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Credit: Marvel StudiosMCU fans have only recently learned more about Clint Barton/Hawkeye with the Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld (Kate Bishop/Hawkeye) series Hawkeye now streaming on Disney+. While fans liked the Hawkeye series, featuring Florence Pugh’s return as Yelena Belova/Black Widow, it did not get a second series. Still, it will get a spinoff in Echo starring Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez/Echo.
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The Marvel Cinematic Universe had never given the Avenging archer much in character development, which has angered Marvel Comics readers since his first appearance in Thor (2011). Clint Barton, the SHIELD agent, did not have the same vibe as his comic book counterpart.
And MCU fans have called him useless compared to his teammates Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson). He definitely not in contention for the Strongest Avenger.
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Comic book readers have loved their down-on-his-luck circus freak, Clint Barton, since his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #57 (1964) by Stan Lee and Don Heck. Since then, he has had many great adventures both as a hero and a villain despite having no superpowers. He’s worked for the TVA, been Captain America, and worked on the Thunderbolts.
But Clint Barton has never really been able to shake the stigma of being an odd choice for an Avenger. And in Marvel Comics’ new major event this summer, A.X.E.: Judgement Day, Hawkeye will face his greatest challenge yet – standing up for himself. The official description of the Avengers #60 tie-in for the event by writer Mark Russel, artist Greg Land, and colorist Javier Garron reads:
“A.X.E.: JUDGMENT DAY TIE-IN! The Avengers’ ace archer is back! As Judgment Day looms- Hawkeye is called upon to justify his existence. As a benchmark- Hawkeye must prove that he brings at least as much joy and usefulness to the world as a randomly chosen mailbox- which- admittedly- is a pretty high bar. RATED T+”
Marvel Comics has been gearing up for A.X.E.: Judgement Day all year. The crossover event written by Kieron Gillen and drawn by Valerio Schiti will hit comic book stores on July 6, 2022. It will pit three of the biggest teams in the Marvel Universe against each other – the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Eternals.
Marvel has teased the new event by saying:
“The X-Men claim they’re the planet’s new gods. The Eternals know that position is already filled. The Avengers are about to realize exactly how many secrets their so-called friends have kept from them. Years of tension lead to a volcanic eruption as two worlds burn. Who has leaked the X-Men’s secrets to their latest foes? Why is Tony Stark abducting an old friend? And who stands in judgment over the whole world? As the world shakes, an unlikely group of heroes and less-than-heroes gather to find a peaceful solution. Sadly, the best laid plans of man, mutant and Eternal oft go awry…”
Its list of tie-ins will include Immortal X-Men #5, X-Men Red #5, A.X.E: Death to the Mutants, X-Force #30, X-Men #13, and of course Avengers #60. It’s being called the biggest comic book event of the year. The plot will begin with the Eternals on a pilgrimage to the Progenitor. However, the Avengers have been using the dead Celestial’s body as a Mountain base.
Let us know in the comments if you think Clint Barton/Hawkeye is more useful than a random mailbox?
You can stream Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and the six series in Marvel’s Phase Four so far — Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany’s WandaVision, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, Marvel’s What If…?, Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, and Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight — on Disney+ anytime.