Clint Barton: Hawkeye Appreciation 2020

[Ruby Quartz Diamond]

Looks like we reached a drought here so let me enliven it a little.

I finished reading Gruenwald's Hawkeye solo series (1983) 3 weeks ago and I love it so much. There are sooo many things I love about it and the solo run just reminds me why I love Hawkeye as a character so much. I love that Hawkeye's origins were covered here. I love that despite having an abusive dad, being orphans and moved from foster home to another and finding out his master is a criminal, you'd think that he has trust issues and would struggle forming healthy relationships with others but he latch on to any woman who would give the time of the day.

This time, he got betrayed in the worst way possible and in his lowest of lows, he was trapped in a pit with sludge melting away his clothes together with Mockingbird. I admire that despite him feeling that the whole world has ended, he lifted himself to his feet and worked hard to conquer that setback. He didn't even need a pep talk. I also like that they showed him crying and it's pretty surprising in the 80s because men are 'taught' not to show their feelings but here we have Hawkeye wearing his heart on his sleeve but not to the point of being a crybaby. I was also surprised that they showed Mockingbird being beaten to a pulp. I like that it happened as well. If it were to happen now, people would be crying at how that's domestic abuse and abuse against women.

I also like that this is exclusively just Clint. Sure, Cap appeared but it's a good thing that Clint maintained that he didn't need Cap's help and this run told us how Clint feels overshadowed by his teammates.

Anyway, I like the villain Crossfire for this issue. His Operation Undertaker plan actually sounds legit: triggering the rage centre of the heroes' brains and Clint taking drastic measures like making himself deaf so that he won't hear the ultrasonic sounds and be immune to them. And then the way he brushed off Mockingbird later because he didnt want her to think that he has gone deaf was funny.

All in all, I enjoyed this run much better than Fraction's and Rosenberg's Hawkeye runs.

[OOTCS]

Looks like we reached a drought here so let me enliven it a little.

I finished reading Gruenwald's Hawkeye solo series (1983) 3 weeks ago and I love it so much. There are sooo many things I love about it and the solo run just reminds me why I love Hawkeye as a character so much. I love that Hawkeye's origins were covered here. I love that despite having an abusive dad, being orphans and moved from foster home to another and finding out his master is a criminal, you'd think that he has trust issues and would struggle forming healthy relationships with others but he latch on to any woman who would give the time of the day.

This time, he got betrayed in the worst way possible and in his lowest of lows, he was trapped in a pit with sludge melting away his clothes together with Mockingbird. I admire that despite him feeling that the whole world has ended, he lifted himself to his feet and worked hard to conquer that setback. He didn't even need a pep talk. I also like that they showed him crying and it's pretty surprising in the 80s because men are 'taught' not to show their feelings but here we have Hawkeye wearing his heart on his sleeve but not to the point of being a crybaby. I was also surprised that they showed Mockingbird being beaten to a pulp. I like that it happened as well. If it were to happen now, people would be crying at how that's domestic abuse and abuse against women.

I also like that this is exclusively just Clint. Sure, Cap appeared but it's a good thing that Clint maintained that he didn't need Cap's help and this run told us how Clint feels overshadowed by his teammates.

Anyway, I like the villain Crossfire for this issue. His Operation Undertaker plan actually sounds legit: triggering the rage centre of the heroes' brains and Clint taking drastic measures like making himself deaf so that he won't hear the ultrasonic sounds and be immune to them. And then the way he brushed off Mockingbird later because he didnt want her to think that he has gone deaf was funny.

All in all, I enjoyed this run much better than Fraction's and Rosenberg's Hawkeye runs.

I loved that miniseries too! Clint's world outside of the Avengers finally started to open up in a big way with that book (continued in Avengers Solo a few years later, where we find out about Clint's abusive father and a little more about his circus history). I think Gruenwald's voice for Hawkeye will always be the definitive one for me. Plus, he both wrote and penciled the miniseries, which is incredibly impressive.

Crossfire, Oddball, and Bombshell made great villains for the story, with Oddball and Bombshell being a kind of evil complement of Hawkeye and Mockingbird (the same way that the Hood and Madame Masque would be much later, in Bendis's New Avengers). Oddball with his circus-style costume and shtick made a good foil for Clint, and I like the part where he considers having this guy as his permanent nemesis before deciding that Oddball is too bloodthirsty to be allowed to stick around. Of course, that was before he met Crossfire.

Such a good series!

[Matternativ]

Looks like we reached a drought here so let me enliven it a little.

I finished reading Gruenwald's Hawkeye solo series (1983) 3 weeks ago and I love it so much. There are sooo many things I love about it and the solo run just reminds me why I love Hawkeye as a character so much. I love that Hawkeye's origins were covered here. I love that despite having an abusive dad, being orphans and moved from foster home to another and finding out his master is a criminal, you'd think that he has trust issues and would struggle forming healthy relationships with others but he latch on to any woman who would give the time of the day.

This time, he got betrayed in the worst way possible and in his lowest of lows, he was trapped in a pit with sludge melting away his clothes together with Mockingbird. I admire that despite him feeling that the whole world has ended, he lifted himself to his feet and worked hard to conquer that setback. He didn't even need a pep talk. I also like that they showed him crying and it's pretty surprising in the 80s because men are 'taught' not to show their feelings but here we have Hawkeye wearing his heart on his sleeve but not to the point of being a crybaby. I was also surprised that they showed Mockingbird being beaten to a pulp. I like that it happened as well. If it were to happen now, people would be crying at how that's domestic abuse and abuse against women.

I also like that this is exclusively just Clint. Sure, Cap appeared but it's a good thing that Clint maintained that he didn't need Cap's help and this run told us how Clint feels overshadowed by his teammates.

Anyway, I like the villain Crossfire for this issue. His Operation Undertaker plan actually sounds legit: triggering the rage centre of the heroes' brains and Clint taking drastic measures like making himself deaf so that he won't hear the ultrasonic sounds and be immune to them. And then the way he brushed off Mockingbird later because he didnt want her to think that he has gone deaf was funny.

All in all, I enjoyed this run much better than Fraction's and Rosenberg's Hawkeye runs.

Glad you liked it! I have mixed feelings myself.
On one hand there is a lot to like from the overall story to how it expands on his non Avengers life.

On the other hand I find comics from that time generally hard to read because everything is so overdramatic and this comic is certainly no exception and I find the romance in this to be extremely forced and weird even for that point of time.

I do wish Crossfire had stayed a viable thread and rival through the years if nothing else.
Nowadays when we see him it's usually just him being punched with a couple of other C and D Listers.

[cc008]

Is the Gruenwald series the one with the wendigo? I quite liked THAT story

[OOTCS]

Is the Gruenwald series the one with the wendigo? I quite liked THAT story

I think you're talking about the Hawkeye (1994) miniseries by Chuck Dixon and Scott Kolins that follows Clint's journey in the wilderness after Bobbi's death? Although that wasn't a Wendigo; it was some sort of mutated wolf, if I recall correctly.

The Gruenwald series is the 1983 story where he and Bobbi first met, right before the start of West Coast Avengers.

[cc008]

I think you're talking about the Hawkeye (1994) miniseries by Chuck Dixon and Scott Kolins that follows Clint's journey in the wilderness after Bobbi's death? Although that wasn't a Wendigo; it was some sort of mutated wolf, if I recall correctly.

The Gruenwald series is the 1983 story where he and Bobbi first met, right before the start of West Coast Avengers.

Got it, got it.

[Matternativ]

I think you're talking about the Hawkeye (1994) miniseries by Chuck Dixon and Scott Kolins that follows Clint's journey in the wilderness after Bobbi's death? Although that wasn't a Wendigo; it was some sort of mutated wolf, if I recall correctly.

The Gruenwald series is the 1983 story where he and Bobbi first met, right before the start of West Coast Avengers.

That one was bizarr.
I love how they gave Clint "an edge" via giving him batman eyes and stubbles.

[OOTCS]

That one was bizarr.
I love how they gave Clint "an edge" via giving him batman eyes and stubbles.

That book was extremely 90s. If you can get through the gritty art and lettering, there's a good story, but it's very hard for me to read 90s comics.

[cc008]

That one was bizarr.
I love how they gave Clint "an edge" via giving him batman eyes and stubbles.

lmao yes VERY Batman-esque. I remember that as well

[Matternativ]

That book was extremely 90s. If you can get through the gritty art and lettering, there's a good story, but it's very hard for me to read 90s comics.

lmao yes VERY Batman-esque. I remember that as well

In theory the whole grimm aesthetic and story should clash with the fact that he gets himself a fluffy sidekick but I think it works somehow oddly enough.

It's a 70-80ies story wrapped in a blanket of 90ies edge.
Kinda charming.

[K7P5V]

In theory the whole grimm aesthetic and story should clash with the fact that he gets himself a fluffy sidekick but I think it works somehow oddly enough.

It's a 70-80ies story wrapped in a blanket of 90ies edge.
Kinda charming.

Agreed. Will always prefer the original costume, but this series was a wonderful reading experience...

[OOTCS]

Looks like we'll be seeing Clint again sooner than expected. He's in the preview for spoilers:

Spider-Woman #7: https://aiptcomics.com/2020/12/17/ex...pider-woman-7/

end of spoilers

[Dermie]

Looks like we'll be seeing Clint again sooner than expected. He's in the preview for spoilers:

Spider-Woman #7: https://aiptcomics.com/2020/12/17/ex...pider-woman-7/

end of spoilers

spoilers:

Its nice to see that this is touching on FREEFALL a bit as well, with reference to Clint and Linda's relationship and break up.

end of spoilers

[Dermie]

That book was extremely 90s. If you can get through the gritty art and lettering, there's a good story, but it's very hard for me to read 90s comics.

For me, the main high point of that mini was someone finally doing something with Trickshot again.

Given that they were doing grim-n-gritty Hawkeye since Clint was grieving for Bobbi, I would have liked to have seen the mini deal with that a bit more directly. That whole aspect was bungled pretty badly by all parties involved. They should have had Clint either leave after #100 when Bobbi died, but issue #101 was part of an Avengers/X-Men crossover and I guess they must have already planned on Clint having a role in it--so he had to stick around for it (although he really didn't have a big part).

So instead they have Clint leave between issues before #102, with no on-panel departure. He's just already gone, with one of the characters going "well, I guess that makes sense given his wife just died". That seemed pretty sloppy to me, given Clint's history with the WCA book--him quitting the team due to the death of his wife shouldn't be treated like an afterthought to be acknowledged in passing dialogue. Making it worse is the fact that #102 was the final issue of the series, with the WCA disbanding. Since they kept Clint around for the crossover, it would have made SO much more sense to have him stick around for #102 as well and leave when the team disbands. They could have invited him to join Force Works and then have him turn them down because he's going off to do his "lone wolf in the wilderness" routine.

Anyway, back to the miniseries...it wasn't bad, but I thought it could have been better.

[Matternativ]

Looks like we'll be seeing Clint again sooner than expected. He's in the preview for spoilers:

Spider-Woman #7: https://aiptcomics.com/2020/12/17/ex...pider-woman-7/

end of spoilers

I wanted to say it's a pleasant surprise but I don't really like how he's written in that exchange.
Scrap it, I actually don't really like the entire exchange.

I've been enjoying the story and art in this run but the dialogue is hit and miss at times.