With DC’s multiple Earths, DC Comics decided to merge them into one Earth after the Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985. Because the editors did not want to confuse readers with the co-existing characters, some of them were cut. They decided to end the Justice Society in Last Days of the Justice Society where they were put into limbo and fought as the gods of Norse mythology in Ragnarok. Thus, Carter and Shiera Hall from the Golden Age were gone. The Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman continued appearing during story arcs such as Millennium in 1988 and the Invasion in early 1989.

At the time DC liked reinventing characters as if they had never existed, but giving them a harsher edge. By late 1989, Hawkman followed dark comics like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, hoping to reinvigorate the character. Thus Hawkworld was created in 1989, written and illustrated by Tim Truman.

After the successful rebooted origins of Superman by John Byrne, Batman by Frank Miller and Wonder Woman by George Perez, Hawkworld was originally set in the past as an origin reboot with the intent that the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman would also be updated for the Modern Age in this continuity. However the Hawkworld mini-series proved to be far more popular and successful than expected by DC Comics. There was an obvious dark feel to it where it paid more attention to making it a police state style.
True to its dark style, violence and gang warfare were included, and the Thanagarian wings were now made of metal. Drugs were also included with the new Katar Hol having a drug addiction. Shayera Thal had a new personality, more tough this time. It was a complete opposite of the graceful Golden and Silver Ages, where plot lines replaced the warm sci-fi fiction with cold realities, like oil shortages and terrorism. DC Comics decided to set Hawkworld in the present which rebooted more than Hawkman's origin and removed the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman from this continuity to be replaced with other versions of the Hawks. Several months later, DC Comics was publishing the on-going Hawkworld series in 1990.

DC then decided to bring back the Justice Society because it was free of complications before the reincarnations of many characters. In 1992’s Armageddon: Inferno, Waverider, a time traveler, saved the Justice Society from their limbo universe, allowing them to battle against another enemy, Abraxis, and from there on, the Justice Society was brought back into the mainstream DC Universe. With that, they were allowed to bring Carter Hall and Shera Hall from the Golden Age into Hawkworld. There, Paran Katar, Katar Hol’s father, befriended Carter Hall during the 1930s and slipped him a quantity of Nth Metal, allowing Carter to design his own costume and execute that design. There on Earth, he also fell in love with a woman, and that woman gave birth to Katar Hol. It is discovered that he was half-human.

They also sought out how to explain Hawkman’s time with the Justice League of America when the Silver Age Hawkman was removed from the continuity. They fixed the problem by saying that Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman came to serve with them. Later the Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman disappeared into the limbo universe with the rest of the JSA. Another fix for these continuity errors was a Thanagarian spy, Fel Andar, had taken up the role of Hawkman. Sharon Parker, a woman on Earth became Hawkwoman. When the original Hawkman and Hawkwoman came back, Fel Andar went back to Thanagar but murdered Sharon Parker first when she revealed the truth to the Martian Manhunter and Maxwell Lord. It solved the problem of Hawkman’s absence, but it was seen as unsatisfactory and confusing.