Hawkeye

To successfully make a shot, you gotta follow and master basic steps. Your stance is the foundation. Where you draw your strength. Nock the arrow and grip. Realize you are wielding a weapon. Mindset. Focus solely on your goal, regardless of your surroundings. Be in the now. Set up and draw. Inhale and prepare for what you are about to do. Anchor and hold. There is no going back. Aim. All that remains is you and your target. Release and follow through. Master those and you hit every time. One last step. Feedback. Basically...take responsibility for the outcome. For every shot.

—Hawkeye

Hawkeye is a Marvel Comics character created by Stan Lee and Don Heck. Making his debut as a reluctant villain in Tales of Suspense #57 (September, 1964), Hawkeye quickly turned his back on that life and joined The Avengers after a chance meeting with Edwin Jarvis.

Raised by an abusive alcoholic father and a mother who didn't care, Clinton "Clint" Barton and his older brother Barney had a difficult life. After his parents died in a drunk driving accident, Clint and Barney were sent to an orphanage for 6 years. Hungry for a better life, Clint and Barney ran away until desperation forced the brothers to join up with the Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders. Years passed, during which Clint caught the attention of the Swordsman and Trick Shot, two talented circus performers. Under their tutelage, Clint gained the sharpshooting skills that would allow him to become a hero.

As Swordman's assistant, Clint was happy until the day he found out that his mentor was embezzling from the carnival. About to turn in the Swordsman, Clint was brutally beaten by his mentor until Barney and Trick Shot intervened. Trick Shot became Clint's new mentor while Barney grew tired of carnival life. Having condemned Clint for his perceived disloyalty to the Swordsman, Barney prepared to enlist in the Army. Asking Clint to join him, believing the two needed a fresh start, Barney was disappointed when his younger brother declined.

Jealous of the fame the then-new hero Iron Man was getting, Clint decided to use his skills to become a superhero as well, The Hawkeye. Unfortunately, his weakness for pretty women got him involved with Black Widow, who at the time was a spy working for the Russians against Iron Man, and she tricked him into attacking the hero. He soon realized he'd been duped however. Given a chance to redeem himself, Hawkeye joined the Avengers and has been affiliated with the team ever since, even leading its spin-off, the West Coast Avengers. Ironically, the Widow would later end up doing a Heel Face Turn herself and becoming a superhero, and even joined the Avengers, having made up her peace with Clint.

Years later, Clint fell in love and married Mockingbird - a possible Captain Ersatz for Green Arrow's lover, Black Canary- and they married, though they had troubles after she killed a man who had raped her. She appeared to have been killed by the Demon Lord Mephisto for a long time, until it was revealed that it was actually a Skrull spy in her place during the Secret Invasion. The real Mockingbird and Hawkeye have since reunited.

Clint was one of the casualties during the rampage of Scarlet Witch in Avengers Dissasembled. Due to the events of House of M, he came Back From the Dead, took up the mantle of Ronin with permission of the original Ronin (Maya Lopez), as the name Hawkeye at the time was used by a member of Young Avengers, and eventually joined the New Avengers, leading to the events of Secret Invasion (and also reunited with the real Mockingbird in the aftermath). During the Dark Reign, he was appointed as the leader of the New Avengers and was doing a fair job (aside of one Leeroy Jenkins moment), until the return of Captain America (comics). After Dark Reign, Clint became a mainstream Avengers member, once again donning the Hawkeye alter ego. However, shortly after this he divorced with Mockingbird.

If you're looking for the Young Avengers version of Hawkeye, go here.

Comic Books

Hawkeye Vol. 1 (1983)
Hawkeye Vol. 2 (1994)
Hawkeye: Earth's Mightiest Marksman (1998)
Hawkeye Vol. 3 (2003 - 2004)
New Avengers: The Reunion (2009)
Hawkeye & Mockingbird (2010)
Widowmaker (2010 - 2011)
Hawkeye: Blindspot (2011)
Hawkeye Vol. 4 (2012)

Storylines

Film

Thor (uncredited cameo)
The Avengers

Video Games

Captain America and The Avengers: Hawkeye is one of the four playable characters.
Spider-Man: The Video Game: Hawkeye is one of the four playable characters along with Spider-Man, Black Cat and Namor.
Venom & Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety: An Assist Character, Hawkeye can be summoned after players pick up "hero icons" scattered throughout the game.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance: Hawkeye is a playable character on the PSP and X-Box 360 versions of the game.
Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3

Western Animation

Hawkeye provides examples of the following tropes:

Abusive Parents: Hawkeye's father was an alcoholic and his mother did nothing to intervene.
Alternate Company Equivalent: To DC's Green Arrow.
Always Someone Better: Hawkeye is this to Green Arrow in an alternate universe where the Justice League and Avengers co-exist. Leaving the Marvel Universe to join the Justice League, Hawkeye completely overshadows Ollie, landing an impossible trick shot to defeat Doctor Doom at the Source Wall. Clint was even dating Black Canary, Ollie's girl.
Annoying Arrows
Anti-Hero Substitute: Bullseye during Dark Reign.
The Archer
Back From the Dead: Hawkeye died during the events of Avengers Disassembled, only to still be alive after reality is shifted to the House of M. Following a Heroic Blue Screen of Death after his memories of his original life are restored & he learns that he's supposed to dead, Clint is then killed a second time & resurrected for real when reality is returned to normal.
Badass Biker
Badass Normal: He's a skilled marksman; able to wield several weapons as Ronin; and when Tony Stark tries to find a replacement for the recently deceased Steve Rogers, he was the only one able to throw & catch Cap's shield.
- In the Marvel Ultimate universe, his Improbable Aiming Skills border on the superhuman. In the recent Ultimate Comics: Hawkeye miniseries, it's established that he has subtle enhancements. Ultimate Hawkeye has many more rod cells and many fewer cone cells in his eyes as well as increased musculature around the eyeballs, which allows him the ability to change his focal length. He also sees mostly in black and white, in high contrast, and doesn't notice most attempts to trick the eye, such as camouflage or one-way mirrors.
Battle Couple: Hawkeye and Mockingbird
Blasting It Out of Their Hands
Broken Pedestal: Hawkeye thought of the Swordsman as a father figure until he learned of his mentor's criminal activities.
Cain and Abel: Barney Barton was always jealous of the attention given to Clint during their time with the circus. After taking up the mantle of Trickshot, Barney and Clint became bitter enemies.
Carnival of Killers
Chick Magnet
Circus Brat: Clint picked up his skills with the Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders.
Crazy Prepared: Hawkeye carries target-specific arrowheads for almost any occasion. In JLA/Avengers, Hawkeye locks down Captain Atom with a lead foil containment arrow meant for the Radioactive Man.
Dead Big Brother: Barney Barton, who died in Hawkeye's arms after saving The Avengers from Egghead.
Deadly Dodging: A talented acrobat, Hawkeye uses his agility against his enemies, especially when he's outnumbered. In a training session with the Thunderbolts, Hawkeye uses this technique against Jolt and Moonstone to demonstrate the importance of teamwork.
Deadpan Snarker
Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?
Disability Immunity
Evil Counterpart: Swordsman, Trick Shot, and Barney Barton as Trickshot. Bullseye & Barney Barton both served as Hawkeye in Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers teams.
FBI Agent: Clint's brother Barney was an undercover FBI agent.
Face Heel Turn: Barney Barton becomes the second Trick Shot.
Fastball Special: Has one with Ant-Man & the various other size shifters in the Marvel Universe, where the shrunken down hero is fired on one of Clint's arrows & proceeds to increase in size whilst flying at the enemy. Also serves as Clint's Level 3 Hyper in Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3.
Fingerless Gloves
The Gimmick
Hair of Gold
Heel Face Turn: Hawkeye started off a villain before joining the Avengers.
I Have Many Names: Clint has used the names Hawkeye, Goliath, Golden Archer, Captain America, and Ronin.
Improbable Aiming Skills
Inertia Is a Cruel Mistress: Hawkeye's weapon of choice against speedsters and agile opponents is to predict their next move and put an arrow in their path. Batroc the Leaper found himself stuck to the floor by an adhesive arrow after Hawkeye correctly deduced his landing point.
Irony: In Dark Reign, Clint was highly suspicious at Spider Woman/Jessica Drew, considering she was the face of the Skrull Queen during Secret Invasion. Recently, however, it's been teased that she will be in a relationship with Clint.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold
Katanas Are Just Better: As Ronin
Knife-Throwing Act: Clint used to be part of one with the Swordsman.
The Lancer: To Captain America (comics)
Legacy Character: Clint Barton took up Ronin's mantle with her blessing. He also served as the second Goliath after Hank Pym adopts the Yellowjacket persona. After the death of Captain America, Clint had a very short stint as the new Cap until Kate Bishop (Not knowing it was Clint) pointed out the hypocrisy in him wearing Cap's costume whilst he called her out on using the Hawkeye. This convinced him to give the costume and shield back to Tony Stark. While he was Ronin, Clint gave Kate Bishop his blessing to continue serving as the second Hawkeye after testing her skills. Barney Barton became the second Trick Shot, renaming himself Trickshot.
Lowest Cosmic Denominator
Made of Iron: Only as Goliath II.
Master Swordsman: The Swordsman, naturally. Hawkeye is also quite good with a sword.
Multishot
No Arc in Archery: Employed on occasion when Hawkeye uses his trick arrows.
Oh Crap: See Roaring Rampage of Revenge
Only Mostly Dead: Barney Barton, until he was placed in one of Egghead's healing chambers.
Parental Substitute: Swordsman and Trick Shot in his youth, Captain America as an Avenger.
Pinball Projectile
Rain of Arrows: In Hawkeye/Mockingbird he unleashed special trick arrows, the heads of which are filled with dozens, if not hundreds, of regular arrows shrunken down with Pym particles, leading to this trope. Hawkeye has a smaller-scale version of this attack in Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 called the scatter shot.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: In The Ultimates continuity after his family is murdered and he is taken captive, he takes out one of his captors with a fingernail he's pulled from his own finger, then proceeds to single-handedly take out the entire strike force sent to take him down. He then looks into one of the security cameras and simply says, "Run."
Sarcastic Devotee
Sizeshifter: Clint's stint as Goliath II gave him the ability to change size at will thanks to the Pym Particles.
The Straight and Arrow Path
Super Strength: Only as Goliath II.
Trick Arrow: Hawkeye has special arrowheads that can carry acid, fire, Pym Particles, nets, Knockout Gas, grappling hooks, sonic stunners, electricity, ice or explosives. Other specialized arrows include the Adamantium arrow and the Vibranium arrow.
True Love Is Boring: Shortly after Hawkeye and Mockingbird were married, she was killed. And now that she's Back From the Dead, they were divorced not long after.
Twang! "Hello.": Except for him barely missing his targets isn't an issue. His arrows blow up.
Underestimating Badassery: Villains usually underestimate Hawkeye because he fights alongside Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America. He soon reminds them why he fights alongside Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Hawkeye and Green Arrow in JLA/Avengers.
You Remind Me of X: Steve Rogers notes that Kate Bishop, the second Hawkeye, reminds her of Clint in the way she called him out over his treatment of Patriot & gives her permission to use the Hawkeye name. Clint himself notes that she reminds him of himself at a young age.