If you read enough posts on this site, you will figure out very quickly that: 1) I am a huge fan of animation and 2) a bigger fan of Warner Bros. Animation (now also known as DC Studios). From 1992 to 2006, the Bruce Timm led animated Justice League, Batman, Batman Beyond and Superman TV shows held my attention. These series were well written with great character development. It’s a credit to the terrific voice acting and writing that the characters developed relationships that made the audience care what happened next. One such relationship was Harleen Quinzel and Pamela Isley also known as Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. Another was Shayera Hol and John Stewart also known as Hawkgirl and Green Lantern.
The relationship between Hawkgirl and Green Lantern was unnecessarily complicated beyond all reason. When the Justice League series ended, many fans were unhappy with the relationship status of these two. Fans knew that Hawkgirl and Green Lantern had a child together because they saw the offspring in the Batman Beyond episode, “The Call” and in the Justice League episode, “The Once and Future Thing Part Two: Time, Warped.” So, in canon, it was established that Rex Stewart (Warhawk) was the son of Shayera Hol and John Stewart. What was upsetting to the fandom was that when Justice League ended, John Stewart was dating Mari McCabe (Vixen) and he’d made it clear to Shayera that he had no intention of resuming a relationship with her despite both knowing a child was in their future.
That is where the story ended – except that it didn’t. By chance, I recently found out that the story ended correctly – at least for this fan (even if there is question as to whether or not the story told is canon).
Some caveats – There are no spoilers here because the TV series went off the air 20 years ago and the comics referenced here were printed more than 10 years ago. Rex Stewart’s (Warhawk) story is in Chapters 7 & 8 of Justice League Beyond (available on Amazon Kindle for $0.99 per chapter). It’s an excellent read written by Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs and drawn by Eric Nguyen. It’s narrated by Rex Stewart who lives in the time of Batman Beyond. Jason Lavine’s website, Arousing Grammar, has an excellent take on this tale and I encourage you to check out his site.
So, here is my readers digest version of the tale as told by Warhawk (Rex Stewart):
Shayera Hol and John Stewart were part of the Justice League. They fought side by side as Hawkgirl and Green Lantern. Eventually, friendship grew into attraction and attraction grew into love.
But it turned out that Shayera Hol was a spy for a Thanagarian invasion of Earth. The League was betrayed and Stewart discovered that Shayera was engaged to the leader of the invasion.
Shayera learned that the invasion force would build a spatial bypass allowing the Thanagarian forces to invade the Gordanian home world (their enemy). When she realized the ultimate purpose of the invasion would end up destroying the Earth, she helped the League turn back the invasion saving the planet. However, both sides saw her as a traitor. So, she went into exile – but not before confessing her love for John Stewart to him.
When Shayera later returned to an expanded Justice League, she was considered an outsider. Meantime, Stewart had started a relationship with Mari McCabe (Vixen). While pursuing the villain Chronos, Stewart traveled to the future where he met his son, Rex. He came back from that mission and shared with Shayera that they were to be parents, but he also told her he was staying with Mari because he didn’t want fate controlling his life.
He was about to propose to Vixen in Paris, when she was murdered, in front of him, by the Shadow Thief. Shayera joined Stewart’s man-hunt for the Shadow Thief. Adam Strange of Rann joined their man-hunt as well. He explained that Thanagar lost its war with the Gordanians and its people were now refugees without a home world. Ultimately, the day came when Stewart found the Shadow Thief. He murdered him, killing him with a Nth metal bullet fired from a handgun (supposedly because the Green Lantern rings don’t allow its holder to kill).
The Guardians on OA summarily took Stewart’s Green Lantern ring away from him because he gave in to anger and revenge.
Shayera joined Stewart as he returned to Earth, no longer a Green Lantern, to bury Mari in her home village of Zambesi. He decided to stay there and Shayera decided to stay with him. 
Nine months later Rex was born. Rex learned the history of Thanagar and Earth from his parents. He developed a love of science and inherited his parents’ warrior spirit. On his 18th birthday, he went to Thanagar (with the help of Adam Strange) and became part of the resistance on the occupied world. The Thanagar resistance ultimately won because of Rex’ scientific knowledge of Nth metal and drove the Gordanians off the planet. At first, Rex was hailed as a hero until the Thanagarians found out he was a “half-breed” and the son of a traitor.
Rex reminded the Thanagarians that they fled their home world in fear and that he, the “half-breed” son of a traitor, got their planet back for them. He left Thanagar to return back to his family on Earth and ultimately to a world that would accept him for who he was. He was Warhawk, son of Shayera Hol and John Stewart, a member of the Justice League and a superhero.
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[A note: Some of my fandom friends may have told me years ago that this story existed. I’m an old man and I don’t remember any of those conversations. However, those conversations may have happened, but I’m easily distracted and – Look! Squirrel!!! ]
Okay, I really liked this story and I loved the closure it gives to the Green Lantern/ Hawkgirl tale. I was also surprised at how well this story was told. Ever since Gardner Fox created the Thanagarian iteration of the “Hawks” (man, woman, girl) in 1961, DC comics has not missed an opportunity to screw them over. This story doesn’t do that. As I said before, I don’t care whether it’s canon or not.
For me, it works out just fine.
