Who Is Hawkeye?
Renowned for his pin-point accuracy and his smooth bow skills, Clint Barton, or Hawkeye has played a vital role in the history of the Avengers. However things didn’t quite start out on the most positive footings.
Debuting in 1964 in Tales of Suspense #57 , Hawkeye went head to head with Iron Man, starting his comic run as a villain. The same issue also featured the “handsome Hawkeye” teaming up with Black Widow, a history that was also shared when both heroes appeared together in the MCU.
Within the cinematic universe, Hawkeye’s (Jeremy Renner) brief first appearance was in Thor. Tasked with guarding Thor’s hammer Mjolnir by SHIELD on the site of its landing.
Barton returned then in a bigger role in Avengers Assemble, where Loki’s mind control made him a pawn of the Asgardian for a majority of the movie. Coming to blows with his long time friend Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) who managed to knock him unconscious and know Barton out of the mind control. Pulling himself together just in time for the splash-page action sequence and proved he had the skill it took to be a full-fledged member of the Avengers.
One of the biggest changes between the MCU and comic universe is the fact that Hawkeye actually has a wife and family within the MCU, as revealed in Avengers: Age of Ultron. His comic counterpart however was married to a completely different character who also happens to be in the MCU, Mockingbird (Adrianne Palicki). But as she has only ever featured in Marvel TV, we have never heard if their paths have crossed in their time working with SHIELD.
What Are Hawkeye’s Powers?
Having trained with the villain Swordsman in his youth as part of the travelling circus, Hawkeye is a particularly skilled acrobat, fencer and marksman.
Hawkeye is also known to carry a quiver with some specialised trick arrows that can aid him in various situations he finds himself in. From grappling hooks to small explosions, Hawkeye’s long-range skills are definitely an asset.
Whats In Store For Hawkeye In Civil War?
Having sided with Cap, Hawkeye’s fate is probably one of the biggest mysteries going into Civil War. We have seen very little of him in the trailers, yet what we have seen, has been pretty cool.
We do know that he will once again go fist to fist with Black Widow, and we can only hope that he comes out of this one in a better way.
We have also seen him teaming up with Ant-Man , Scott Lang as he shoots him towards Iron-Man on an arrow recreating an iconic tag team moment from the comics.
But perhaps Barton’s motives for siding with cap have been swayed following the “fall of SHIELD” and the disappearance of Nick Fury. Perhaps Hydra’s infiltration into SHIELD tainted his loyalties to the government and it’s organisations. Only time will tell, but we sure can’t wait.
Hawkeye is shooting into action when Captain America: Civil War lands April 29.
