| “ | Seems like everybody's tryin' to conquer the universe these days! | „ |
| ~ Hawkeye |
Clinton Francis Barton AKA Hawkeye, is a member of the Avengers and is known for his amazing skills in archery - often deploying a number of trick arrows to deal with his opponents - he is also a rebel of sorts who often clashes with Captain America over differences in opinions, although he won't let his dislike of certain rules or individuals stop him from defending what he sees as right.
Background
Clint Barton and his brother, Barney Barton, grew up in an abusive family with a father who was a violent drunk and an apathetic mother who seemed not to care. The Bartons would meet their end in a car accident caused by Mr. Barton getting behind the wheel while intoxicated and Clint and Barney ended up being sent to an orphanage. The two boys dreamed of freedom and after their abusive childhoods a little thing like walls and social workers were not seen as much of obstacle to them and they escaped to make a life for themselves. The two boys ran away to the circus and applied as performers. As many performers has escaped to the circus to get away from bad family lives the boys were welcomed but still needed to carry their weight to be a part of it.
Wishing to save them from shoveling animal waste to get by two performers, Buck Chisholm and Jacques DuQuesne, AKA Trickshot and Swordsman, decided to train Clint and Barney in the arts of weapon finesse. Both Buck and Jacques were actually mercenaries but applied their talents at the circus as a cover and a source of work in-between jobs and when they saw how well Clint and Barney took to their weapons they decided to train them to do more than simple spectacle tricks. Though only youths, Clint and Barney's talents seemed to demand that Trickshot and Swordsman teach them real world weapon skills and before they reached their teenage years the Barton brothers had picked up mercenary level, professional training in bow and blade skills passed off as simple feats of entertainment. Clint eventually caught Jacques stealing money from the circus. When Clint confronted Jacques about his theft, at first Jacques tried to bribe his young protege' however when Clint refused, Jacques instead decided to resort to violence to keep Clint quite and beat severely, then made his escape with the money leaving Clint for dead. Wounded and understandably upset at the closet thing he had to a father til then deciding beat him, Clint opted to leave the circus and find a new life but was chased down by Barney. Clint was unable to convince Barney to leave as well and Barney felt betrayed that Clint would try and so despite his feeling Clint returned to the circus with his brother.
Clint's still kept trying to better his already formidable training and was dubbed "The Amazing Hawkeye" as his own act. The spectacle of his position as his own act did little for Clint as his experience with Swordsman let to him spending years feeling unfulfilled and jaded to the world he had grown up in. One day Clint had the occasion to witness Iron Man preventing a disaster. Though Iron Man had in-fact diverted attention from "The Amazing Hawkeye"'s performance, Clint was about was actually more impressed than anyone else, and feeling the need for purpose took the experience as sign that he should fight-crime as well.
Hawkeye; Crime fighter
Hawkeye's first attempt to stop crime ended poorly for him, though he was able to apply his skills well to stop two thieves he was the one mistaken for a criminal when the police showed up and was forced to flee and remain in hiding for a bit. Future attempts proved to be less disastrous but still less than what he had expected and Hawkeye was perplexed as to how "Super Heroes" did their daring-do without getting in trouble with the law. Hawkeye would eventually meet the spy known as Natalia Romanova AKA the Black Widow who warmed up to him on a personal level and also appreciated his talents. Romanov, who was working as a Soviet Spy at the time, suggested Hawkeye announce his presence to the world by fighting Iron Man publicly. Clint considered Natalia's offer briefly before he realized she was playing him as a distraction for her own jobs and refused. Black Widow wished Clint well at the hero game and left him to continue trying to find his way in the world. Hawkeye would eventually save the life of Edward Jarvis and his family while on patrol and was invited to dinner with Jarvis as thanks. Over dinner Clint would recount the cliff-notes of his tale with Jarvis as thanks for the meal, but what Hawkeye had not known was that Jarvis was Tony Stark AKA "Iron Man"'s butler.
Sympathetic and still grateful to his costumed savior, Jarvis arranged for Hawkeye to meet with Iron Man and his new team, "The Avengers". Iron Man was auditioning members for the team and upon Jarvis's recommendation gave Hawkeye an interview. Hawkeye's skills proved his talents and then some and Hawkeye was welcomed to the team. Stark upgraded Hawkeye's arrows and the avengers provided armor to Hawkeye that was an imitation of his circus uniform but made of much sturdier military grade materials. Since then Hawkman became the hero he had been dreaming of taking pride in his work fighting crime with his finely honed skills. Black Widow would eventually defect from her service to the Soviets and when she came looking for alternative employment opportunities Hawkeye vouched for her, for though he knew she thought of her job first she was also affable enough to be given a chance to better herself. Romanov has never forgotten the second chance Hawkeye gave her and once she joined the two became inseparable team-mates.
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