Hawk (G.I. Joe)
| The name or term "Hawk" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Hawk (disambiguation). |
| This article is about the good Clay. For the vice president from the mirror-universe United States, see Clay. |
- Hawk is a member of G.I. Joe from the G.I. Joe portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
A veteran artillery officer with a lengthy combat record, General Clayton M. "Clay" Abernathy, codename Hawk, leads G.I. Joe, a United States military taskforce dedicated to stopping the terrorist organization Cobra.
He's the one in the bomber jacket, Duke is the one with the buttoned-down work shirt.
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
G.I. Joe and the Transformers
Hawk escorted four United States government officials onto Fort Lewis to get a look at Power Station Alpha while flirting with Senator Larkin. When the fort was attacked by Dreadnoks, Hawk saw to Senator Larkin's safety while the G.I. Joes defended the fort. The Dreadnoks were not prepared for residence from G.I. Joe, so Buzzer took one of the government officials hostage. After that crisis settled down, a giant yellow robot revealed himself while saving the life of Tony Duranti. Hawk ordered the Joes to open fire, just to be on the safe side in case the robot was there to sabotage the power station. Bumblebee was blasted to pieces. Superion then arrived looking for his ally. Blood on the Tracks
After a battle ensued between the Joe team and Superion, Hawk rushed out to personally see to the defense of Power Station Alpha and was just as confused as everyone else when the massive Autobot suddenly retreated. After tasking the other Joes with analyzing the recovered remains of Bumblebee, Hawk left for a "private audience" with Senator Larkin. However, the sudden theft of the station—first by the Decepticons and then by Cobra—interrupted their planned activities, as Hawk was once again called into battle. He gave the order for a team of Joe pilots to intercept the station and attempted to coordinate their efforts from the ground, during which he wound up in an argument with Larkin over whether or not the Alpha should be recovered or destroyed. Power Struggle
Hawk was called to the Pentagon for an emergency meeting. He hoped to see Senator Larkin while in town, but in the meeting he was presented with evidence that she was aware that from the very beginning—the design of the power station was known to have been severely defective in terms of safety and security. Also, Senator Larkin has been meeting with the Baroness. Hawk paid a different kind of visit to Senator Larkin in order to confront her with the information, and made her cry. He went back to his room to kick off his boots, light a cigarette, pour himself a drink, and just be alone with his thoughts, but the telephone rang. He was told the truth about Bumblebee and ordered a full force sent to the Ark (the location of the Ark was revealed by G.B. Blackrock) to be ready to attack on his command. That attack force intercepted communications between Cobra and the Autobots indicating they were working together to save the world from destruction at the hands of the Decepticons. Ashes, Ashes...
The command force made the independent decision to help Cobra and the Autobots while Hawk took a walk through Washington, D.C. to think things over. When he finally arrived back at the Pentagon, he was briefed on the situation. Over the phone he negotiated with Serpentor and Blaster on the next course of action. It was agreed they would take steps to destroy Power Station Alpha, but only as a last resort, because Blaster thought the power station may have gained sentience after the Decepticons modified it. A small team consisting of Scarlett and the Baroness (and Goldbug) would infiltrate Power Station Alpha to set up explosives while a full scale assault on the Decepticons' base in the Florida Keys would serve as a diversion. All went well, except that the Baroness blew up Power Station Alpha the first chance she got, since Serpentor wasn't interested in any sentience the power station may have possessed.
Senator Larkin was arrested, but gunned down by a Cobra sniper in front of Hawk, on the orders of the Baroness. Hawk visited her grave with a rose, regretful at the way things turned out, but realizing that he still loved her. ...All Fall Down!
G.I. Joe starring Snake-Eyes and Transformers: Generation 2
Years later, the Baroness had defected and Hawk had no problems working with her! In addition to investigating Cobra Island, Realignments Hawk oversaw the Joes mission to bust the Cobra front of Milleville. Discovering in the process that Cobra was dealing with Megatron, he had a deep-space communication sent to Cybertron requesting Autobot help Goin' South, then started the raid. Sucker Punch
When Cobra attempted to escape with Cybertronian technology, Hawk had the Joes back up the damaged Autobot Hot Spot in stopping them and was distraught to see Hot Spot kill himself to complete his mission. All or Nothing!
Marvel Generation 2 comic
A few short weeks after that, the Decepticons attack Earth in full force and Hawk got to lead the US' counter-offensive in Washington, DC. It went poorly. And he was not happy to find out that Optimus Prime had come alone instead of turning up with an army. Hawk went on an expositionary rant, explaining to Optimus just how badly they were getting beaten up. Skydive, who'd promised Autobot reinforcements, tried to claim that Optimus must have a plan to change things. (The plan was "talk to Megatron" and didn't work) The Gathering Darkness
Transformers/G.I. Joe
Hawk was a general in the US army who organized the creation of G.I. Joe in 1939. The Line During the attack on Cobra's base on the Fera Islands, he waited for G.I. Joe to take out the shore defenses before sending in the fleet. Wolves
G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers continuity
As a little boy, Clay Abernathy played with small toy soldiers and a slightly larger toy robot, and came to the conclusion that the big robot would win in a fight. The Art of War #3
The youngest army cadet to graduate from West Point Military Academy, Col. Abernathy was in charge of military security for what he assumed would be a typical peace summit, however when Cobra attacked the summit, he called Code Red and proceeded to evacuate civilians. In the aftermath of the attack, General Flagg appointed Hawk the leader of the newly formed task force G.I. Joe. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #1 Despite protests from the bureaucrats, he recruited his comrade Snake-Eyes to the group. Later he was present for Mercer revealing to the team the truth about the nature of the robot attackers. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #2
After the Autobots saved the team during Cobra's attack on the SPS Research Facility, Hawk was initially suspicious of the robots' trustworthiness, but gave Wheeljack a chance to access G.I. Joe's computers. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #3 Thanks to Wheeljack's hacking, the Joes were able to trace their enemy back to Cobra Island. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #3 While preparing to attack the island, Hawk was approached by generals Renegar and Horn, who told him that they were resorting to nukes instead. Hawk regretfully incapacitated his Autobot allies with a magnetic pulse and prepared to send them to Area 51, but Wheeljack warned him that a nuclear strike on Cobra's energon stockpile would place the entire world in danger. Ultimately, Hawk broke the generals' orders and led his troops to the island. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4
After his squad took out Devastator and most of Cobra's minor troops, Hawk learned that the President had ordered a nuclear assault despite G.I. Joe's presence on the island. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #5 With Hawk's authority overrided, it was up to the Autobots to stop the approaching warheads, which they did. The battle was won, and Optimus Prime later thanked Hawk for his people's help in defeating the Decepticons and constructing a new Ark. Hawk told him not to sweat it, since the technology the Autobots had given them in exchange would come in real handy. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #6
Some two years later, the exchange of technology was judged to have been a bad idea, and G.I. Joe's giant mech suits were to be decommissioned, Hawk's included. While Hawk was greeting the Autobots sent to Area 52 to oversee the process, the complex suddenly came under attack from Cobra's Battle Android Troopers, and the Joes had to fight back. The Art of War #1 After they won, they found that Cobra Commander had infiltrated the lowest portions of Area 52, that were so top-secret that even Hawk didn't know they existed. The team interrogated Cobra Commander, who explained that the US government had used Decepticon technology to create Serpent O.R., a powerful and dangerous bio-organic robot. As Serpent O.R. suddenly attacked the team, Hawk tried to prevent Cobra Commander from escaping in the chaos, but the commander's Buzz Boar drilled straight through his mech's leg. The Art of War #2
As the Autobots were preparing to follow Serpent O.R. after the android had warped to Cybertron, Hawk convinced Perceptor to let him and his troops come with them. Upon arrival at the alien planet, the team came under attack by cannibalizers, and Hawk threw around orders on how to fight them, annoying Grimlock in the process. After retreating from the cannibalizers, the Joes and Autobots found Serpent O.R. and his new Decepticon friends, who promptly killed Bumblebee. An enraged Hawk tried to avenge him, but was quickly subdued by Serpent O.R.'s tentacles and imprisoned. The Art of War #3 Serpent O.R. later visited Hawk and Roadblock in their cell to ask Hawk why he didn't feel anything when he killed Bumblebee. Hawk responded that Serpent O.R. had no feelings because he had nothing to fight for — since he was created to conquer, he was nothing but a glorified gun like his "father". The android almost killed him in anger, but quickly calmed down, thanked him for his input and promised him a merciful death in the future. Thankfully, Hawk and Roadblock were broken out shortly afterwards by Snake-Eyes and Scarlett. The Art of War #4
During their escape, Hawk was assaulted by Overkill, who bragged that Serpent O.R. had already captured Optimus Prime. While Snake-Eyes saved him from the dinosaur, Hawk knew that they couldn't escape without saving Prime. Making their way to Serpent O.R.'s control room, they found that their enemy had stolen the Matrix of Leadership and transformed into "Serpentor Prime", only to have control of his body taken from him by Cobra Commander. As the commander effortlessly took out most of the team, Hawk's only hope was that the Matrix would think of him as a more worthy wielder, and convinced Optimus Prime to throw him at Serpentor's opened chestplate. Upon touching the Matrix, Hawk saw the pure beauty of the universe and fell unconscious, while the power feedback destroyed Serpentor Prime and fried Cobra Commander's brain. When he woke up, Hawk possessed all the knowledge of the Matrix, and Optimus Prime believed he would use it to lead humanity into a new golden age. The Art of War #5
Despite his newfound wisdom, Hawk's life went decidedly downhill after that point. He left G.I. Joe after the government covered up the Serpent O.R. affair and refused to tell its citizens the truth, started having Matrix-induced nightmares about the end of the world, and pushed his girlfriend away to keep her from getting involved. In secret, Hawk and Firewall also worked with a team of Autobots working to rid Earth of Cybertronian technology. While overseeing a mission, the team overheard an ominous transmission exclaiming "I return...", and Hawk felt it was somehow connected to his dreams. He contacted Optimus Prime and Flint, and the three tracked the signal's source to Tibet. Shortly after arriving in the Himalayas, the team was attacked by Bludgeon and soldiers from Cobra-La, but managed to get away when Hawk incapacitated Bludgeon by uploading 11 million traditional Cybertronian songs into the Pretender's head. Fleeing into Cobra-La's cavern system, the team found wall paintings describing the past, and Hawk finally understood what the Matrix was trying to tell him: Unicron was coming to Earth. Black Horizon, Part 1
Aided by former Cobra-La prisoner Joe Colton, Hawk and the others made their way through the caves and found the metal-eating spores that Cobra-La had once used to threaten Unicron. While Flint and Cosmos went into space to kill Unicron with the spores, Hawk, Colton and Optimus Prime left to save the kidnapped Firewall from Cobra-La. Interrupting a Cobra-La gathering, Hawk socked Golobulus in the face and rescued Firewall, and was soon aided by G.I. Joe reinforcements. Together they defeated the denizens of Cobra-La, and Hawk's nightmares came to an end as Flint killed Unicron. With everything over, Hawk returned to Denver, where he took a stroll with Carolee and told her that the future was looking perfect. Black Horizon, Part 2
Notes
- A silhouette on the back of the "G.I. Joe Star Brigade" packaging is labeled as being Hawk... although the silhouette clearly belongs to Shockwave, as it's lifted directly from his Action Master toy's package art.
- Ed Gilbert and David Kaye have both lent their voice to Hawk. To date, they're the only ones who've also been part of the Transformers franchise.
