Superhero Origins: Hawkeye

He’s gone from the reluctant villain to a member of the Avengers. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’re exploring the comic book origin of Hawkeye. As with most comic book characters there are often re-imaginations and different versions to a character’s past. We’ve chosen to primarily follow the storyline which unfolded in tales of suspense and was expanded on in the Avengers.

Orphaned at an early age, Clinton Barnton was raised in a children’s home. Running away to join a traveling carnival he made a living as an expert archer and acrobat. One night there was a deadly ride malfunction. Helpless to do anything, Barnton stood and watch as Iron Man flew in and prevented a horrific disaster to the wild deuce of the audience. Filled with insane jealousy, Barnton crave the same appreciation.

As a result, the ace archer decided to set up a basement workshop to create a flashy costume and mechanical gimmicks. These would compensate for his lack of superpowers aside from his acrobatic skills and unfailing accuracy with the bow and arrow. Soon after, he took to the night with his new suction cap arrow and pulley device almost instantly he witness a heist, pin the criminal against the pole with an arrow and swoop down to take a look at what was stolen. The police arrive only to think that he was one of the criminals responsible. Dropping the jewelry, he was pursued before being rescued by Black Widow, a spy for Soviet Russia. Smitten by her beauty, Hawkeye agreed to partner with the villain in order to help her defeat Iron Man.

To stock the odds on Hawkeye’s favor, the duo stole technology from industrialist Tony Stark while using her financial resources to further arm the archer with deadly state of the art arrows. Engaging Iron Man several times, Hawkeye struggled with his misgivings about his role in the conflict yet unintentionally found himself in the role of a super villain. While he was defeated on every occasion, an injury to Black Widow caused Barnton to pledge to go straight and apply as a member of the Avenger superhero team. And yet another chaotic start, his application consisted of breaking into the Avengers mansion and binding and gagging the team’s butler, Edwin Jarvis.

Despite this misstep, his talents were recognized and he was accepted as full member of the newest team, which consisted of Captain America, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Trained by Captain America in tactics and martial arts, he since established himself as a steady force for good and a deadly opponent due to his use of trick arrows and unparalleled precision.