Hello and welcome to another week of comic book glory, in Ye Olde School Café! In this edition, we’ll be continuing our look at the Hawkeye mini-series from 1983! Last time, we saw the first ever meeting between Clint and the blonde bombshell Mockingbird! She really caught Hawkeye off guard, and showed him that the fairer sex is not to be underestimated! In the second issue, we’ll see things get even heavier, as the two of them will be under attack from an assassin! Get ready, as Mark Gruenwald and Brett Breeding bring us more of this great limited series starring the bowman and the beauty! Cover by Mark Gruenwald and Bob Layton!
As this issue begins, Clint is in an abandoned part of town, shooting arrows at a target. The problem is, he hasn’t made one bulls-eye yet! As he ponders the last few days, he begins to spiral out of control mentally. The thoughts running through his head, about Mockingbird, his former lover that turned on him, Sheila, and everything in-between, cause him to collapse. As he lies on the ground, a pack of thugs see him, and decide to give him a beating. Just as they begin to start stomping on him, he leaps up, kicks two of them in the head, grabs his bow, and knocks the others out with non-lethal arrows. Clint then heads back to his old apartment to see if his employer took it away.
As Clint makes his way through the front door of his old apartment, he’s greeted by Mockingbird. She offers to buy him breakfast, and he begrudgingly agrees. As the two head out on his rocket-powered sled, a mysterious figure is seen, watching them take off. Back at Mockingbird’s place, Clint is listening to her tell her origin story, but before you know it, Clint falls asleep. She tucks him in, and then goes out shopping for new clothes for him. No sooner does she leave does that same mysterious figure show up, and puts a gun to Clint’s head! Clint instinctively moves, and knocks the assailant away. He then quickly dives off the couch and behind a coffee table. The masked intruder opens fire on him, and the table won’t hold out very long. As Clint reaches for his bow, the assassin puts the gun to his head once more. Just as he’s about to pull the trigger, Mockingbird knocks the guy across the room! The intruder jumps out of the window, and Clint tells Mockingbird that they need to go visit a friend.
The two heroes visit Jorge, one of Clint’s friends and co-workers from the corporation he was employed by before this mess got started. After talking with him about the new security measures in place, the two then infiltrate the business, and start searching through the files. Not too long passes by, when that same masked figure appears, and begins shooting at them. Hawkeye tries a couple of trick arrows, but they have no effect. He then gets up close and personal, and begins to brawl with the masked man. The two struggle briefly, then plummet out a window, falling to their deaths! Hawkeye manages to remotely guide his sled to his location, and knocks the masked man off the ledge. Hawkeye then meets back up with Mockingbird, and asks if she had any trouble. She laughs, and says no, but the next panel shows that she took down half a dozen thugs inside before she came out to look for Clint!
Well, that’s it for now, but be back next time, and we’ll dig even deeper into this mystery! What is the sinister purpose of Hawkeye’s old employer? Who is that masked villain? The next installment will have answers! See you next time!
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
There needs to be more shirtless Hawkeye. I think this would improve comics greatly.
My wife would agree with you, Kristin. lol.