Hawk is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero media franchise. He is one of the original members of the G.I. Joe Team, and debuted in 1982 as a Missile Commander, but was later promoted to full commander of the team. Hawk is portrayed by Dennis Quaid in the 2009 live-action film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
Profile Hawk's real name is Clayton M. Abernathy, and he was born in Denver, Colorado. He comes from a wealthy family, whose influence enabled him to enroll in West Point. He graduated at the top of his class. He also graduated from Advanced Infantry Training and Covert Ops School, and served on the fictional North Atlantic Range Command and USA ENG COM and EVR Missile Radar Training. Hawk is a qualified expert in the use of the M16 rifle and M-1911A1 automatic pistol.
Hawk is the original field commander of the G.I. Joe Team. His primary military specialty is strategic command operations and his secondary military specialties are ranger, artillery, intelligence and radar. His original rank was that of colonel. He was later promoted to brigadier general and then major general. As a colonel, Hawk served under General Lawrence Flagg, and was responsible for recruiting most of the team's early members. After General Flagg was killed in action and his successor, General Austin, retired from active duty, Hawk assumed full command of the G.I. Joe team.
As the conflict between G.I. Joe and Cobra became known in the United States and abroad, Hawk was the public face of the G.I. Joe team. He was also instrumental in the reinstatement of the G.I. Joe team after it was temporarily disbanded. This was due to his involvement with "The Jugglers", a top-secret group of generals who had frequently interfered with the team's operations. Hawk was able to undermine corruption from within by keeping tabs on them, and blackmailed them into immediately reinstating the team, once evidence was presented that Cobra was again operating on domestic soil. However, he decides to take on more of an advisory role as commander in chief, letting field command duties fall to Duke.
Toys Hawk was part of the first wave of action figures that were released in 1982, packaged with the Mobile Missile System playset. Although he held the rank of colonel and his file card has flattering statements about his leadership abilities, his job description was "Missile Commander", though in the Marvel Comics G.I. Joe series he was G.I. Joe team's field commander. All of the original sixteen figures from 1982 were released with "straight arms". The same figure was re-released in 1983 with a "swivel-arm battle grip", which made it easier for figures to hold their rifles and accessories.
In 1986, Hasbro released a new Hawk action figure who carried the rank of brigadier general. Concurrent with that, he became overall commander in both the comics and the Sunbow cartoon following the death of General Flagg. A new action figure was released in 1991, with the name changed from "Hawk" to "General Hawk". General Hawk was also released in 1991 as part of the "Talking Battle Commanders" line. In 1993, two new versions of General Hawk were released as part of the Star Brigade line.
When Hasbro revived the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line in 2000, they failed to renew their trademark claim to the name "Hawk", and could no longer release the character with that name attached. Therefore, he was released as "General Tomahawk", with the rank of major general. His name was changed again in 2004 to "General Abernathy", and then to "G.I. Joe Hawk" in 2008.
In 2009, to coincide with the launch of the movie G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Hasbro released three figures based on the movie character, with the name General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy. The first was released with the Pit Mobile Headquarters, the second as a stand-alone figure, and the third as a Wal-Mart exclusive with the Laser Artillery Weapon. A version of Hawk was also released as part of "The Pursuit of Cobra" line in 2011, with a non-actor based head.
Comics
Marvel Comics Hawk first appears in the Marvel Comics series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #1.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #1 (June 1982) He serves as a colonel and the field commander of the G.I. Joe team under General Lawrence Flagg. It is shown that prior to the creation of G.I. Joe, Hawk was a lieutenant colonel commanding security forces, and was responsible for recruiting many of the original members of the team, including Stalker and Snake Eyes.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #27 (September 1984) Hawk quickly gains the respect of his soldiers and participates in a number of early missions. In one mission, he and Grunt go undercover to infiltrate an illegal militia run by a man named Vance Wingfield.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #4 (October 1982) During a battle in the streets of Washington D.C., Hawk is shot point-blank in the back by Cobra Commander, but recovers due to a bulletproof vest.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #15-16 (1983)
After the death of General Flagg, Hawk assumes command of the G.I. Joe team, but is still advised by General Austin.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #19 (January 1984) Operations at The Pit keep him busy, so Hawk relegates field command to Duke.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #33 (March 1985) When General Austin later suffers a heart attack, he retires and promotes Hawk to Brigadier General, giving him command of the entire G.I. Joe operation.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #45 (March 1986) After the G.I. Joe team invades the Cobra-controlled town of Springfield and has nothing to show for it, the team is in danger of being shut down.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #49-50 (1986) Hawk accepts full responsibility, and meets with three high-ranking military officers deep in the otherwise empty Pit, when the facility is attacked by Cobra's Battle Android Troopers. Two of the generals are killed, but the survivor General Hollingsworth reactivates the team, and puts Hawk back in command.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #53 (November 1986)
Hawk leads the team through the first Cobra civil war, which takes place on Cobra Island. During the conflict, he is involved in a fist-fight with the Dreadnok Buzzer atop the Thunder Machine.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #74-76 (1988) Upon returning from this mission, General Hawk and General Hollingsworth are arrested, under claims that the Joes acted without authorization. Roadblock organizes a rescue mission, with the help of the Joes who had not been arrested. Destro, who was monitoring the situation, finds the lack of respect for his enemy intolerable. He shows up at the rescue, and neutralizes the entire situation by proving Hawk's innocence on live television.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #77-78 (1988)
In the Battle of Benzheen, Hawk leads nearly the entire team into battle, and deals with political corruption when the operation ends thanks to a deal their "allies" make with Cobra Commander. As a result, many Joes are executed while in Cobra custody.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #109-113 (1991) During a mission into Trans-Carpathia, Hawk nearly dies before other members of the Joe team can rescue him.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #120-123 (1992) He later personally leads missions into the Cobra-controlled town of Millville,G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #137-141 (1993) and later returns to fight Cobra in Eastern Europe.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #146-151 (1994) Hawk's final duty as G.I. Joe commander is to preside over the closing ceremony of The Pit, after the G.I. Joe team was decommissioned at the cancellation of the series.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #155 (December 1994)
Devil's Due Publishing When Cobra returns a few years later in the Devils Due series, Hawk lobbies for the re-instatement of the G.I. Joe team.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero vol. 2 #1 (October 2001) He is successful, and publicly announces the reinstatement of the G.I. Joe team, which is seen by members of Cobra. However, he does not re-assume full command, passing on leadership responsibility to Duke, while he takes on more of an advisory role. This is so he can devote time to keeping an eye on the Jugglers, a cabal of generals with an agenda of their own. He also mentions that several younger officers have nicknamed him "General Tomahawk".G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero vol. 2 #2 (December 2001) When Scarlett and Snake Eyes are taken prisoner by Destro, Hawk sends Kamakura and Spirit to find Cobra Commander's son Billy, who helps them rescue Scarlett and Snake Eyes.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero vol. 2 #3 (February 2002)
Cobra Commander returns, accompanied by Storm Shadow, and creates plans to get revenge on both Destro and Hawk. Storm Shadow tries to assassinate Hawk, but is confronted by Snake Eyes before escaping.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero vol. 2 #6-9 (2002) Destro is later double-crossed by the president of Sierra Gordo, and arrested by Duke. Destro makes a deal to deliver Cobra Commander in exchange for his freedom. The Joes confront Cobra, and Destro is traded for Cobra Commander, but during the conflict the Commander shoots Hawk in the back, and in turn is shot from behind by the Baroness.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero vol. 2 #28-32 (2004)
Hawk survives but lapses into a coma. General Joseph Colton returns to fill in for Hawk as commander of the team. While in a coma, Hawk has a dream that he was finally retiring and settling down with his wife Carolee, who in reality was long dead. He then visits Cobra Commander in prison, and the two argue before Cobra Commander moves from the shadows to reveal Hawk's face. When Hawk wakes up, he learns that he has an unretractable bullet lodged in his spine, which has left him paralyzed below the waist.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero vol. 2 #33-35 (2004) This experience makes him a bit crazed, intensifying his hatred for Cobra Commander. Unknown to Hawk, it was not Cobra Commander that shot him, for Zartan had switched places with the Commander shortly before the incident.
The Red Shadows organization finally steps forward, targeting members of both G.I. Joe and Cobra. Hawk is targeted, but is rescued from the Red Shadows by Scarlett, Snake Eyes and Kamakura. Red Shadows assassin Dela Eden attempts to kill Flint, but is stopped by Lady Jaye, who is then stabbed by Dela and dies.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero vol. 2 #42 (May 2005) Dela is captured by Scarlett, who forms a plan with Flint and Hawk to investigate the Red Shadows organization. But the Red Shadows rescue Dela, and when G.I. Joe confronts them in New York, the leader of the Red Shadows Wilder Vaughn escapes. G.I. Joe is then deactivated by order of the President, given that Cobra as an organization has fractured, although Cobra Commander remains at large.G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero vol. 2 #43 (June 2005)
America's Elite In the G.I. Joe: America's Elite series, Hawk is undergoing physiotherapy, and is rarely seen. General Joseph Colton again assumes command of the G.I. Joe team, at the President's request. Hawk is still obsessed with the capture of Cobra Commander, who had not been seen since Cobra's defeat a year earlier, and he sends the tracker Spirit on a classified mission to search the world for Cobra Commander. Spirit manages to locate Cobra Commander, but is captured. Spirit is later found and rescued, and reveals his findings to Hawk and the rest of the team. General Colton convinces Hawk to return to the team in an advisory role.G.I. Joe: America's Elite #13 (June 2006) He is a member of the team, when the Phoenix Guard infiltrates The Rock, and manages to capture several Joes including Hawk. The remaining Joes fight off the attack, as they finally discover the true identities of the Phoenix Guard members.G.I. Joe: America's Elite #16-18 (2006)