The Greatest 1950s Stories Ever Told: "The Riddle of the Crystal Ball!"

The next story in this collection is from Western Comics #72 (December 1958), and it stars one of DC's old cowboy heroes, Hannibal Hawkes, aka Nighthawk! Art by Gil Kane, a job sandwiched between his run on the Adventures of Rex the Wonder Dog and his career defining runs on the new Green Lantern and the Atom.

I admit I haven't read many western comics before this. So, I took what I knew from watching old reruns of the Lone Ranger and the Rifleman TV shows, and pretended the cowboy gear was substitute super hero/villain costumery. Worked pretty well for this story!

Basically, some dumb crooks are in town, and are convinced by a "gypsy" that Hannibal Hawkes is Nighthawk and that that night is a good time to rob the local church bazaar. It's all a plan by Nighthawk to get those thieves just where he wants them.

Interestingly, all those men are pulling a Brokeback, trying to catch a Nighthawk peepshow in the crystal ball! Gypsies can con you into doing almost anything!

Ahhh...the reveal!

Kind of like...

Tommy Sands, aka Floretta, the Gypsy in Drag in Babes in Toyland (1961). [I saw this one in my church's basement as a kid...)

Here's one of only six panels in the story where he's dressed as Nighthawk.

He might want to also try this look...

Gypsy, the Cyndi Lauper-styled, homeless and barefoot member of the Justice League when it was headquartered in Detroit during the 1980s!

Well, in the scheme of the DC universe of heroes, readers later find out that Nighthawk is one of Hawkman's past lives. Yep! Originally, Hawkman and Hawkgirl were an Egyptian royal couple, killed and cursed to keep living Romeo and Juliet lives throughout the rest of time, usually becoming different DC universe heroes in one life to the next. So it kind of makes sense. Hawkman. Hannibal Hawkes. Nighthawk. And both Hawkgirl and Cinnamon, Nighthawk's lady friend are angry fiery redheads. Roar!

Anyway, here's Nighthawk later being wiped out of existence by an earth-consuming wave of anti-matter:

Guess, he didn't see that one in that ol' crystal ball!