The Avengers’ archer Hawkeye has been a fan favorite and a fixture in Marvel’s premiere superhero team since he joined up in The Avengers #16 way back in the 1960s. Hawkeye’s importance to the team was highlighted when he became one of the founding members in the MCU version of The Avengers, which cast him as a SHIELD agent who joined the fledgling team during the Chitauri invasion.
In the comic books, however, Hawkeye’s initiation was much more disturbing – not just for him but for the founding members of the Avengers. While considered by many to be “The World’s Mightiest Heroes,” once modern readers learn how Hawkeye joined the team, many may wonder if the superheroes really had the world’s best interests at heart.
To understand why Hawkeye’s Avengers introduction was so unnerving, readers should know that – in the comics – Hawkeye actually started his career as a villain and not a hero. A former carnival archer with uncanny aim, Clint Barton learned his skills from professional criminals Trick Shot and the Swordsman. To his credit, Hawkeye actually tried to turn his mentor over to the police and decided to become a costumed hero with trick arrows after he saw Iron Man in action. Unfortunately, Hawkeye was mistaken for a thief and ended up fighting Iron Man instead. Things got worse for Clint when he fell in love with the Russian agent the Black Widow.
In an odd reversal, where the MCU version of Hawkeye apparently turned Natasha Romanov from a Russian spy into a SHIELD agent, the comic book version of Natasha turned Hawkeye into a criminal. Eventually, Natasha would desert her masters, but was badly wounded in the process, making Hawkeye decide to make up for his past misdeeds by joining the Avengers.
To show the Avengers what a great superhero he would make, however, Clint decided he should… illegally break into Avengers Mansion and tie up Tony Stark’s butler Jarvis. He then shot a smoke arrow at the Avengers meeting room, convincing the team that they were under attack. Once Iron Man, Giant Man, and the Wasp confronted Hawkeye, however, Clint explained that he only wanted to be join the team. He then went on to show his good intentions by shooting three arrows at Jarvis and letting the razor-sharp points cut the butler free.
As ludicrous and insane as Hawkeye’s actions were, however, what happened next was even more disturbing. Giant Man immediately endorsed Hawkeye’s membership. The Wasp started flirting with Hawkeye. And Iron Man was elated that a known criminal had broken into his home since the founding Avengers had been wanting to take a leave of absence and needed replacements right away. Tony even gave Hawkeye an Avengers Manual so he could start studying their by-laws (which apparently don’t place very stiff penalties on illegal entry or a lot of emphasis on proper background checks).
A few pages later, Hawkeye was formally introduced to the media as the Avengers’ newest recruit by Iron Man, who assured everyone that Hawkeye had successfully passed a rigorous series of qualification tests and had been thoroughly investigated and approved by the federal security agency. Considering that the Avengers had basically hired Hawkeye on the spot after he’d almost murdered their butler, however, one wonders how “rigorous” and “thorough” those tests really were.
Stan Lee played fast and loose with his scripts in the early days of Marvel Comics, counting on regular novelty to interest readers. As it turned out, all the new Avengers recruits were ex-criminals (former Brotherhood of Evil Mutants members Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch joined in the same issue). Clearly, Lee wanted to show how even villains could reform and become heroes – but their immediate acceptance by the heroes and media borders on lunacy.
Nevertheless, Hawkeye would go on to serve as an Avenger with distinction – even holding leadership roles at certain points. Still, one wonders if everyone was so quick to accept him as a superhero in the early days. Jarvis probably kept a safe distance…
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