Origin Story of Hawkeye | Clint Barton

Marvel has many marvelous Superhero characters but most of them get overshadowed under the big names (like Captain America, Iron Man, Thor). These characters are no less a brand themselves and stand toe to toe with the Superhero Franchise. Today we’re gonna talk about a superhero who’s often overlooked or cornered in the mainstream media, Hawkeye. So, let’s take a look at the Origin story of Hawkeye and explore more about the ace archer’s character.

Hawkeye’s Origin Story

Hawkeye aka Clint Barton is an ace archer, who’s known for his accuracy. The superhero character was created by the duo of Stan Lee (writer) and Don Heck (artist). Hawkeye’s character was first introduced in the Marvel Comics in 1964 where he was depicted as a supervillain in the comic book ‘Tales of Suspense’ (#57). But in the year ‘1965’ the character was revived as a superhero and Hawkeye joined the team of Avengers.

Talking about Hawkeye’s early life, he was born in Waverly, lowa. Clint lost both his parents as a result he had to live in an orphanage. However, after spending 6 years in the orphanage, Barton, accompanied by his brother, ran away from the orphanage to join a group (Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders). There he met ‘Swordsman’, who trained the young Barton in becoming an ace archer (with the assistance of ‘Trick Short’). After mastering the art of archery Barton grabbed everyone’s attention and became a major carnival attraction. And then he was referred as “Hawkeye” or “The World’s Greatest Marksman” (for his mastery in the skills of archery).

Then Hawkeye spent some time working in Circus where he got inspired from Iron Man and wanted to be a costumed superhero. However, his first venture was forgettable (he was misunderstood as a criminal and was accused of a theft).

Skills and Ability of Clint Barton

Barton doesn’t possess godly powers like Superman or Thor. Nor the archer has superhuman strength like Hulk or magical powers like Doctor Strange. But the man is a true fighter who has been trained since his childhood. Initially the archer got trained by the duo of Trick Shot and Swordsman who taught him the basics of archery. And lately the ace archer got training from the leader of Avengers team ‘Captain America’. Captain trained Barton to become a deadly weapon. He enriched the archer with martial arts skills, taught him tactics of fight & warfare and also trained Hawkeye in hand to hand combat. Clint has faced tough times, has trained and conditioned himself to be a tough nut to crack. This makes him a tough competitor for any opponent.

Hawkeye’s Love Life

Clint Barton has had his fair share of romance in the comics. The character has seen multiple romantic storylines in the Marvel comics. One the first and most significant of them was his storyline with the former  S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Barbara Morse (Bobbi), who is commonly known as ‘Mockingbird’. Hawkeye even went on to marry his lady love (Mockingbird). However, the union is short-lived. The duo gets separated after an unfortunate event took place between Mockingbird and the Phantom Rider (Lincoln Slade). The event created trust issues between the pair (Barbara Morse and Clint Barton) and became the reason for their separation.

Clint Barton Portrayal in MCU

Actor Jeremy Renner plays the character of Clint Barton (Hawkeye) in the MCU. He first appeared in the 2011 superhero film ‘Thor’. After which the character has appeared in several Marvel Universe movies. Clint has been an integral part of the Blockbuster movie series of Avengers and has featured in half a dozen Marvel movies, including blockbusters like Avengers: Endgame. The character also got its own mini-series in 2021 named ‘Hawkeye’. The series was created by the writer & producer ‘Jonathan lgla’. The miniseries had Hailee Steinfeld and Jeremy Renner in the primary roles. Where Hailee portrayed the role of Kate Bishop and Renner portrayed the role of Clint Barton.

The indications are clear that we’ll be witnessing a new version of Hawkeye in the form of Kate Bishop. But we believe that Clint shouldn’t be cornered. Barton’s character has so many more layers to explore which haven’t been explored on the big screen yet. The superhero has great potential, the best part about Clint Barton’s character is its versatile nature & adaptability which can be utilized very well in different scenarios. What’s your take on MCU’s use of Clint Barton’s charter and its future aspects.

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