Hawkeye
Hawkeye, born Clint Barton, is an American archer and hero known for his exceptional skill with a bow. After some time spent infatuated with the Soviet spy Black Widow, obeying and following her anti-American endeavors, Hawkeye is now a member of the Avengers, seeking redemption for his past ills.
Biography
Early life
Clint Barton grew up an orphan and never knew his parents. He joined the circus, where he was mentored by an impressive combat artist and showman known as the Swordsman. Clint had a passion for archery, and Swordsman helped him to develop his natural skill with the bow as he came of age. However, the Swordsman had simply groomed Hawkeye to be his criminal apprentice. After stealing a great deal of money from the circus, he tried to coerce Clint into being his accomplice. Clint refused, and narrowly escaped Swordsman's ensuing attack. Barton adopted the name of Hawkeye, and continued working as an entertainer.[1]
Caught in Widow's web
In 1964, Hawkeye was performing at a carnival in New York City demonstrating his archery skills. One day, when one of the carnival rides went off its hinges, the hero Iron Man appeared and saved its riders, taking the crowd's attention away from an annoyed Hawkeye. Jealous of Iron Man's popularity, Hawkeye constructed himself a costume and a series of special arrows that could accomplish a variety of tasks. He set out to be a hero, stopping an attempted jewel heist but failing to prevent the culprit from getting away. The man did drop his haul of jewels however, and as Hawkeye knelt to inspect it, he was confronted by police. Hawkeye ran from the presumptuous officers, and was picked up in a car by a mysterious woman: the Soviet spy known as Black Widow. Hawkeye was instantly grabbed by Widow's beauty, and blindly agreed to do whatever she asked of him. She took him to her rented home in the suburbs and armed him with advanced technology to supplement his arrows in exchange for carrying out her wish: to defeat Iron Man, but not harm his apparent employer Tony Stark (in fact, Stark and Iron Man were secretly one and the same). Hawkeye infiltrated Stark's plant in Flushing where he was quickly received by Iron Man. Hawkeye fired his special rust-inflicting arrows at Iron Man, forcing him to quickly doff the stiffening pieces of his armor. He retreated as Hawkeye grabbed the removed armor and fled, clearly seeing the value in them. Iron Man found some replacement armor and chased after Hawkeye as quickly as he could, stopping his getaway car and engaging him in direct battle. Hawkeye attempted to flee to the docks near the airport, but Iron Man continued to pursue him. Black Widow was waiting at the dock for Hawkeye: she had used her wiles to recruit him to her cause and defeat Iron Man. Hawkeye fired a powerful demolition arrow at Iron Man, but it ricocheted off of his resilient armor and struck Widow. Concerned for her wellbeing, Hawkeye rushed the injured Widow onto their getaway boat on the way to getting her medical attention. Iron Man was unable to pursue them due to the risk of flying so close to the airport.[2]
After some time of hiding out, Hawkeye and Widow heard over the radio that Tony Stark had disappeared, and that Iron Man was a person of interest in his disappearance. With Stark out of the picture, Widow told Hawkeye that now was the perfect time to steal weapon plans from one of his factories. Hawkeye did as she instructed, but was quickly seen by security. He locked himself in Stark's office with secretary Pepper Potts, but found that the concept of stealing plans was a flawed one: Stark didn't keep any such things hidden away anywhere except in his mind. Iron Man soon arrived, and after a brief skirmish Hawkeye was forced to flee into the night. Elsewhere, Soviet spies caught up to the Black Widow and took her back under their thrall, leaving Hawkeye by his lonesome.[3] Some months later, Widow returned, renewed in her commitment to the Soviet cause and sporting a new uniform that gave her powers similar to those of Spider-Man. Hawkeye was overjoyed to see his love, and though he wouldn't betray his country directly, he was eager to assist Widow in taking down Iron Man. The two kidnapped Tony Stark's chauffeur and secretary, Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts, and used them to bait Iron Man. The hero arrived and defeated the duo—Hawkeye's affection for Widow hindered his performance in the fight, and the two were forced to flee.[4]
The Avengers
Shortly thereafter, a Soviet spy attempted to assassinate Widow, but Hawkeye arrived in time to save her and deliver her to the hospital. Hawkeye was shaken up by this event, and realized that he needed to redeem himself for his crimes. He came to the Avengers a week later and offered to join them. Coincidentally, three of the Avengers—Giant-Man, the Wasp, and his old foe Iron Man—were considering time off from the team anyway. After a brief search for applicants, the Avengers accepted Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch—all reformed villains—as their replacements, leaving extant member Captain America as the leader to guide the new heroes.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ The Avengers #19: "The Coming of...the Swordsman!" (August 1965) Lee, Stan (w), Heck, Don (p), Ayers, Dick (i), Simek, Artie (let).
- ↑ Tales of Suspense #57a: "Hawkeye, the Marksman!" (September 1964) Lee, Stan (w), Heck, Don (art), Rosen, Sam (let).
- ↑ Tales of Suspense #60a: "Suspected of Murder!" (December 1964) Lee, Stan (w), Heck, Don (p), Ayers, Dick (i), Rosen, Sam (let).
- ↑ Tales of Suspense #64a: "Hawkeye and the New Black Widow Strike Again!" (April 1965) Lee, Stan (w), Heck, Don (p), Stone, Chic (i), Rosen, Sam (let).
- ↑ The Avengers #16: "The Old Order Changeth!" (May 1965) Lee, Stan (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Ayers, Dick (i), Simek, Artie (let).