Solo Avengers #2
The Way of the Arrow
After his old trainer, Trick Shot, made an attempt on his life, Hawkeye puts himself through a training session at Avengers Compound to make sure he is at his fighting best. After the session, Mockingbird asks her husband who Trick Shot is and why he is coming after him.
Hawkeye admits to her that he wasn’t totally truthful about his past because he was ashamed and decides to fess up and tell the truth. He tells Bobbi how he and his brother grew up in the town of Waverly, Iowa. There, they helped their father run the family business, a butcher shop.[1] However, their father was an abusive drunk who ultimately orphaned his children after a drunk driving accident. Clint and Barney were sent to an orphanage, but since they were much older they were always overlooked for adoption. They eventually ran away when Clint was just thirteen years old. The two brothers eventually started working for a traveling carnival where they did odd jobs. That was until the day that the Swordsman — one of the carnival’s attractions — had his partner quit when he accidentally cut some of her hair doing a sword trick. Clint was brave and skilled and the Swordsman eventually started training him.
This eventually caught the attention of Trickshot, an archer that was an even larger attraction than the Swordsman was. Seeing how Trickshot took an interest in the boy, the Swordsman insisted that Tricky teach the boy how to shoot a bow and arrow as it could increase the profile of his own act. However, the Swordsman never forgot to remind Clint where he stood in the packing order. The Swordsman was a compulsive gambler and eventually the mob was looking to collect. One night, he attempted to rob the box office and was caught by Clint. When Barton refused to take a cut, the Swordsman tried to silence him. Clint tried to get away by running into the big top and trying to get across on the tight-rope. Unfortunately, the Swordsman tossed his trademark weapon cutting the rope and causing Clint to fall to the ground, breaking both his legs.[2] Luckily, Trickshot was there to save Clint’s life and drive off the Swordsman. Trickshot then took Clint under his wing and trained the boy in archery while he recovered from his injuries. However, Clint was disgusted by Trickshot’s pleasure at killing animals with his bow and arrow, but stuck around to learn everything he could about the skill of archery.
Trickshot also would disappear for a few days at a time, but Clint didn’t want to stick his nose in someone else’s business and continued his training. Eventually, Trickshot taught him everything he knew and then revealed that he was an assassin for hire. Trickshot intended for Clint to earn his keep by helping eliminate a mobster named Marko, incidentally the man that Swordsman owed money. While Trickshot went into the house and killed Marko and his wife, Clint was charged with using his archery skills to keep Marko’s hired thugs at bay. Clint, however, couldn’t bring himself to kill anyone and was horrified when he instinctively shot one of the mobsters who snuck up behind him. He was horrified to discover that it was his brother Barney Barton.[3] When Trickshot told Clint that it was time to leave, the young man refused to leave and threatened to shoot Trickshot with his arrows.
The superior archer, Trickshot fired back and pinned Clint to a tree. He then told the boy to continue practicing and once he is confident that Barton is his equal, Trickshot promised to come back and end his life.
… Concluding his story, Clint explains that he brought himself and his brother to a hospital before the cops show up. Mockingbird is shocked to hear all of this now and asks why he kept it a secret so long. Clint explains that he made a success out of himself and that he was ashamed of his checkered past. Now, however, his past has come back to haunt him as Trickshot has finally issued his challenge and sent Clint a one-way ticket to Paris for their final battle.
Recurring Characters
Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Trickshot, (in flashback) Swordsman, Barney Barton, Harold Barton, Edith Barton,
Continuity Notes
Clint really skirts around just how abusive his father was here. As seen in Hawkeye (vol. 4) #19 reveals that the beatings were so severe that Clint suffered hearing loss. The name of Clint’s mother is not revealed here. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #5 identifies her as Edith Barton.
Clint has previously told a version of this story as far back as Avengers #19, omitting the part where Trickshot saved his life. Other stories that explore this period include Avengers #65, Hawkeye: Blindspot #1, and Hawkeye (vol. 1) #1, (vol. 3) #1-3, and (vol. 4) #12 and 19.
Although this story paints Barney Barton as a criminal, in reality he was working undercover for the FBI, as revealed in Hawkeye (vol. 3) #5.
Topical References
Clints airline tickets are from American Airlines. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world business.
Out of Control
Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) is flying across the Bordelaise region of France in her light form on a way to visit her old friend, Professor Andre LeClare. His message asking for help was out of character and she wonders what is so wrong. It also makes her think back to how LeClare was there on the day that got her powers and became Captain Marvel. She recounts how she then used her new abilities to shut down Dr. Filipe Picaro’s energy weapon development program.[1]
As she approaches her destination, Captain Marvel is unaware that she is being observed remotely. The man watching her activates a weapon that blasts Monica with a beam that causes her to violently crash to the ground, destroying a chalet in the process. Unaware of what really happened, Rambeau fears that her powers might be out of control and flies into Earth orbit in a panic.
Using her powers to send a radio transmission to Doctor LeClare, Monica tells her friend what happened. He insists that he come to her lab for examination right away. Little does she know that the man who caused her powers to flare out of control has LeClare as a prisoner. Andre doesn’t want her to come and at the last minute he warns her that she is being led into a trap before the transmission is cut off.
Not wishing to abandon her friend, Captain Marvel races the rest of the way to the lab where she discovers that Andre and his colleagues are all prisoners of Filipe Picaro. Having survived their last encounter, Filipe has developed a suit that allows him to absorb Monica’s power and use it against her. Rather than use her power against him, Captain Marvel frees the hostages and then flees. Filipe follows after her and once they are safely away from the others, Monica turns into her energy form and flies into Picaro, forcing his suit to absorb her energies all at once.
This is too much for the suit to withstand and it short circuits and self-destructs. Andre and his assistants then race to the scene of the explosion and are relieved that both Monica and Picaro are still alive. LeClare is impressed by Monica’s handling of her powers and muses that Filipe will be furious that he failed to destroy her a second time. As Monica heads for home, one of the scientists expresses his concern over the amount of power Captain Marvel can channel, but Andre assures them that Monica is the most noble person he knows and that they should consider themselves lucky that such power has been put in the hands of such a just woman.
Recurring Characters
Captain Marvel, Andre LeClare, Filipe Picaro
Continuity Notes
Monica got her powers and became Captain Marvel back in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16.
Topical References
Captain Marvel states here that she received a telegram from LeClare asking for her assistance. This should be considered a topical reference. While telegrams are still a thing, they have fallen out of popular use thanks to the advent of digital communications such as e-mail and text messages.
