Hawkgirl (Kendra Saunders)

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Kendra Saunders was a young woman who committed suicide. Her grandfather, former OSS agent and globe-trotting adventurer Speed Saunders, found her in the bathroom and quickly rushed her to the hospital where she died. Ten minutes after being pronounced dead she suddenly began breathing again, having somehow miraculously been brought back to life. When she opened her eyes Speed noticed that her eyes were no longer green but brown. Upon seeing this Speed realized that he was no longer looking at his granddaughter but Shiera Hall, the Egyptian princess Chay-Ara. When Kendra's soul left her body, her great-aunt, Shiera Hall's soul, entered it. Believing that a reincarnation of Khufu or Carter could not be far behind Speed decided that revealing the truth to Kendra was probably not meant for him. Instead he told Kendra of her family history and began training her to embrace her destiny as the "new" Hawkgirl.
She believed herself to still be Kendra, and using the original Hawkgirl equipment, went out to find the Fate-Child (the reincarnation of Shiera's son, Hector Hall). During her search, she came across the Justice Society of America and became a member.
She had all of Kendra's memories and personality, but almost none of Shiera's, finding it hard to connect to the Shiera part of her identity. This created tension with Hawkman since he remembered all of their past lives together and believed they were destined for each other. Kendra had been presented as a very troubled young woman, haunted by the murder of her parents by a corrupt cop and confused by her jumble of memories and feelings. She operated as Hawkman's partner, but only recently began to actually admit her attraction to him. The truth about Kendra's identity was eventually revealed to her by the angel Zauriel.
Later she renewed her protection of St. Roch, Louisiana, in Hawkman's absence. She also took over as the curator of the Stonechat Museum. She then was inducted as a member to the newly reformed Justice League of America. Hawkgirl began a turbulent relationship with Red Arrow, but past relationships, parenting, and being unable to express their feelings to each other caused problems. Eventually, the relationship dissolved and Red Arrow left the Justice League.
Hawkgirl then became 100% Kendra Saunders as a result of Shiera Hall's soul leaving Kendra's body and moving on to the afterlife. Shiera hoped her passing on would finally remove the curse of Hath-Set.
Kendra and Carter were briefly reunited when she was stabbed in the back with a spear by the recently resurrected Black Lantern Sue Dibny. Before having her heart removed, Kendra finally told Carter her feelings. She and Carter were then transformed into Black Lanterns. When Hawkgirl was subsequently resurrected by the White Lantern and removed her helmet, it was to reveal the face of Shiera Hall, all trace of Kendra having apparently been erased.

Kendra Saunders was created by writer David Goyer, writer James Robinson, and artist Stephen Sadowski, and first appeared in JSA Secret Files and Origins #1 (Aug. 1999).