Hawkeye #13 review: Double your fun with Clint Barton
By Alex Widen
California gets 100% more Hawkeye! Yet can Kate survive the danger Clint Barton brings in?
Hawkeye #13
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Leonardo Romero
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
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Over the past year, Kate Bishop has come a long way. She’s moved across the coast from the shadows of her mentor and the Young Avengers. While it was initially to solve some parental mysteries, Kate’s expanded her operations. She’s set up her own (unlicensed) private eye business and has become the local vigilante of Venice Beach. Kate’s formed her own social circle and taken on some of the local crime elements, as well as teamed up with Jessica Jones and Wolverine.
Image by Marvel Comics
Yet now the hero from Kate’s past has strolled into town. Clint Barton, the original Hawkeye and former leader of Avengers West Coast, returns to the west coast. While Clint may have more experience, Kate arguably has more maturity. However, both of them find themselves in the thick of danger as their reunion takes a deadly turn. A mutual enemy from their past has returned with a vengeance, and all of a sudden Kate’s search for her mother may have to take a back seat.
Image by Marvel Comics
Lock up the Town! Clint Barton’s Here!
Like a whirlwind (geek pun intended), Clint insists that his problem is more urgent. For once in their lives, both Clint and Kate are eager to have each other’s help. The dilemma is they want each other’s help for two totally different problems! Kate wants to utilize Clint’s experience to help track down the fate of her mother. While her father Derek claimed she’s dead, Kate knows better than to trust him. Yet it involves the villain Madame Masque, who may take an extra bow to fight!
Image by Marvel Comics
While Clint is all about drama and getting his own way, this time he may actually be right! A simple pizza lunch alongside their trustworthy dog Lucky turns into a shooting gallery! It seems like a sniper is eager to kill Hawkeye, and doesn’t appear to be too picky as to which one! In addition, this sniper has blue hair and appears to be a fan of archery too! While Clint has a trusty crossbow with him, Kate utilizes some of Masque’s knives that were left in her costume, which disturbs him.
Image by Marvel Comics
Yet if there’s one thing the pair have in common besides archery and the color purple, it’s making a mess! As a result of fleeing for their lives, the pair smash into Ramone’s “surf shop,” much to her chagrin. However, even the normally rude Ramone changes her tune once the original Hawkeye reveals himself. Alongside her brother (and Kate’s crush) Johnny, the four of them try to sort out exactly who is after Clint this time. Is it someone from HYDRA or A.I.M., or someone he owes rent to?
Image by Marvel Comics
A Figure from Their past Returns!
It turns out to be neither of those options! Clint’s intended assassin is Eden Vale, a figure he has forgotten but who has become obsessed with him. She last appeared in Marvel Generations: The Archers #1, also written by Kelly Thompson. Much as Kate is the protege of Hawkeye, Vale was the protege of his arch nemesis, Swordsman. While the original Swordsman is long dead, he has his share of imitators. Yet it isn’t he who Vale is intending to avenge by murdering Clint!
Image by Marvel Comics
Eden Vale was at the center of a scheme to use time travel to pit the greatest archers against each other. That included Kate, who was instrumental in aiding Hawkeye in prevailing. While Clint had years worth of adventures (and lovers) to cloud his memory, it was a relatively recent affair for Kate. Unfortunately, Eden Vale is not only a master archer, but has the ability to teleport at a whim. In addition, neither Hawkeye genuinely wants to kill her, while Eden has no such qualms.
Image by Marvel Comics
Things get even more interesting when Eden plays “let’s make a deal.” Kate finds herself captured by the time traveling archer at a critical juncture. Eden’s beef with Hawkeye revolves around his actions during the recent Secret Empire crossover, which most of the rest of the Marvel Universe has already forgotten. While Kate may relate to the pain of wanting to avenge a loved one, asking her to turn on Clint seems like a fool’s errand. At least until Eden lays out a seemingly irresistible offer!
Image by Marvel Comics
The Dynamic between the Hawkeyes Works!
After spending a year establishing Kate Bishop’s set up and cast, Kelly Thompson messes with it a little bit. While the double Hawkeye team-up is a nice angle, it’s about more than a gimmick. It’s about contrasting Kate with Clint in terms of attitude and persona, and seeing what they have in common and what they don’t. Furthermore, it’s also about showcasing how much Kate has grown since her early Young Avengers days, as well as how much Clint has changed since first meeting her.
Image by Marvel Comics
As expressed by Thompson’s dialogue, the pair have a relationship closer to that of siblings than mentor and student. Kate is the overachieving younger daughter with something to prove, while Clint would be the overconfident elder brother whose greatest weakness is himself. While Clint makes his share of messes, as Kate herself says, he’s always genuinely trying to be a better person. And while Kate projects a persona of always being in control, in reality she wings it a lot.
Image by Marvel Comics
Eden Vale Is a Very Cool Name!
This is Eden Vale’s second appearance, and as far as villains go, she’s alright. She has a past involving an established super villain and a flashy power set. Ultimately I am all for Kate Bishop gaining her own rogues gallery, which is difficult when some of them wind up dying or being one-shot threats. While Eden may want to kill Clint, she sees something similar in Bishop. Being the protege of one of Clint’s enemies makes her meeting with Kate Bishop either ironic or poetic.
Image by Marvel Comics
Eden Vale’s offer to Kate Bishop is an interesting one. Part of the entire reason why Kate is on this quest is she doesn’t believe what villains have to say about her mom. She didn’t trust the word of her father, even when he was gagged. Nor would Kate trust anything Madame Masque has to say. Yet is Eden Vale much different? Kate hasn’t known her as long nor built up as much of a grudge. While I can’t imagine Kate genuinely agreeing to the offer, I could imagine her playing along briefly for a lead.
Image by Marvel Comics
Part of me wonders if Thompson is going to attempt this angle from the opposite end. Will the next issue feature Madame Masque trying to manipulate or force Clint into trying to kill Kate for her? That would certainly be all kinds of messed up! Even if not, Thompson seems like she is having a ball having both archers take shots off each other. The scene with Ramone and Johnny in the surf shop is also cute, if brief. I’m a fan of consistent and well rounded supporting casts, and Hawkeye has it in spades.
Image by Marvel Comics
Will This Review End on an Archery Pun?
Leonardo Romero returns to regular art after taking the last issue off. He continues to produce top caliber artwork for this run, on par with Chris Samnee or Dave Gibbons. Like them, there is a timeless simplicity to his work which still retains plenty of detail. One moment there are visual gags (especially with Lucky) and fun onomatopoeia, the next are pulse pounding action or archery sequences. His backgrounds are always terrific, and Jordie Bellaire’s colors enhance everything.
Image by Marvel Comics
While not entirely related, I enjoyed Romero’s take on both Kate and Clint’s costumes together. Bishop went from having a traditional “exposed navel” costume from Jim Chueng to something more sleek and functional from Jaime McKelvie. Meanwhile, Clint has gone from one of the gaudiest designs Don Heck ever designed to a steady devolution toward simpler elements. Thanks to film and appealing to cosplayers, Clint’s entire costume is a tee, jeans, and shades. Luke Cage would approve.
Image by Marvel Comics
Next: Kate finds another use for duct tape in #12!
In conclusion, “Persons of Interest” is off to a terrific start. While Thompson has set up a suspenseful plot revolving around a sniper with something to offer, the real meat is always in her interaction. From her work on Ghostbusters to Jem & the Holograms to Hawkeye, it’s her dialogue (and character narration) which keeps me coming back for more. Thompson has an amazing voice for characters, and Kate Bishop is among her best. It’s always worth seeing what she’s aiming for next!