world as well as his Native American heritage, an elderly Tomahawk proved to be more than a match for those who would cross the law even into the early 1820s.
Tomahawk's ultimate fate is unknown, but he lives on as an American Legend.
POWERS AND WEAPONS
Tomahawk is well versed in American Indian languages and customs from many tribes. He is an excellent hand-to-hand fighter, and well versed in the weapons of the era, especially in the use of the tomahawk. He has a keen deductive ability and is an excellent horseman.
CHRONOLOGY
For a definitive list of appearances of Tomahawk in chronological order click here
PROFILE REFERENCES
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #24 (February 1987)