As the voice of Hawkgirl in Cartoon Network's Justice League, Canals gets to channel into her character's Thanagarian warrior instincts during the heavy-duty action scenes.

"She has this weapon - my mace - and when she uses it, I have this war cry that I love when I get to do," Canals says, laughing. "It relieves a lot of stress when I do it.

"It's really, really cool. It's the first time as a voice actress I've done something this big. It's wonderful."

Hawkgirl, along with the John Stewart version of Green Lantern, were the non-traditional - and to some fans, controversial - additions to the television Justice League.

"We felt that we needed to have another woman in the group. We like women," Justice League producer Bruce Timm says. "We felt that the Hawk-family had to be represented, being the icons that they are. So we decided that we didn't want to have both of them, so let's just have Hawkgirl

"I, personally, always loved that Hawkgirl design, as a kid. I think her mask is cooler and she's got a better shape."

Timm says that the producers wanted to make sure that Hawkgirl was set apart from Wonder Woman in character development.

"Wonder Woman's a little bit aloof," Timm says. "It's not that she's arrogant or snotty. It's just that she's used to being like a princess. So she's a little bit like, 'What's up with these weird humans? They don't treat me right.'

"Hawkgirl, even though she's from another planet, she actually does fit in with the rest of gang better. She's kind of like one of the guys. Wonder Woman's a super-model, but Hawkgirl is like the girl next door. She's approachable."

Timm says that Justice League story editor/producer Rich Fogel brought a hawk element to the character.

"He came up with this great gimmick for her," Timm says. "For the most part, yeah, she's sweet, she's warm and she's friendly, and everybody likes her. But the minute she goes into battle, her Thanagarian instincts kick in and she turns into Wolverine."

And that's where Canals enters the scene.

"She is fearless, she is mysterious, which I love about her," Canals says. "You see how beautifully they animate her when she flies. She lifts up in the air and she flies and spins and somersaults. She's very graceful, and yet the next minute she's kicking a space alien's butt. She's very tough."

As an action character, Canals says she gets quite a workout during recording sessions.

"It's a lot of fun," she says. "You have to do all that: falling, attacking swing, attacking high, short attack, two attacks followed by falling through the air and then landing and then groaning and moaning. Everything means something different. Am I groaning because I just got hit and I'm wiped out? Or am I groaning because I just got knocked out and am coming back to life? I personally enjoy all the nuances and the direction we get."

Canals says that recording sessions are almost always done with the entire cast in the studio for voice director Andrea Romano.

"It's wonderful because, even though it's just our voices that are being recorded, when we're doing it and we're with the other actors and we can see them, we're living it out," Canals says. "We're talking with our whole body. It's more of a challenge, really, to communicate what you say and feel when it's just your voice, when you're off camera on an animated show."

Canals praises the work of the Warner Bros. Animation crew on Justice League.

"The stories are very much for everyone. You can be a 12- or 13-year-old kid or you can be an adult and still thoroughly enjoy these stories," Canals said. "They tell interesting stories that are beautifully animated. There are mysteries, there is humor, there is depth. There is romance, even. The last one we did yesterday had a romance between Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor, a human. It's great. And I love the way they get the best of everything and put it together in an animated show."

Canals has a favorite episode from the first season.

"There's a few I really like, but there's one that kind of stands out for me," she says. "It's called 'Legends.' And it's an episode where we go back to the '40s and we're with the '40s super-heroes. And you can really see how we react because we're more modern.

"There's this part where they're asking me to bake cookies, and my character, Hawkgirl, is like (shifting into character), 'There is no way I am baking cookies.' She's a very independent woman. There's a lot of humor in that one, and I really enjoyed it."

Canals has been mostly an on-camera actor and recently has done regular animation work on Static Shock and Disney's The Proud Family. She's worked - in both English and in Spanish - in television, theater and film. Her credits include movie such as America's Sweethearts and TV shows such as 21 Jump Street, Days of Our Lives and Murder, She Wrote.

"It's all different and yet it's all the same because it's acting," she says.

Justice League continues to pull in stellar ratings for Cartoon Network as production is well underway on its second season.

"Why is Justice League so popular? It's been around for so long, these characters," Canals says. "Kids grew up reading these comics. I think that's a part of the appeal because of a lot of us grew up with these characters.

"And because it's a fantasy and they get to do all these wonderful things, because they're heroes. And they look great. And even when they get their butts kicked, they always win in the end, so we can count on them."

First-season reruns of Justice League continue, with the second season targeted for an October launch. Details of the new 26 episodes are being kept under wraps for now, but at a recent convention Canals did slip a hint that Hawkgirl might be meeting Hawkman next season.

Rob Allstetter, Deputy Sports Editor for The Detroit News, has been a comics journalist for the past decade, having written for numerous publications. He currently publishes The Comics Continuum. He can be reached at RobAlls@aol.com.