| Alternate versions of Hawkeye | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Tales of Suspense #57 (September 1964) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Don Heck |
In addition to the mainstream Marvel Universe (designated earth-616) version of the character, Hawkeye has numerous alternate versions throughout the Multiverse.
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A version of Hawkeye, merged with DC Comics's Green Arrow, appears in the Amalgam Comics series JLX. Clint Archer, the JLX member known as Hawkeye, is a combination of Hawkeye's codename, alter ego and costume design, with Green Arrow's facial hair, mask and colour scheme. Another character that merges the two archers (also a member of the JLX) is Oliver Queen, also known as Goliath.[1]
The mainstream version of Hawkeye was indirectly killed by the Scarlet Witch. When the Scarlet Witch reshaped reality into the House of M universe, Hawkeye was resurrected and was a member of Luke Cage's Avengers. Hawkeye soon learned the truth about the House of M reality from Layla Miller. Hawkeye later confronted the Scarlet Witch about what she had done. Overcome with grief and anger, Hawkeye shots an arrow at her. He is then killed again when the Scarlet Witch's children wipe him from existence.
In JLA/Avengers, Clint appears after the Avengers first battle Starro when Captain America sent out a call for reservists. After a confrontation with the Justice League of America and Metron, Hawkeye joins the team when Iron Man uses a Mother Box to send them to the DC Universe. Hawkeye comments on how the League are just knockoffs of the Squadron Supreme. After the quest for the twelve artifacts ends in The Grandmaster merging the two universes to stop Krona. He and fellow archer Green Arrow, who shares many personality traits with Clint, get into an argument over who's the better archer repeatedly. In one version of this universe Clint leaves the Avengers and falls in love with Black Canary, joining the JLA instead. This does not last long, though. Clint is sent into the final battle with Krona due to chronal chaos, but is apparently killed along with Barry Allen. However, after the rest of the heroes are worn out and helpless before Krona, it is Clint and Barry, who had survived the attack, who destroy Krona. A TNT arrow sent by Clint destroys the container of the 12 artifacts, which draws Krona in and restores the universes to their original states.[2]
The Marvel MAX imprint limited series U.S. War Machine, set in an alternate universe, features a civilian version of Hawkeye.[3]
Hawkeye stars in the Marvel Zombies limited series, being one of the first heroes to be infected and "zombified".[4] The character reappears as a head driven insane by the years of inactivity.[5]
In the MC2 limited series American Dream, a blind Clint Barton is retired and trains heroes.[6]
In the Marvel Universe Millennial Visions 2001 story 'Thunderbolts: Give a Guy a Break', an alternate version of Hawkeye decides to brainwash supervillains to become members of the Thunderbolts.[7]
Hawkeye is one of the characters that features in the Bullpen cartoon comic strips, which was later collected in Giant Sized Mini Marvels #1.[8] In Mini Marvels: Ultimate Collection, Hawkeye appears in his own featured storyline "Hawkeye and the Crimson Crown".[9]
A blind, aged Hawkeye is featured in Old Man Logan.[10] In this continuity, Hawkeye married and subsequently divorced Peter Parker's African American daughter. Their daughter Ashley becomes the new Spider-Girl, and eventually the new Kingpin.[11]
The Ultimate Marvel imprint title the Ultimates features a version of Hawkeye who uses a cover story of being a former Olympic archer to hide his conviction of a murder charge of which he was serving (which has not been explained) when he was recruited by Nick Fury into the Ultimates program (a government sponsored program made up of humans with extraordinary abilities and super-human operatives). During his time with the Ultimates, most, if not all, of his missions were of the Black Ops variety of which he partnered with the Black Widow. Just like the Earth 616 Hawkeye, he is brash, opinionated and sure of himself to the point of cockiness, but, when it comes down to it, always sides with the forces of good and will go to almost any length to get the job done. One of the main differences between this version of Hawkeye and the traditional, Earth 616 Hawkeye is that the Ultimate version leans more toward the hard line, mercenary side of his job, as opposed to the "we never kill" motto of most Earth 616 super heroes, meaning he has no problems taking a life if necessary, which happens, and has happened, often in his line of work. Upon proving himself to Nick Fury, he was given a full pardon and his criminal record, along with everything else regarding his former life, were erased and substituted with a new history, giving him a fresh start. Over time, Hawkeye took advantage of this fresh start and built a life for himself which included a suburban home and a girlfriend named Laura with whom he fathered three young children, Callum, Lewis, and Nicole. During the "Invasion" arc of the "Ultimates 2" series [12], it was revealed that his longtime, trusted partner, the Black Widow, was, in fact, a traitor, proceeded to invade his home and murdered his defenseless girlfriend and three children in cold blood. Seeking revenge, Hawkeye, in the end, tracked down the Black Widow, who was pawning herself off as a wounded civilian after the invasion and executed her.[13] As addressed in "Ultimates 3", it was shown that the events during the invasion left him darkly broodish and emotionally devastated; taking on an almost "death wish"-like attitude. While his teammates worried about him, his brash, morally ambiguous and sometimes borderline sadistic/masochistic behavior became even more of an issue. Eventually, Hawkeye found, or appeared to have found, an acceptable emotional center and continued his adventures with the Ultimates in a seemingly stable fashion, but the reasons why have, so far, never been addressed. Hawkeye continues to work for SHIELD and the Ultimates, regardless of the constantly changing roster or changes in politics and continuously gives the impression that his job is his life, especially after the murder of his family. As for his abilities, he is a superior acrobat, martial artist, an uncanny, second to none marksman and is in peak physical condition. Initially, however, it was thought that Hawkeye was in no way "super-human" or enhanced in any way, unlike his former partner, the Black Widow, who had been artificially augmented, and had to rely on the razor-honed skills of his normal human physiology. But later, it was revealed in the "Ultimate Hawkeye" Miniseries (2011) written by Jonathan Hickman[14], that he had been, at some point in his life before his time in prison, "enhanced" by an organization known as "The Program" increasing his marksmanship to an unheard of level of accuracy. Among these enhancements, the "Cones" and "Rods" in his eyes (The specialized cells responsible for normal human vision) had been manipulated. While a normal human has up to 150 million rod cells in their retinas, Hawkeye has closer to 400 million, vastly increasing his visual acuity. As for his cones, he has fewer than the average human causing him to see mostly in black and white, thus increasing visual contrast (of which, according to him, allows him to better see "what's real and what's not", such as seeing through a two way mirror). He also has enhanced muscles around his eyes increasing his ability for orb distortion which changes focal length. As for his arsenal, unlike the Earth 616 Hawkeye who generally relies on his bow and an array of specialized arrows, Ultimate Hawkeye utilizes a wide range of weapons and can turn literally any object into a precisely-aimed projectile (In the "Invasion" arc, Hawkeye had been strapped to a chair and relieved of, what his captors thought, was anything that he might be able to use as a weapon. Underestimating him severely, Hawkeye ripped his own fingernails off and launched them from his hands with fatal accuracy which helped to secure his escape). Whether or not his teammates know of his augmentations is unknown (Nick Fury, head of SHIELD is confirmed in this knowledge), but it would appear that they do not, seeing as how it sometimes "seemed" that his lack of above-human abilities had on more than one occasion, caused him to become distracted by other members of the team who didn't appreciate the concentration it takes him to perform such feats of accuracy and skill (Which, for some reason, is what Hawkeye, apparently, wanted them to think) .[15]It has also been remarked that before the "Ultimate Hawkeye" miniseries, he claimed to need to wear corrective goggles to see properly, but it appears that, that too, may have been a ruse for whatever reason that might be.
In What if? Dark Reign #1, Clint Barton succeeds in killing Norman Osborn. The superhero community then hunts him down for his crimes.[16]
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