Hawkeye #12 review: Brutal clone war with Wolverine
By Alex Widen
Who can Kate recruit in her clone related battle? How about X-23, the all new Wolverine!
Hawkeye #12
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Michael Walsh
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
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Twelfth issues are as good a time as any to take stock of an ongoing series. It represents a year in the can, and these days it can be rare when a comic series isn’t cancelled by then. Kelly Thompson has relaunched a franchise once headlined by Clint Barton and instead centered it around his semi-protege. Kate Bishop has been yanked from the Young Avengers and NYC and given her own city and supporting cast. The end result has been a rich and innovative take the heroine has rarely had.
Image by Marvel Comics
Kate Bishop moved to the west coast to track down her father. It turned out he’s shifted from white collar crime to super villainy by cloning himself and teaming with Madame Masque. The pair of them have been responsible for a spike in local crime, including the cult of the Aggregate. Finding Derek Bishop led to Kate investigating whether her mother is alive or not. In addition, Kate has to track down Madame Masque after used a clone to try to take over Kate’s life. This has led to tracking down leads in a seedy bar.
Image by Marvel Comics
Few Good Things Come out of Seedy Bars!
Yet Kate isn’t the only super heroine investigating a dive super villain bar! She ends up walking smack into a battle between the patrons and Wolverine. While there are a few different versions of the character running around, this is the version with a sense of legacy. It’s Laura Kinney, formerly known as X-23, clone of Logan. Debuting in the last season of 2000’s X-Men: Evolution, Laura has gone on to become a film star as well as taking on the mantle of Wolverine after Logan’s (brief) death in 2014. She’s gone on to liberate one of her younger clones, Gabrielle, as a sidekick.
Image by Marvel Comics
“The Fluttering Horde,” may not quite be “The Bar With No Name,” but it is pretty close. The minions of super villain gangs like HYDRA, the Inner Demons, A.I.M. and the Hand all hang out there. With Wolverine, Gabby, and their pet (a literal wolverine) in town, suddenly Hawkeye is playing second fiddle in her own town. The best she can do is play catch up and mop up some oddly dressed minions. While Wolverine and bar fights go together historically, this time it’s with purpose.
Image by Marvel Comics
Corrupt corporation Alchemax (which rules in the world in Spider-Man 2099) was responsible for the cloning operation which created Gabrielle (“Gabby”) and her sisters. Wolverine is tracking down one of their lab technicians, Jacob Damon, who may be setting up shop elsewhere. Due to sheer coincidence, or cloning being a small world, Jacob is precisely the lead that Kate was tracking, too. Yet the even bigger coincidence may be Jonathan the wolverine and Lucky the dog becoming pals!
Image by Marvel Comics
Clone Wars without Any Jedi!
Much like her team-up with Jessica Jones, the guest heroine has to get used to Kate’s flurry of wisecracks. While Wolverine takes them in stride, Gabby often chooses to tag in, or criticize, on her own. It doesn’t help when Kate’s frustration with the whole Madame Masque affair leads her to put her foot in her mouth regarding clones. As X-23 and Gabby showcase, not all clones are cut from the same sample. Once again on the same side, Hawkeye, Wolverine, and Gabby chase their lead.
Image by Marvel Comics
Turns out that Jacob Damon is a man of only two skills. The first is cloning, and the second is pumping his vents with knockout gas. As a result, all three heroines are briefly captured by the leisure suit clad rogue, debating the best way to escape. While Wolverine’s method would be bloody and masochistic, Kate manages to use a hairpin and her exceptional aim to save the day. While the heroines have to overcome a horde of Jacob’s clones, it’s all in a day’s work for them!
Image by Marvel Comics
Wolverine Is the Best There Is at What She Does!
Kelly Thompson chooses to wrap up her first year on the book with Hawkeye‘s second team up. As a result we get a fun one part tale which carried subplots from the previous arc while setting up the next. And as with the Jones team-up, most of the charm of the story is in the dialogue and the interaction of the characters more than the plot. Jacob Damon is really only there to provide an antagonist to punch who connects vaguely with the subplot while justifying why Wolverine is there.
Image by Marvel Comics
This isn’t a criticism. One of Thompson’s core strengths as a writer is her dialogue and character banter. It allows her to juggle team comics well, and has aided her in crafting a great cast around Kate. Yet sometimes it’s fun to bring in someone new, and that makes this Wolverine team up fun. Laura is the polar opposite of Kate both in terms of operation and attitude. While still more chatty than Logan, she isn’t quite as big a fan of wisecracks, nor self depreciating humor. Yet the pair are united when it comes to drama surrounding their fathers, as well as less than optimistic secrets.
Image by Marvel Comics
Someone Give Gabby Her Own Spin Off!
Furthermore, the pair are united in honoring a legacy. While Kate may not always be in lock step with Clint Barton, she’s still doing her best to honor that name. In a similar way, Laura is honoring her mentor by assuming the guise of Wolverine, yet trying to be a better mentor than he was. Logan abandoned no end of teenage girl sidekicks; Laura is attached at the hip to Gabby. Both are delving into the dark underbellies of their origins and putting on a brave face towards what they see.
Image by Marvel Comics
Every now and then Kelly Thompson stumbles upon a character that she utilizes as “the zany one” to great effect. This time around it is Gabby. She is the polar opposite of Laura, as a lighthearted, borderline insane tiny warrior. She keeps Laura honest and prevents her from getting too dark or full of herself. Gabby trades barbs with Kate better than almost anyone else in the series so far! Gabby is just the sort of spitfire to have made Laura a better person in raising her, which is a tender moment.
Image by Marvel Comics
Michael Walsh drew the previous team-up with Jones and returns again for this one. He makes for a great alternative for Leonardo Romero when he needs a break. His style is similar enough that Hawkeye retains a consistent visual feel across both artists, which is something more comics should pay attention to. Yet he also has his own flair for action, in particular the scene with the clones of Jacob. As usual, Kate’s “arrow-vision” in the bar is full of hilarious nicknames for people.
Image by Marvel Comics
Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun!
Walsh also throws, or accurately draws, a ton of amazing visual gags into many of the panels. I don’t know whether some of them are his volition or come from Thompson’s scripts, but a few are spot on. The first panel with the bar which features “Bro Light” beer is classic hilarity. He also has great fun with a wolverine and a dog as pals, and the aftermath of the Jacob Damon battle. Finally, he always manages to show that our heroines may suffer some scrapes without it getting too gory.
Image by Marvel Comics
It’s hard to review this issue without a comment on the last page. Clint Barton, the original Hawkeye, turns up in the finale, as both he and Kate seek each other’s help. The pair often have a tug-of-war relationship, with Clint being a mentor who usually isn’t together enough to be much of one. It’s arguable who is the better archer by this point, and Kate often has more focus. Thompson paired the two up during their Marvel Legacy one shot, and may have liked the dynamic.
Image by Marvel Comics
Next: Check out the Kate Barton mirror match in #11!
Clint Barton is a bombastic, over the top character — an adventurer and a screw up. While I have little fear of him overshadowing Kate, I do wonder how he may play with her cast. It sometimes is easy to lose them during team-ups with established superheroes, and Barton is no exception. Yet the potential for both the story and for the comedic style of Thompson’s amazing dialogue is too much to pass up. Venice Beach may not be ready for two of Hawkeye, but readers sure should be!