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Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye Shows a Superhero at His Most Ordinary

Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye Shows a Superhero at His Most Ordinary

Since the release of The Avengers, Hawkeye has blown up to be one of the leading titles on the shelves, thanks to the clever portrayal by Jeremy Renner. However, Hawkeye is still more than a pretty face and sarcastic quips. Matt Fraction helped prove to the new Hawkeye audience that this is still a character, and most importantly a character without superpowers. In Matt Fraction’s series, there’s a particular emphasis on Hawkeye’s humanity, and from the beginning pages it is clear to see that Hawkeye usually has bad days.

Fraction shows Hawkeye not as a hero, but rather a man that is put in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is beaten, broken, smashed, and eventually triumphant as we begin to learn about his life without the Avengers. This analysis is rarely seen in a lot of characters, especially with those that are affiliated with the Avengers. We watch this man become a hero because of the environment around him and plays with the idea that this guy is doing it because he has to, not because he wants to. Ultimately, Barton is a confused young man with problems in his life, and Fraction convinces us Hawkeye has no clue what he is doing in many situations in his life.

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This conflict within himself is best illustrated with his relationship with the Tracksuits, a gang of European thugs known particularly for their choice in dress and their limited vernacular. Hawkeye often battles them in any way possible and doesn’t always win. The first run in we see Barton have with the Tracksuits is when he saves a dog of theirs just before getting hit by car speeding car, not without injuring himself of course. It shows almost a self-hatred he has, putting himself through plenty of problems just so that he can do what he thinks is the right thing. He is constantly shown wrapped in bandages and clad in scars, becoming more washed up than in his prime. It signifies the humanity he has, how normal he is and how would a normal person deal with a gift of just being good at something.

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Normality is something he is always striving for in himself, particularly with his pursuit of women. He is by no means a lady’s man, and always seems to find himself in the wrong situation with women, and his own ward, Kate Bishop. Time and time again, women are walking in and walking out of his life and he starts to spiral more and more out of his own happiness to just being hopeless. Sometimes it can get a bit tiresome how often Hawkeye is beaten down, but as soon as it starts to be, we switch perspective to a completely different character, keeping it fresh and entertaining. A fan favourite might be the Pizza Dog issue which plays out as a crime noir story told from the perspective of Lucky, the dog Hawkeye saved at the beginning of the run. These perspectives not only gives us a break from the same character, but elaborates a growing story that is rocking Barton’s world.

Fraction has made Hawkeye not a hero, but a person. A person with problems just like every one of us and the only difference is that he is really good with a bow. Very few comic book super-heroes are seen with this much realism, but it makes sense for the character; loss, love, pain and humour is all very familiar to Hawkeye, and Fraction shows us that with his fantastic wit and control over the characters.

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