Hawkeye #1
Listen to the Mockingbird
At the headquarters of Cross Technological Enterprises, Hawkeye — the company head of security — is testing out a newly designed sky-cycle built for him by a technician named Jorge Latham.[1] He tests out the cycle maneuverability and his ability to take down crooks with his bow and arrow while driving. It passes this test with flying colours and Clint thanks Jorge for the hard work her put into it. After the test is done, one of the guards that was helping out asks Hawkeye why he uses a bow and arrow when he could use a gun. Hawkeye says the bow is quieter and in his hands is a much deadlier weapon than any gun. To prove his point, he has the guard try to draw the bow string. It’s a lot harder than it looks, but Hawkeye is able to do it with ease after years of practice and toning his muscles.
That’s when Sheila Danning, the head of public relations, arrives for the date she had planned with Clint. As the two take the sky-cycle back to Hawkeye’s apartment, Clint thinks about how great this relationship is going and figures it is going to be a serious one, or at the very least not like his past romances with the Black Widow and the Scarlet Witch, which soured the archer because he was constantly getting dumped.[2] Once at his apartment, Clint jumps into a quick shower before going on their date.[3] When Clint comes out of the bathroom, Sheila asks him to tell her how he became Hawkeye.
Clint tells her how he and his brother Barney were orphaned as children and lived in an orphanage until they ran away when he was about 13 years old. They ended up working for a traveling carnival. There, Clint was taken under the wing of the Swordsman who taught him everything he knew about archery. However, one night he caught the Swordsman trying to rob the box office. Refusing the offer of a cut, Clint was chased to the big top where he tried to get away by running across the tight rope. The Swordsman then cut the rope causing him to fall to the ground, breaking both of Clint’s legs.[4] Clint stayed on at the carnival as an archer, but he was inspired to become a superhero one day when he saw Iron Man in action. That’s when he created his Hawkeye costume, however he says there was some misunderstandings between him and Iron Man, leading to a number of clashes.[5] Eventually, Clint was sponsored by Iron Man to join the Avengers when the original founders were taking a hiatus. He joined the new team which included Captain America, the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver.[6] He concludes his story, by saying that was when he finally made something of himself.
The couple then lay on the couch and are about to get romantic when suddenly he gets an emergency call back at CTE. Although this is supposed to be his night off, Clint is devoted to duty and quickly changes back into Hawkeye. He tells Sheila to stick around because he plans on picking things up where they left off once he checks things out back at work.
Hawkeye soon arrives at CTE on his sky-cycle and goes inside one of the main warehouses. There he catches Mockingbird snooping around. As the two fight, she introduces herself as a former SHIELD agent turned costumed crime fighter, and that she has come after an underworld contact informed her that Cross was developing some kind of mind control device. Hawkeye isn’t quick to trust her and subdues the intruder as the rest of the security team arrives on the scene. He hands Mockingbird over to them, more interested in returning to his date. However, what Mockingbird said has implanted the seed of doubt in his head and when he gets back to his apartment, Clint decides to send Sheila home so he can do some more investigating.
When Hawkeye goes looking around the warehouse for proof of Mockingbird’s claims he is suddenly attacked by his own security team. Diving to the floor, Clint cuts the lights and begins picking off the guards in the darkness until one of them arrives with Sheila as a hostage. Not wanting her to get hurt, Clint surrenders to them and is tossed into the pit where Mockingbird is being held. That’s when Sheila reveals that she is part of the mind control plot and that her job was to seduce Clint so he would not interfere with their plans. Hearing this is a huge blow to Hawkeye’s self-esteem that he sits down and waits to die when the guards begin dumping industrial waste into the pit. Mockingbird tells Hawkeye to stop pitying himself and convinces him to act. Summoning his sky-cycle by remote control, Hawkeye sticks a suction-cup arrow to it, allowing him and Mockingbird to climb out of the pit.
Now consumed with rage, Hawkeye crashes his sky-cycle into the main office building to confront Danning over her betrayal. He admits that he wants to kill her but stops short of doing so, saying he doesn’t care what Cross is up to and just wants to collect his quiver and bow and leave. Sheila warns Hawkeye that he knows too much and they won’t stop coming after him until he is dead. Clint ignores this threat and leaves on his sky-cycle. On his way out, Mockingbird hops aboard and asks him if he finished sorting out his business. Choking back tears, Clint tells her to shut up, saying that none of this would have happened if she hadn’t shown up.
Recurring Characters
Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Jorge Latham, Sheila Danning
Continuity Notes
At the time of this story, Hawkeye was bumped off the Avengers by their NSA liaison in Avengers #181. He later applied and got the job as head of security at CTE in Avengers #189.
Clint has a very cringe attitude when it comes to the past two loves in his life. The details:
Black Widow: Clint’s infatuation with the Black Widow started in Tales of Suspense #57. Although she was just using him to help with her spy operations, the two did fall in love eventually, particularly after Clint joined the Avengers and then freed Natasha from her communist masters in Avengers #30. However, she eventually left him to pursue a espionage career with SHIELD in issue #76. He was particularly upset when he discovered that she then got into a romantic relationship with Daredevil in Daredevil #99.
Scarlet Witch: Hawkeye pined over the Scarlet Witch for some time while on the Avengers. However, she was uninterested and was pursing the Vision. When Clint discovered that he didn’t have a chance he rage quit the Avengers for a in Avengers #109.
While showering, Hawkeye thinks about how he almost quit his job at CTE after learning the company was manufacturing a deadly type of bomb. See Marvel Fanfare #3.
This is a somewhat incomplete version of Clint’s origin story. However, it is more or less the same as when it was first told in Avengers #19 and 65. We learned more in Solo Avengers #2: That Clint and Barney’s father was an alcoholic and that their parents died in a drunk driving accident. Clint was also revealed to have been trained by an archer named Trickshot and only worked with the Swordsman. Hawkeye’s past has been expanded upon in Hawkeye: Blindspot #1, Hawkeye (vol. 3) #1-3, 5, 7-8, (vol. 4) #12, and 19.
As stated above, Clint was manipulated by the Black Widow into helping her with her espionage operations leading to clashes with Iron Man. See Tales of Suspense #57, 60 and 64.
Hawkeye first joined the Avengers back in Avengers #16.
