Hawkeye #14 review: The attempted strategy of Clint Barton (2024)

Clint Barton has a rescue plan for Kate Bishop. Yet can a guy who fights space aliens with arrows be trusted in Hawkeye #14?

Hawkeye #14

Writer: Kelly Thompson

Artist: Leonardo Romero

Colorist: Jordie Bellaire

Clint Barton has only come back in Kate Bishop’s life a few hours, and already her life’s upside down! She’s found herself captured by their newest enemy, Eden Vale. The blue haired woman combines archery with time-travel, a deadly combination. While Clint is Eden’s true target, Kate’s the one who she managed to entangle. Can the purple-clad Avenger who used to lead his own branch come up with a capable strategy for a rescue? Or is Barton in over his head once again?

Although Kate wound up missing, Clint initially thinks he’s had it rougher. Since he wasn’t teleported mid-fall, Barton met the pavement from falling off a roof head on. Even worse, he has to endure Kate’s “sidekicks” once he heads back to her private eye office slash apartment. Ramone, Quinn, Johnny, and even Lucky the Pizza Dog all saw Kate vanish on their local TV news. Yet all Barton wants to do is soothe his pain with frozen vegetables and recover from the fall!

The Guy Who Made an Asbestos Arrow Has an Idea!

The dynamic between each Hawkeye is interesting in its contrast. Barton may technically have more battle experience, and therefore is perhaps the better archer. He certainly employs more “trick arrows.” Yet in terms of emotional maturity and strategy, Kate often is the more stable of the pair. Both of them came from dysfunctional homes, and each adapted their own way. Kate was stuck in socialite society until she ran into some superheroes, while Clint literally joined a circus.

Kate’s cast don’t know what to think of the original Hawkeye. While he’s often dismissive of them, he eventually lets them pitch in far more than Kate does. Quinn and Johnny have done the work of trying to track down Eden Vale, yet it’s their work on finding Kate’s mom which sparks Barton’s imagination. It seems like they’ve gotten a fix on the location of Madame Masque, who is still running around in a body cloned from Kate herself. Suddenly, Barton has a crazy idea!

Meanwhile, Eden Vale continues on her crusade to convince Kate to help her kill the elder Hawkeye. She attempts to sweeten the pot by using her time travel powers to bring back Kate’s mother! While it is likely a past version of Mrs. Bishop, and the time travel ripple effects of Kate’s mom seeing her daughter in the future alone make my head hurt. Yet it is a tender, tearful scene as Kate finally is reunited with the parent she belittled as a girl yet seeks to honor as an adult.

“I Love It When a Plan Comes Together!”

As a result of this, Eden thinks she’s earned Kate’s loyalty — or at least her curiosity. Instead, Vale finds herself in even worse position than she was before! While Kate may constantly complain about what a screw up Clint is, he’s still family to her, too. Barton may be deeply flawed, he always lets people know where he stands with him. He may hardly be a perfect mentor, yet he’s still a mentor. It’s emotional ties such as this which Eden Vale has sacrificed to obtain her revenge.

Elsewhere, the original Hawkeye is acting out his plan. It’s completely bonkers, yet it’s genuinely the best he could come up with. Ramone and the rest put aside their judgment because Clint’s allowed them to chime in via headsets! Acting on the lead on Madame Masque, Clint’s big plan is to capture her and capitalize on her new form to “swap” her with Kate at Eden’s lair. Along the way he has to pummel a cadre of expendable henchmen as well as “convince” Masque to cooperate.

In theory it actually isn’t a bad plan — for about ten seconds. As Kate is quick to rebut, what happens when Masque and Eden figure it out and team up? After all, it’s super-heroes who fight all the time; super-villains are thick as thieves! The Masters of Evil have remained loyal to Baron Zemo years after half of them went straight, after all. All of a sudden, Clint’s master plan has become yet another strategy in his life which has backfired. A shame he has no “Do-Over Arrow!”

Always a Great Series to Take Aim At!

In a week where Kelly Thompson got to write two X-Men, Hawkeye remains her best work for Marvel Comics yet! It manages to skillfully mingle comedy and mystery, along with heartache and action. The scenes flashing back to Kate’s childhood are expertly woven into her brief reunion with her mom. The previous dozen issues building up Kate’s supporting cast pay off when they have to try to steer Clint towards something resembling competence. In addition, long-term plot threads weave together.

Thompson also showcases she’s not a niche writer by handling Barton in half the book without its star. While some of the bits between him and Kate’s cast work in terms of comedy, it is interesting that Clint reaches a compromise with them. Kate keeps her friends at arms’ length of her adventures, out of both a sense of guilt and responsibility. While Barton also keeps them safe, he also allows them to pitch in enough that they all feel satisfied and therefore don’t intrude further.

Eden Vale could be more of an interesting villain, although in some ways she’s the victim of a busy arc. Her themes are revenge, her skill set, and an interesting design by Leonardo Romero, and not much else. It doesn’t help that not only is she taking a back seat to the dynamic between both Hawkeyes, but then has to be co-villains with Madame Masque! To a degree Vale represents what Kate could have been, had she succumbed to her negative emotions and tragedies.

Which Hawkeye Is the Best?

From her entertaining supporting cast to her spot on narration, Kelly Thompson has put her all into Kate Bishop’s presentation. Much like with Jem, it’s obvious that Thompson loves the character to pieces. Yet this love hasn’t led her to play things soft or easy. It’s in breaking Kate down a bit, such as seeing Kate fall apart for a moment upon seeing her mom, that readers see her strength. Just when someone thinks they have Bishop figured or trapped, that’s when she surprises them.

As for Clint Barton, what more is there to say? He’s a longtime Avenger, yet he’s also a guy who decided to be a Russian spy simply to get laid. He all but literally uses arrows for everything, including to untie people. Barton’s bravado moves faster than any arrow he draws, which is often his biggest weakness. As a result, he’s liable to pooch a situation as much as he’s willing to help. Considering his own costume is reduced to a t-shirt, Clint also has little right to criticize Bishop’s any.

Enjoy This Book before It’s Gone!

Speaking of Leonardo Romero, once again his art is jaw-dropping. The only artist of a similar style who can compare around Marvel lately is Chris Samnee, which is illustrious company. The sequence where Clint takes down Masque’s minions is another brief-yet-memorable two page splash. Alongside Jordie Bellaire’s color work, Romero can effortlessly move between scenes, tones, and moods on a dime. Its his pencils which define this book, and it’s clear he puts his all into it.

Hawkeye was one of my top comics of 2017 and it shows no sign of slowing down. While the news of its end is saddening, it looks like Thompson and Romero will make the most of their final issues. In fact, I hope the trade collections become an “evergreen” seller much as The Vision is. With double the Hawkeye, it makes sense to double their antagonists as well. Kate very well may have escaped on her own, yet now has to clean up another of Clint’s messes. Yet when it comes to family, she wouldn’t rather it any other way.