Narratively, Hawkman (Falk Hentschel) and Hawkgirl (Ciara Renee) left DC’s Legends of Tomorrow after season 1 because their stories, which were inextricably tied to the villainous Vandal Savage (Casper Crump), had ended. When it launched in 2015, Legends of Tomorrow was a vastly different show to the endearingly strange, madcap adventure-comedy it is today. Many fans now consider Legends of Tomorrow the Arrowverse’s best show, which was praise that eluded the superhero time travel series when the Hawks were part of it.

Renee’s character, Kendra Saunders, debuted in The Flash season 1 and was seemingly a love interest of Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) when Hentschel’s Carter Hall arrived in Central City looking for her. In The Flash and Arrow‘s two-part crossover “Legends of Yesterday/Legends of Today,” Hall revealed that he and Kendra are the reincarnated Khufu and Chay-Ara from Ancient Egypt. Both are destined to be murdered by Vandal Savage repeatedly (he’d already killed them 206 times) and reincarnated, always reuniting in each new life. This was the set up for Legends of Tomorrow season 1 when Carter and Kendra, a.k.a. Hawkman and Hawkgirl, were among the original group of misfit heroes and villains assembled by Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) to stop Vandal Savage from conquering the timeline. But by the end of Legends of Tomorrow season 1, Hawkman was killed by Savage again. After the Legends beat Vandal for good, Hawkgirl left the team. Carter, reincarnated in the future, then time-traveled to 2016 to be with his eternal love Kendra.

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Legends of Tomorrow parted ways with Hawkman and Hawkgirl since their story had run its course. The producers were aware that the series hadn’t found its audience in season 1 and changes needed to be made to the format in order to grab viewers’ attention. Along with the Hawks, Wentworth Miller’s Leonard Snart was also killed off of Legends. The series then gradually added new characters and moved in a more comedic, madcap direction starting with Legends of Tomorrow season 2, which eventually morphed into the anything-goes shenanigans that sets Legends apart from the rest of the Arrowverse. As Ciara Renee told EW following the Legends season 1 finale, her exit, along with Falk Hentschel’s, “had been something that was in talks for a little while toward the end of filming… Honestly, I was like, “Oh, I get it, it makes sense. We wrapped up the story. Totally cool.” 

For Renee, starring in Legends of Tomorrow was a challenge because she had just started her own production company and that work had to be placed on hold in order to fulfill her responsibilities as a series regular on The CW series. The actress wasn’t heartbroken to leave the Arrowverse since it allowed her to resume her personal writing, producing, and directing projects. Both Renee and Hentschel indicated that they are open to returning to the Arrowverse, but the series they once starred in has moved on into an entirely different (and better) direction.

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Hawkman and Hawkgirl are still remembered on Legends of Tomorrow, although not always fondly. Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell), who is one of the last two remaining season 1 Legends along with Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), once called them “Those stupid Hawk people.” Before both Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh) and Nora Darhk (Courtney Ford) departed from Legends of Tomorrow in season 5, the Atom avoided the awkward subject of Kendra Saunders in front of his Fairy Godmother wife since, in a different 1950s timeline, he and Kendra were once a couple who lived together. However, executive producer Phil Klemmer told ComicBook.com that the Hawks are a subject of regular discussion in Legends of Tomorrow‘s writers’ room.

Ironically, Casper Crump reprised his role as Vandal Savage in Legends of Tomorrow‘s season 4 finale, where the reformed villain was happily living in Hell. And soon, a new version of Hawkgirl will appear on the big screen in Black Adam starring Dwayne Johnson. But while their return to the Arrowverse is in doubt, both Hentschel and Renee have unofficially reprised their roles as Hawkman and Hawkgirl in a short film they shot during Coronavirus quarantine. The short, titled “Cooped Up,” is Carter Hall struggling to cope with Kendra leaving him and it was made to raise money for charity. So while they wait for Legends of Tomorrowto come calling, at least Hawkman and Hawkgirl are still flying in fan fiction.

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About The Author


John Orquiola
(2236 Articles Published)

John Orquiola is a Features staff writer and interviewer who has been with Screen Rant for five years. He began as a director’s assistant on various independent films. As a lover of film and film theory, John wrote humorous movie reviews on his blog, Back of the Head, which got him noticed by Screen Rant. John happily became the Star Trek guy at Screen Rant and he leads Feature coverage of the various Star Trek series, but he also writes about a wide range of subjects from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Cobra Kai. His other great nerdy love is British TV series like The Crown, Downton Abbey, and Killing Eve. John can be found on Twitter @BackoftheHead if you want to see photos of the food he eats.

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