From the Comics: Hawkeye’s Original Origin

Hawkeye has played an important role throughout Marvel history. He has been an important piece of the Avengers, a powerful solo hero, and has now been established as a key element in the MCU.

So, today, we’re diving into Hawkeye’s comic book origins. This “From the Comics” exploration will look back at an early issue of Tales of Suspense, where Stan Lee and Don Heck introduced the world to Marvel’s most famous archer.

Background

Not long before Hawkeye came on the scene, Black Widow had been introduced and established as one of Iron Man’s reoccurring enemies (for more information on this see our From the Comics look at Black Widow’s origin). At this time, Black Widow was working for the Soviet Union and was doing anything in her power to stop Iron Man, who had opposed the country in the past.

In addition, at this time, no one knew Iron Man’s secret identity. Instead, everyone believed that Iron Man was Tony Stark’s bodyguard. So, villains with a grudge against Iron Man would often attack Tony Stark’s factories, knowing Iron Man would show up to defend them.

Introductions

While on a date (technically a first date) at Coney Island, Tony Stark and Pepper Pots witnessed a show advertising the “World’s Greatest Marksman!” However, before they could see much of the show, one of the Coney Island rides began malfunctioning and Tony had to surreptitiously turn into Iron Man in order to save the day. 

The resulting display of heroics completely distracted the audience and left no one paying attention to Clint Barton, the archer currently on display. Upset by the lack of admiration, Clint decided to use his marksmanship to turn himself into a hero like Iron Man. He created a costume, donned a mask, and went out looking for criminals under his new name, Hawkeye.

As luck would have it, he quickly ran into someone robbing a jewelry store. Though he was able to put a stop to the thief, the police mistook Hawkeye for the robber and began chasing him.

While running away, Hawkeye was stopped by a woman in a car. The woman, who Hawkeye instantly regarded as “one of the most beautiful women in the world” offered to help him escape and, after doing so, implied that Hawkeye might be able to help her with her latest plan. Hawkeye agreed to everything she suggested and admitted that, based only on her looks, he would go anywhere and do anything with her. This woman, unknown to Hawkeye, was Natasha Romanova, a.k.a. Black Widow.

After taking Hawkeye back to her house in the suburbs, Black Widow explained that Iron Man was her enemy and that she was hoping Hawkeye would help her defeat him. Hawkeye, completely smitten by Black Widow’s appearance and unaware that she was working for the Soviet Union, agreed. Together, they crafted a few trick arrows and prepared for the upcoming battle against Iron Man.

Hawkeye then snuck into Stark Industries and caused enough of a commotion to draw out Iron Man. The two got into a heated battle and Hawkeye nearly destroyed Iron Man’s armor through the use of several acidic arrows. However, after putting on new armor, Iron Man was able to, seemingly knock Hawkeye unconscious.

With Iron Man thinking his foe was out for the count, Hawkeye used the momentary distraction to launch his most powerful, explosive arrow at the Armored Avenger. Unfortunately, this arrow simply glanced off of Iron Man’s armor and ricocheted at Black Widow, who had arrived on the scene to help Hawkeye escape.

Black Widow fell but was still breathing. So Hawkeye, distraught over hurting “the only one [he] ever loved,” rushed to pick her up and take her away. The two escaped on a boat and Iron Man was unable to follow them.

Note: Some of the exact details surrounding these events have been altered by later comics. The exact nature of those retcons will be the subject of a future “From the Comics” exploration.

Recommended Reading

If you’re interested in reading these comic adventures for yourself, we recommend picking up the following titles:

• Tales of Suspense #57, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Iron Man Vol. 2 (Review)- This comic features the first-ever appearance of Hawkeye and his first outing as a villain.

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