Avenging Spider-Man #4
Hawkeye is waiting for Spider-Man to show up in a park and decides to pass the time by showing off to a bunch of kids practicing their archery. When Spider-Man finally arrives, he’s not impressed to see Hawkeye showing off. Hawkeye insists that he is just trying to inspire the kids and proves his point when one of the kids asks him to sign his bow. Spider-Man eventually pulls Hawkeye away so they can go on patrol, per Captain America’s orders. Hawkeye isn’t happy about the idea of going out to look for trouble but follows Spider-Man on his sky-cycle. Hawkeye, finding Spider-Man’s mode of transport — web-slinging — too slow, then speeds off.
Spider-Man eventually finds some men in snake themed costumes trying to break into Landers Chemical Supply. Before he can figure out what they are up to, Hawkeye takes the goons out with an electrified arrow. Spider-Man is annoyed that Hawkeye didn’t wait until he made a pun and the archer’s bravado over his skills with a bow and arrow. More over, Spider-Man is not happy that Hawkeye knocked them all out as they now have to wait for one of the thugs to wake up so they can question them and find out what they were doing. The web-slinger gets even more flustered when one of the snake-themed goons wakes up and he has forgotten his one-liner.
They learn about a shipment of hazardous materials in a white van. Spider-Man races to Wall Street and sets up a web net to snare the vehicle. However, Hawkeye upstages him again by flying over the van and shooting out the tires with his arrows, causing it to crash. When they race to the van they discover that the van was empty. Spider-Man realizes that it was a decoy and they have to waste more time waiting for the driver to wake up.
They soon learn that the Serpent Society is planning a gas attack on Grand Central Station. While the two heroes stake out the location, Hawkeye passes the time firing arrows into a no smoking sign. Spider-Man gets annoyed with Hawkeye’s constant training and asks him to cut it out. However, the archer can’t bring himself to stop. He explains that he constantly trains because he can’t ever miss. He points out that he’s just a normal guy on a team of super-humans and that by constantly training he makes sure that he can pull his weight on the team. He is even more determined to always be at his best after all the sacrifices he made to be a hero.[1] Spider-Man is in the middle of apologizing for being so critical of Hawkeye when he spots some movement on the ground below.
Spider-Man spots Sidewinder about to use a rocket launcher to send the poison gas into the station. Before they can stop him they are ambushed by his costumed goons. With time running out, Spider-Man races down to stop Sidewinder. Hawkeye insisits that he can make the shot and tries to fire an arrow at Sidewinder. However, he is pulled away by Sidewinder’s goons. Hawkeye’s arrow lands harmlessly at Sidewinder’s feet, leaving the task of knocking out the villain to Spider-Man. The web-slinger quickly accomplishes this task and hearing Hawkeye freaking out and demanding Spider-Man reveal if he made his shot or not, Spider-Man decides the best thing to do is stick Sidewinder with the arrow to make it look like Hawkeye made his mark. For the sake of Hawkeye’s confidence, Spider-Man shoulders the archer’s braggadocio.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Hawkeye, Sidewinder
Continuity Notes
Hawkeye mentions how he sacrificed a family life with Bobbie Morse, aka Mockingbird. The pair have had a troubled relationship over the years.
When the pair first worked together they quickly fell in love and got married shortly thereafter. See Hawkeye #1-2.
Bobbie was seemingly murdered by Mephisto in Avengers West Coast #100.
In reality, Bobbi had been secretly replaced by a Skrull spy as revealed in Secret Invasion #8. Per New Avengers: The Reunion #2, Bobbi was replaced circa Avengers West Coast #91.
After being reunited post Secret Invasion, the pair tried to rekindle their romance but eventually drifted apart. See New Avengers (vol. 2) #4.
Topical References
A kid practicing his archery is wearing a shirt that reads “Expo 2012”. The year listed here should be considered topical.
Dated pop-culture references: Law and Order
