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Comic Book: Hawkeye

The many faces of Hawkeye.

To successfully make a shot, you gotta follow and master basic steps. Your stance is the foundation. Where you draw your strength. Nock the arrow and grip. Realize you are wielding a weapon. Mindset. Focus solely on your goal, regardless of your surroundings. Be in the now. Set up and draw. Inhale and prepare for what you are about to do. Anchor and hold. There is no going back. Aim. All that remains is you and your target. Release and follow through. Master those and you hit every time. One last step. Feedback. Basically...take responsibility for the outcome. For every shot.

— Hawkeye

Hawkeye is a Marvel Comics character created by Stan Lee and Don Heck. Making his debut as a reluctant villain in Tales of Suspense #57 (September, 1964), Hawkeye quickly turned his back on that life and joined The Avengers after a chance meeting with Edwin Jarvis.

Raised by an abusive alcoholic father and a mother who didn't care, Clinton "Clint" Barton and his older brother Barney had a difficult life. After his parents died in a drunk driving accident, Clint and Barney were sent to an orphanage for 6 years. Hungry for a better life, Clint and Barney ran away until desperation forced the brothers to join up with the Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders. Years passed, during which Clint caught the attention of the Swordsman and Trick Shot, two talented circus performers. Under their tutelage, Clint gained the sharpshooting skills that would allow him to become a hero.

As Swordman's assistant, Clint was happy until the day he found out that his mentor was embezzling from the carnival. About to turn in the Swordsman, Clint was brutally beaten by his mentor until Barney and Trick Shot intervened. Trick Shot became Clint's new mentor while Barney grew tired of carnival life. Having condemned Clint for his perceived disloyalty to the Swordsman, Barney prepared to enlist in the Army. Asking Clint to join him, believing the two needed a fresh start, Barney was disappointed when his younger brother declined.

Jealous of the fame the then-new hero Iron Man was getting, Clint decided to use his skills to become a superhero as well, The Hawkeye. Unfortunately, his weakness for pretty women got him involved with Black Widow, who at the time was a spy working for the Russians against Iron Man, and she tricked him into attacking the hero. He soon realized he'd been duped however. Given a chance to redeem himself, Hawkeye joined the Avengers and has been affiliated with the team ever since, even leading its spin-off, the West Coast Avengers. Ironically, the Widow would later end up doing a Heel Face Turn herself and becoming a superhero, and even joined the Avengers, having made up her peace with Clint.

Years later, Clint fell in love and married Mockingbird - a possible Captain Ersatz for Green Arrow's lover, Black Canary- and they married, though they had troubles after she killed a man who had raped her. She appeared to have been killed by the Demon Lord Mephisto for a long time, until it was revealed that it was actually a Skrull spy in her place during the Secret Invasion. The real Mockingbird and Hawkeye have since reunited.

Clint was one of the casualties during the rampage of Scarlet Witch in Avengers Dissasembled. Due to the events of House of M, he came Back from the Dead, took up the mantle of Ronin with permission of the original Ronin (Maya Lopez), as the name Hawkeye at the time was used by a member of Young Avengers, and eventually joined the New Avengers, leading to the events of Secret Invasion (and also reunited with the real Mockingbird in the aftermath). During the Dark Reign, he was appointed as the leader of the New Avengers and was doing a fair job (aside of one Leeroy Jenkins moment), until the return of Captain America. After Dark Reign, Clint became a mainstream Avengers member, once again donning the Hawkeye alter ego. However, shortly after this he and Mockingbird got divorced.

Currently, he has his own title, which can best be described as an indie comic set in the Marvel Universe. He also appeared in the Thor film in a cameo and in The Avengers as a member of the team. In both, he was portrayed by Jeremy Renner.

If you're looking for the Young Avengers version of Hawkeye, go here.

Comics

Hawkeye Vol. 1 (1983)
Hawkeye Vol. 2 (1994)
Hawkeye: Earth's Mightiest Marksman (1998)
Hawkeye Vol. 3 (2003 - 2004)
New Avengers: The Reunion (2009)
Hawkeye & Mockingbird (2010)
Widowmaker (2010 - 2011)
Hawkeye: Blindspot (2011)
Hawkeye Vol. 4 (2012)

Storylines

Film

Video Games

Captain America And The Avengers: Hawkeye is one of the four playable characters.
Spider-Man: The Video Game: Hawkeye is one of the four playable characters along with Spider-Man, Black Cat and Namor.
Venom & Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety: An Assist Character, Hawkeye can be summoned after players pick up "hero icons" scattered throughout the game.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance: Hawkeye is a playable character on the PSP and X-Box 360 versions of the game.
Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3
Marvel Avengers Alliance as one of the playable characters and a major NPC.

Western Animation

Tropes seen in these series include:

Abusive Parents: Hawkeye's father was an alcoholic and his mother did nothing to intervene.
Action Girl: Clint tends to have a taste for women who can handle themselves in a fight. Case in point: When he first met Mockingbird, she kicked his ass. They married nine days later.
Adaptation Dye Job: Ultimate Hawkeye... sometimes... has darker hair than classic Clint. Similarly, Jeremy Renner's dirty blond/brown hair in the films looks far more different than Clint's classic Golden locks.
Alternate Company Equivalent: To DC's Green Arrow.
Always Someone Better: Hawkeye is this to Green Arrow in an alternate universe where the Justice League and Avengers co-exist. Leaving the Marvel Universe to join the Justice League, Hawkeye completely overshadows Ollie, landing an impossible trick shot to defeat Doctor Doom at the Source Wall. Clint was even dating Black Canary, Ollie's girl.
- Also, occasionally, to Kate Bishop. As far as Clint is concerned, Kate is the best archer he's ever met. However, while she's skilled enough to be on the Young Avengers, he's just that much better that, occasionally, she expresses slight jealousy over it.
Annoying Arrows
Anti-Hero Substitute: Bullseye during Dark Reign.
Arc Words: "Okay... this looks bad." The phrase starts every issue, and it usually involves Clint falling to his doom or in some other horrible situation.
Archer Archetype: Hawkeye is an arrogant ace. He notably averts the "lower strength" trope, observing in at least one unarmed brawl how all the years of archery have paid off in terms of upper body strength and on another occasion disparaging a villain who's gotten his hands on his bow (which has a 250 pounds-force (1,100 newtons) draw weight) and can't even draw the string back far enough to use it.
A Simple Plan: Several of the stories in his new ongoing. Firstly, all Clint wanted was some tape to label his trick arrows with, but then he ends up buying a car, sleeping with its owner, and getting into a shootout with his former landlord's gang, and ends up in a hostage situation. Secondly, he was tying to go to Madripoor to reclaim a tape of him killing a dictator. Instead, he gets detained at the airport, robbed in the cab, loses his money and Avenger ID, then gets kidnapped by Madame Masque, only for this to be Kate pretending to be Masque. The second half they manage to Indy Ploy their way out though.
- Issue 8 doesn't work out too well for him either. Clint and Cherry manage to steal the Red Safe, but Clint gets arrested and they end up losing the combination.
As Lethal As It Needs To Be: His arrows and his way of using them. Though traditionally Hawkeye abhors killing, in later years he has become a victim of the "darker and edgier" trend of superheroes. In his most recent appearances, however, Hawkeye tries to avoid killing people, but doesn't flinch at leaving his enemies paralyzed, perhaps for life.
Back from the Dead: Hawkeye died during the events of Avengers Disassembled, only to still be alive after reality is shifted to the House of M. Following a Heroic Blue Screen Of Death after his memories of his original life are restored & he learns that he's supposed to dead, Clint is then killed a second time & resurrected for real when reality is returned to normal.
Badass Biker
Badass Normal: He's a skilled marksman; able to wield several weapons as Ronin; and when Tony Stark tries to find a replacement for the recently deceased Steve Rogers, he was the only one able to throw & catch Cap's shield. In an issue of Avenging Spider-Man, Clint confides in Spider-Man that there is an enourmous amount of pressure on him as a Badass Normal on the same team as Captain America, Thor, Iron Man & the Hulk, and subsequently he has to train constantly in order to make sure his accuracy is superhuman, in effect meaning he cannot miss.
- In the Marvel Ultimate universe, his Improbable Aiming Skills border on the superhuman. In the recent Ultimate Comics: Hawkeye miniseries, it's established that he has subtle enhancements. Ultimate Hawkeye has many more rod cells and many fewer cone cells in his eyes as well as increased musculature around the eyeballs, which allows him the ability to change his focal length. He also sees mostly in black and white, in high contrast, and doesn't notice most attempts to trick the eye, such as camouflage or one-way mirrors.
Battle Couple: Hawkeye and Mockingbird
- Hawkeye (Clint) and Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), in a non-romantic sense.
Berserk Button: Doesn't matter if Hawkeye's relationship with her is going strong or not: hurt Mockingbird, and there will be hell to pay.
Blasting It Out Of Their Hands: Sometimes with lethal results, as when he shot Egghead in his pistol, which then backlogged and exploded.
Broken Pedestal: Hawkeye thought of the Swordsman as a father figure until he learned of his mentor's criminal activities. Something similar with Trick Shot too. One of the many proposed reasons for Clint's tendency to play The Lancer is that, until he met Captain America, he lacked a real father figure he could trust who didn't, ultimately, become an enemy.
Brick Joke: In his current ongoing series, Kate Bishop criticizes Clint for keeping a boomerang arrow, only for her use it to disable a gangster who was holding a gun to Clint's head.
Cain and Abel: Barney Barton was always jealous of the attention given to Clint during their time with the circus. After taking up the mantle of Trickshot, Barney and Clint became bitter enemies.
Carnival of Killers
Chick Magnet: Black Widow lampshaded this in Widowmaker: Despite having absolutely nothing remotely attractive about his demeanor, women seem to fall for him.
Circus Brat: Clint picked up his skills with the Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders. In some adaptations and Elseworlds (such as the Ultimate Imprint, the Iron Man Armored Adventures cartoon, and Chuck Austin's AU War Machine run), this is modernized into him being an Olympic hopeful...for some reason.
Cool Bike: The Sky-Cycle.
Crazy-Prepared: Hawkeye carries target-specific arrowheads for almost any occasion. In JLA/Avengers, Hawkeye locks down Captain Atom with a lead foil containment arrow meant for the Radioactive Man. He claims to have an arrow custom made to defeat every single one of his Avengers teammates. During his time with the Thunderbolts (in the arc when Moonstone goes nuts as her power increases), after taking out The Vision with a specialized arrow:
You know I got an arrow for every single one of you. Don't think for one second that I didn't come here prepared to take down both teams if I have to!
Dating Catwoman: He had a fling with Moonstone during his tenure with the Thunderbolts.
Deadly Dodging: A talented acrobat, Hawkeye uses his agility against his enemies, especially when he's outnumbered. In a training session with the Thunderbolts, Hawkeye uses this technique against Jolt and Moonstone to demonstrate the importance of teamwork.
Deadpan Snarker
Depending on the Artist:
- His hair, length and style, and in the Ultimate Universe, how dark it is.
- There's also his costume's sleeves. IE, if he has any sleeves at all, if he has one sleeve, short sleeves, or bare arms. With his new costume, this includes what are his glasses like (are they like any normal pair, do they look like Mockingbird's, do they look more stylized, are they just solid purple glass, etc), if he's wearing any glasses at all, does he wear wrist guards, how big or how detailed his logo is, how many pouches does he have, does he have a second quiver on his waist, is he wearing cargo pants or superhero tights, does he have any more purple on his costume, etc.
- Lastly, his bow. Is it a stylized Longbow, a fancy recurve, a compound, some kind of custom one-of-a-kind bow, does it lean towards more fancy looking, or is it more futuristic and practical, does it fold up or come apart, does it have any attachments, etc. This also extends to his arrow heads: Do they all have little metal cylinders on the end holding whatever trick implements are inside, or is it a a more realistic, though bulky, sharp and pointy arrow head. Due to his nature, its entirely possible that he has a mix of both.
Depending on the Writer: Recently, Clint's view on killing. Previously, Clint was so against killing that he refused to listen to his wife's plea after she killed a man that raped her. Next minute, he's willingly firing arrows into bad guys boy parts without caring if thy'll survive, then he's lecturing Anti Heroes why they should let bad guys live, then he's killing Skrulls. Addressed in New Avengers The Reunion, where he admits that he now understands why someone would want to kill another.
- Clint's social skills too. He's either a childish and occasionally snarky Nice Guy, or he's a complete Jerk with a Heart of Gold that has a mouth too big for him.
- And, strangely, Clint's knowledge of TV pop culture, and his interest in it in general. In a Team up with Spider-Man, Clint claims he doesn't watch TV (and doesn't even own one), but in The Reunion and his new ongoing, he makes references to Grey's Anatomy and owning a TiVo.
  - In issue 6, he's terrified of getting the ending of Dog Cops spoiled.
  - Given his later confession about the amount of pressure he has to live up to as a Badass Normal it's possible he was lying to look good.
Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?: He can punch them out too, mind you, but he's not above scamming them either.
Disability Immunity: Is deaf in one ear. Has a hearing aid. It gave him some kind of detection, as he could dial it up and tel i someone was secretly a robot.
Distaff Counterpart: Kate Bishop.
Evil Counterpart: Swordsman, Trick Shot, and Barney Barton as Trickshot. Bullseye & Barney Barton both served as Hawkeye in Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers teams.
Evil Mentor: Trick Shot, who taught young Clint archery so he could have an accomplice while he committed crimes. Clint broke off their arrangement after he was forced to shoot his brother Barney.
FBI Agent: Clint's brother Barney was an undercover FBI agent.
Face Heel Turn: Barney Barton becomes the second Trick Shot.
Fastball Special: Has one with Ant-Man & the various other size shifters in the Marvel Universe, where the shrunken down hero is fired on one of Clint's arrows & proceeds to increase in size whilst flying at the enemy. Also serves as Clint's Level 3 Hyper in Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3.
Fingerless Gloves
The Gimmick
Heel Face Turn: Hawkeye started off a villain before joining the Avengers.
Idiot Hero, Good Is Dumb and Book Dumb: Clint's not stupid, he's a fairly smart man and has a wide range of talents/skills, but he's uneducated, doesn't plan too far ahead, isn't particularly good at understanding others, and can sometimes come off as incredibly dense. He can also be childish in more light hearted comics, like disagreeing with the team leader for the sake of it, cracking jokes about She-Hulk because he had a crush on her, and in general trolling villains and teasing teammates. He also demonstrated that, while they have their purposes, the main reason for all his trick arrows is simply because they're fun.
I Have Many Names: Clint has used the names Hawkeye, Goliath, Golden Archer, Captain America, and Ronin. What's notable is that every one of those names have been adopted by someone else, or belonged to someone else before he picked it up.
Improbable Aiming Skills
Improbable Use of a Weapon: He's more than capable of using his bow as a close-quarters weapon, and can even throw arrows like darts if his bow is broken or out of reach.
- Improbable Weapon User: Not as much as Bullseye, but Clint has, in recent years, been shown to be able to weaponize anything from plying cards to pennies. He notes in #3 that when he walks into a room, he looks at everything and makes a mental note on its use as a weapon, something he also notes is a completely insane thing to do.
Inertia Is a Cruel Mistress: Hawkeye's weapon of choice against speedsters and agile opponents is to predict their next move and put an arrow in their path. Batroc the Leaper found himself stuck to the floor by an adhesive arrow after Hawkeye correctly deduced his landing point.
Irony: In Dark Reign, Clint was highly suspicious at Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew, considering she was the face of the Skrull Queen during Secret Invasion. They're currently in a somewhat complicated relationship (even though they're only in this state of affairs because she unknowingly manipulated his pheromones).
Jerk with a Heart of Gold
Katanas Are Just Better: As Ronin
Knife Throwing Act: Clint used to be part of one with the Swordsman.
The Lancer: To Captain America.
Legacy Character: Clint Barton took up Ronin's mantle with her blessing. He also served as the second Goliath after Hank Pym adopts the Yellowjacket persona. After the death of Captain America, Clint had a very short stint as the new Cap until Kate Bishop (Not knowing it was Clint) pointed out the hypocrisy in him wearing Cap's costume whilst he called her out on using the Hawkeye. This convinced him to give the costume and shield back to Tony Stark. While he was Ronin, Clint gave Kate Bishop his blessing to continue serving as the second Hawkeye after testing her skills. Barney Barton became the second Trick Shot, renaming himself Trickshot.
Lowest Cosmic Denominator
Made of Iron: Only as Goliath II.
Master Swordsman: The Swordsman, naturally. Hawkeye is also quite good with a sword.
Mondegreen: "Hawkguy" is what Matt Fraction's son kept calling Hawkeye. It eventually shaped the character's portrayal in the new series, made its way into issue 6 and has become the unofficial nickname of Vol. 4.
Multishot: One of his more notable skills. In Hawkeye #2 he notched three arrows, pulled back the string, took aim at a target, and hit the target in the head, stomach, and groin in the time it took Kate to say "that's so cool."
Muscles Are Meaningless: A mild version of it is used for him. Hawkeye is obviously not as a musclebound as Captain America or the Incredible Hulk, but he is plenty strong himself as a villain finds out when he tried using Hawkeye's bow against him and finds he can't pull back the string, considering to do so means he would have to pull back the equivalent of 250 pounds with three fingers, which Hawkeye does all the time without effort. With that in mind, Clint is, usually, drawn with an impressive build.
No Arc in Archery: Employed on occasion when Hawkeye uses his trick arrows.
Oh Crap: See Roaring Rampage of Revenge
Only Mostly Dead: Barney Barton, until he was placed in one of Egghead's healing chambers.
Painting the Medium: One of the main running themes of Volume 4.
- Foreign languages go untranslated; instead, they're replaced by whatever language Clint thinks they're speaking in.
- There aren't any sound effects—they're replaced by descriptions of them.
- The recap on the credits page berates the reader for reading it, as they should already know the information presented.
Parental Substitute: Swordsman and Trick Shot in his youth, Captain America as an Avenger.
Pinball Projectile
Rain of Arrows: In Hawkeye/Mockingbird he unleashed special trick arrows, the heads of which are filled with dozens, if not hundreds, of regular arrows shrunken down with Pym particles, leading to this trope. Hawkeye has a smaller-scale version of this attack in Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 called the scatter shot.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: In The Ultimates continuity after his family is murdered and he is taken captive, he takes out one of his captors with a fingernail he's pulled from his own finger, then proceeds to single-handedly take out the entire strike force sent to take him down. He then looks into one of the security cameras and simply says, "Run."
Rule of Fun: Some of his earlier adventures, and his new ongoing. Surely, a boomerang arrow makes no sense at all, but it works, 'because...boomerangs'.
Sarcastic Devotee: Clint is one to Captain America, and anyone else he's on a team with. Kate Bishop is one to Clint.
Shout Out:
- In issue 2 of the current series, Clint calls a cummerbund a "Cumberbatch".
- Issue 6 of the current series, page 5 eerily looks like a screenshot from the Captain America and the Avengers arcade game, except it has current Hawkeye, Spider-Man, and Wolverine vs a bunch of AIM mooks.
Size Shifter: Clint's stint as Goliath II gave him the ability to change size at will thanks to the Pym Particles.
Small Reference Pools: In-universe in vol. 4 #6; Hawkeye says his line of work is like being in the NFL year-round. Wolverine compares him to Mel Hein, which Spider-Man scoffs at. "Mel Hein? What are you, a hundred years old?"
The Southpaw: Most incarnations of him are ambidextrous. Jeremy Renner in the films, being left handed, is the most notable.
The Straight and Arrow Path
Super Strength: Only as Goliath II.
Trick Arrow: Hawkeye has special arrowheads that can carry acid, fire, Pym Particles, nets, Knockout Gas, grappling hooks, sonic stunners, electricity, ice or explosives. Other specialized arrows include the Adamantium arrow and the Vibranium arrow.
Trouser Space: During "The Tape", Clint stuff his "Amex Black" credit card with no credit limit down the front of his pants. While interrogating him Madam Masque is disgusted to hear this but is the only one willing to reach in and get it and then it turns out Masque is actually Kate Bishop in disguise.
True Love Is Boring: After several years of marital bliss, the Phantom Rider incident happened, and they broke up. Right after they made up and were on track to getting back together, she was killed. And now that she's Back from the Dead, they find out they're now technically divorced. When they reunite as a couple, they find out they're both going through hard times and aren't ready to stay together.
Twang Hello: Except for him barely missing his targets isn't an issue. His arrows blow up.
Underestimating Badassery: Villains, and in some cases some fans, usually underestimate Hawkeye because he fights alongside Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America. He soon reminds them why he fights alongside Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America.
Verbal Tic: The Russian gangsters who harass Hawkeye throughout volume 4 say "bro" in virtually every sentence, usually at the end.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Hawkeye and Green Arrow in JLA/Avengers.
- Clint and anyone, really. He'll call out and argue with Cap, but there's no one he holds more respect for. He'll patronize Kate Bishop and treat her like a child but considers her the best archer he's ever met, he'll tease Bobbi but she's the first person he ever loved, he makes fun of Spider-Man yet he's got no problem confessing his insecurities to him, etc.
What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: He uses a bow and arrow, not even a crossbow. He's on a team that at times features The Mighty Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Scarlet Witch and many other juggernauts. Despite this he makes it work.
You Remind Me of X: Steve Rogers notes that Kate Bishop, the second Hawkeye, reminds her of Clint in the way she called him out over his treatment of Patriot & gives her permission to use the Hawkeye name. Clint himself notes that she reminds him of himself at a young age.
Your Cheating Heart: In issue 3 of he current ongoing, Clint sleeps with Cherry, a girl he just met that he knows is giving him a fake name. Meanwhile, in the various Avengers team books, Clint is dating Spider-Woman. Issue 9 is dealing with the implications of this event.