Mightier Than the Sword?

The Swordsman answers a summons from Egghead and meets the criminal mastermind in an abandoned warehouse. There, Egghead convinces the mercenary to take on a mission to get revenge against his old foe Hank Pym. Swordsman questions why Egghead is interested, and the villain recounts his past association with Clint Barton in the carnival and reveals that Barton later became the Avenger known as Hawkeye. Egghead figures that the Swordsman is an ideal candidate to carry out this assassination because of his brief affiliation with the Avengers, and his desire to get revenge against Hawkeye.[1] What they don’t realize is that Hank Pym retired as Goliath and Clint Barton took over the identity.[2]

At that moment, the Avengers are offering support to Goliath, who is still coming to terms over the death of his brother, Barney Barton. Clint remembers back to when he worked at the carnival and was injured after he discovered the Swordsman robbed the box office. Barney was the one who found Clint after and he was disappointed that his younger brother didn’t to take the Swordsman offer of a cut. The Barton brothers were estranged thereafter and he didn’t see his brother until recently.[3] Despite this, Barney died a hero and Clint wants to avenge his brother’s death by bringing Egghead to justice.

Meanwhile, the Swordsman uses hacking devices to get past Avengers security and after tying up Jarvis, the team’s butler, he goes into the sub-basement to find Goliath and Hawkeye. However, he doesn’t count on tripping a new alarm system that was installed following his brief tenure on the Avengers. Although the entire team confronts him, Goliath orders the rest of the team to let him handle the Swordsman on his own. Despite this, the Swordsman manages to incapacitate everyone with a stun-ray fired from his sword. He takes Goliath prisoner, completely surprised to discover that he and Hawkeye are the same person.

Swordsman takes Goliath back to Egghead’s hideout where Clint comes around and waits for the right time to act. When Egghead isn’t quick to with payment, the Swordsman begins beating the scientist. Egghead then pulls a blaster and shoots the Swordsman. The force of the blast sends him crashing through a window where he holds on to a ledge for dear life. Goliath then acts, growing to maximum height and knocking out Egghead with the simple flick of the finger. Then, fashioning a crude bow and arrow, he fires a line to the Swordsman and saves his life. With both villains his prisoners, Goliath goes to turn them over to the authorities. He hopes that in stopping both these villains he made up for giving up on his brother so many years ago.

Recurring Characters

Avengers (Yellowjacket, Wasp, Goliath, Black Panther, Vision), Egghead, Swordsman, Edwin Jarvis, Barney Barton

Continuity Notes

1. Swordsman managed to con his way onto the Avengers roster for a brief period. See Avengers #19-20. Egghead’s recounting of Swordsman’s association with Hawkeye is identical to the story told in Avengers #19, except this telling includes Clint’s brother Barney in this flashback.

2. Hawkeye became the new Goliath in Avengers #63 when Hank decided to retire the role.

3. Although Barney Barton is said to be dead here, his body is later recovered by Egghead who discovers that he has a faint vital sign and put him in stasis for a number of years. He turns up alive again in Hawkeye: Blindspot #1-5. It is later revealed in Hawkeye (vol. 3) #5 that Barney was actually an undercover agent working for the FBI.