Avengers: Hawkeye

Hawkeye (1983) #1-4

by Mark Gruenwald, Stan Lee, Roger Stern

The battling bowman's best! The Ace Archer of the Avengers in some ofhis sharpest adventures! His beginnings as a malfeasant marksman! Hissolo stand against X-Men adversary Deathbird! Plus: double-costumeddebuts for Hawkeye's future bride Bobbi Morse, a.k.a. Agent 19, and thecouple's whirwind romance in Hawkeye's first miniseries! Guest-starring the Black Widow, Spider-Man and more!

COLLECTING: HAWKEYE (1983) #1-4; TALES OF SUSPENSE (1959) #57; MARVEL SUPER ACTION #1; AVENGERS (1963) #189; MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) #95

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Comic Book, Fiction, Superheroes, Science Fiction

184 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Gruenwald got his start in comics fandom, publishing his own fanzine, Omniverse, which explored the concept of continuity. Before being hired by Marvel, he wrote text articles for DC Comics official fanzine, The Amazing World of DC Comics. Articles by Gruenwald include "The Martian Chronicles" (a history of the Martian Manhunter) in issue #13 and several articles on the history of the Justice League in issue #14.

In 1978 he was hired by Marvel Comics, where he remained for the rest of his career. Hired initially as an assistant editor in January 1978, Gruenwald was promoted to full editorship by Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter in 1982, putting Gruenwald in charge of The Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Spider Woman, and What If. During this period, he shared an office with writer/editor Denny O'Neil, whom Gruenwald considered a mentor.


In 1982, Gruenwald, Steven Grant, and Bill Mantlo co-wrote Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions, the first limited seriespublished by Marvel Comics. As a writer, Gruenwald is best known for creating the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and his ten-year stint as the writer of Captain America during which he contributed several notable characters such as Crossbones, Diamondback and U.S. Agent. He made a deliberate effort to create villains who would be specific to Captain America, as opposed to generic foes who could as easily have been introduced in another comic.

His 60-issue run on Quasar realized Gruenwald's ambition to write his own kind of superhero. However, he considered his magnum opus to be the mid-1980s 12-issue miniseries Squadron Supreme, which told the story of an alternate universe where a group of well-intended superheroes decide that they would be best suited to run the planet

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the Hawkeye miniseries. Who knew Mark Gruenwald could draw as well as write? Hawkeye and Mockingbird meet and go on the run from gadgety hitmen for 4 issues. Fun stuff. The story also contains the reason why Hawkeye lost his hearing. The collection is filled out with Hawkeye's first appearance and the reason why he left the Avengers and got his security job at Cross Tech Enterprises. It also contains Bobbi Morse's first appearances in costume as Huntress and Mockingbird.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Gruenwald writes and pencils Hawkeye’s first solo book and I can definitely see why he mainly focused on his writing for the rest of his career.

I kid, but his pencils are fine, on a par with a lot of the work being done at the time, they’re nothing special. It probably doesn’t help that he had many different inkers working over his pencils.

The story is fun, more than a little silly in places but I don’t have a problem with that in its place, and has major long-lasting repercussions for the character.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad introduction to Mockingbird and Hawkeye, even though Hawkeye got the only billing. For an old reprint with the garish color palette and everything, it was actually pretty readable. Pretty good writing, good enough art, characters that were interesting - though I definitely like Bobbi more than Clint. But as a team they are pretty good. Not a whole lot of depth or insight though. 3.5 of 5.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hawkeye mini by Mark Gruenwald is a fantastic team-up between Clint Barton and Bobbi Morse (aka Mockingbird). Hawkeye has gone solo from the Avengers, and gets himself into a big mess where he's target number one. He can go crawling back to the Avengers and ask for help, or he and Mockingbird can team up and try to take down this big bad supervillain plot all by themselves. He's just a dude with bow and arrows, practically a joke, and suffering from the worst heartbreak and existential crisis he's ever had, but god damn it he's still a superhero. So he's going to get the job done, no matter what it costs, no matter how dangerous it is! Some neat ranged combat with Hawkeye's arrows, Mockingbird's battle staves, and some supervillain weaponry, as well as some organic hand-to-hand combat as Clint Barton gets to show off his rough-housing. He's the eternal underdog, but he's proud and tough as nails. It's definitely a must-read story for any Hawkeye fan, or anyone who regularly laughs at Hawkeye and needs to learn just why he's such a consistent member of Avengers rosters that feature literal gods and reality-warpers.

Unfortunately the collected is padded out with a bunch of one-shots including Hawkeye's first appearance, Bobbi Morse's first appearances as Huntress and Mockingbird, and the Avengers issue that featured Hawkeye splitting from the Avengers. They're... fine? The Gruenwald mini is a 5-star story and I'd generously give the rest of these stories a 2-star.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This anthology is pretty nice, though short. I enjoyed reading about Hawkeye and how he came to be the Avenger we all know now. However, I was a bit disappointed to see that a couple of the issues in this anthology are not about Hawkeye at all, and are instead about his wife, Mockingbird. I know that she is a large part of who he is, but seeing as how this collection is called Avengers: Hawkeye and not Avengers: Hawkeye and Mockingbird, I would expect that each issue would have to do with Hawkeye, not his wife. I give this three and a half stars based on the fact that the collection is short and that several issues don't even feature Hawkeye at all. Good for the collector, but perhaps there is a better anthology SOLELY dedicated to Hawkeye out on the market.

[Morgan (youarethelibrarian) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time reading a collection of comics - HOORAY!! I only wish the comics had been put in order of release, or chronological by event. It started with the four-comic series of Hawkeye and Mockingbird, then came the first comic Hawkeye was introduced in, the Huntress comic was thrown in the middle, then an appearance of Hawkeye with the Avengers, then the first meeting of Spider-Man and Mockingbird. . . Confusing, right??

But I loved the four with Hawkeye and Mockingbird the best!!

[Greg Trosclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, fast read collecting the first series to feature Hawkeye as a solo character. Mark Gruenwald wrote and drew this book and was assisted by Brett Breeding and Danny Bulandi. This story is about Hawkeye losing his job as security firm CTE and meeting his future bride, Mockingbird. Along the way he faces off against the Silencer, Crazy Eight and Bombshell and finally Crossfire. All are fun single issue stories tied together around his budding relationship with Mockingbird.

This book also features the first Hawkeye appearance in Tales of Suspense 57, a Hawkeye solo story from Avengers 189 and an early Mockingbird story from Marvel Super Action magazine 1. I love both ToS 57 and Avengers 189 as they both tell good stories of Hawkeye but the gem here is the Huntress(Mockingbird) story. It is drawn by classic EC artist George Evans and written by Mike Friedrich. It is a pretty solid little spy caper. It appears to set the character up nicely for future appearances that sadly never happen. She next appears in Marvel Team Up 95 with Spider Man as Mockingbird that kind of wraps up her story that began in Marvel Super Action 1.

I enjoyed this book. It is light and is focused on a set of single issue tales growing two characters stories..

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first time I read this book I didn't think it was anything special, but after reading it as an accompaniment to the main Avengers title it was a lot better. You learned why Hawkeye started working for Cross Technological Enterprises and it the story just seems more fleshed out that way.

Anyway, this mini-series is pretty fun because Hawkeye meets Mockingbird for the first time here. They work together, uncover some corruption, nearly get deafened, fall in love and get married by the end of the four issues. Also included are the first appearances of Hawkeye in Iron Man's comic book as well as some of Mockingbird's earlier appearances.

Decent overall.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this collection, and it's definitely a must have for beginners wanting to know a bit more about Hawkeye's early days. Only knocked off a star because 2 of the 7-8 comics featured didn't have Hawkeye in them at all - they featured Mockingbird, which I enjoyed, but I was really only here for the world's greatest archer.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little romp through Hawkeye’s early days, as a man with more sticks up his butt than in his quiver.

Trivial note: this book includes the moment when he first loses his hearing. Now I finally feel like I can connect with how that became a "thing" for MCU Hawkeye.

[Gomezmr · Rating 5 out of 5]

These comic so was unique.

[Indika de Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of Hawkeye stories. Highly enjoyable...

[Erik Deckers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hawkeye is always one of my favorites

I always liked the 1980s Hawkeye, but wish we had more Hawkeye stories in this book, and not so much Mockingbird.

[Claire Blind Reader]

Did not finish... I just... I couldn't.

[Traci Lew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice collection of some Hawkeye issues. Even the Marvel Team Up with Spider-Man and Mockingbird was enjoyable.

[Tacitus · Rating 3 out of 5]

A motley collection of issues and info on Hawkeye and Mockingbird, who comes off as the better, more interesting character here. Not sure what she sees in Hawkeye.

[connor youngberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

not a consequential book, but seeing hawkeye dehydrated and exhausted trying for hours to hit a bullseye but he can’t, is genuinely one of my favorite comic moments ever.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing to me how some of marvel's earliest mini-series are some of their best.
I will put this, Wolverine and Hercules up against any mini coming out of marvel today.

Really good story about the Avengers' resident archer going off on his own, stumbling into a mystery and connecting with other B-list super hero, Mockingbird.

Yeah, the Green Arrow/Black Canary parallels are really obvious, and Gruenwald doesn't really seem to care if we notice or not and somehow it works. There is good chemistry between the two heroes.
Along the way, he gives us lots of action, creates a rogues gallery for Hawkeye and does a really solid stand alone story that is still one of the best Hawkeye stories out there.

Shame Marvel messed with the marriage later on, but if you are a Hawkeye fan, this is essential reading.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having fallen in love with Clint Barton in Matt Fraction's popular series, I am going back and catching up on Hawkeye's greatest hits. This is a great place to start; it features his first appearance plus a super fun miniseries. Said miniseries shows two important moments in Clint's life: meeting/marrying Mockingbird and suffering from a hearing impairment. As a bonus, there is an Avengers story which shows how Hawkeye gets to where he is at the start of the miniseries, and two more stories flesh out Bobbi's origin.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories themselves were probably worth four stars, or at least 3.5, but the fact that the book is called "Hawkeye" and features two stories that do not feature Hawkeye at all? Sort of a problem! (I mean, yes, they gave me a good introduction to Mockingbird, but that was not what the title of the book promised me.)

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hawkeye goes deaf because he has to use some kind of sonic arrowhead to avoid being mind-controlled into beating Mockingbird to death. Then they get MARRIED, AFTER KNOWING EACH OTHER FOR A FORTNIGHT. Because comics.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having seen the Avengers film again, I wanted to find out more about Hawkeye. And the is no where better to start. This deals with his past, and his future. And along with Mockingbird at his side, and a great deal of enemies, it's a great story.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because you can never have too much Hawkeye :)

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Hawkeye - what else can I say? Only story I didn't need was the origin of Mockingbird.

[Cyn McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paperback edition, different cover.
Hawkeye #1-4, Tales of Suspense #57, Marvel Super Action #1, Avengers #189, Marvel Team-Up #95.

[Charline · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the first solo adventures of Clint and it aged well! I loved this volume! (And Bobbi is still awesome)

[Matt Bouchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than anything Matt Fraction has ever written.