Hawkeye: The Free Fall of the Marvel Archer

To keep a low profile, Clint Barton had once become Ronin, a vengeful samurai in the New Avengers written by Brian Michael Bendis. He became Hawkeye again, but how then to explain that today a man wearing the same costume, massacres drug dealers in New York? Everything will light up in a very good turnaround in the middle of the book.

Written by Matthew Rosenberg and drawn by Otto Schmidt, Free Fall is a six-episode mini-series centered on this archer present since the 60s in the Marvel universe. A pillar of the Avengers, his braggart attitude hides an inferiority complex because, apart from his archery skills, he is a simple human among supermen. Solo, he finds himself immersed in an adventure against the underworld as Ronin attacks Hood's gang. However, he rarely finds himself alone. After Ronin kills six SHIELD agents, the Falcon with the Winter Soldier and then Cage come to accuse him. His former colleagues no longer trust him – it is unclear why Clint would have betrayed their trust. Spider-Man arrives in the second episode and Daredevil also intervenes as bodies keep accumulating around Ronin. However, the blind hero is himself very weakened as shown by his excellent recent series that we advise you. Hawkeye even joins a group of urban vigilantes who go hunting for Ronin. However, the intervention of these heroes, like guest stars in a TV series, cuts the rhythm and leads to ask a question: Is Hawkeye such a minor hero that he needs a more powerful character in each episode?

Far from being a disturbing leader, Hood is presented here as a pretentious and idiotic kingpin. It kills competitors in crime but before they have been able to give useful information. These early executions even become a running gag. This situation is even more incredible because the opponent of this minor villain, Hawkeye, does not take anything seriously even in the most perilous situations. But the advantage of this character is that it is therefore also disarmingly disarming – the height for an archer – honesty. The reader recognizes the mixture of superheroes and humor of this Deadpool story because the writer, Matthew Rosenberg, gratifies us with some well-felt jokes. Most of the good or bad characters look very silly. Clint doesn't care about Iron Man's age. The screenwriter also places a political element because Luke Cage criticizes vigilantes: "we are no longer under Reagan, the war on drugs requires compromises". He also mocks an old Clint outfit. Spider-Man makes fun of Ronin's sword that is so 2000s. Otto Schmidt's drawing is very effective. Its very expressive faces render well the touches of humor and the staging makes it easy to follow the action. But it is also nondescript. We are fully in the style of humor comics by bright colors, landscape reduced to a minimum and geometric shapes.

This humor is possible because Clint is not a god immersed in cosmic threats but a rather banal man whose life is very complicated. He is in a romantic relationship with Dr. Linda Carter. His private life is almost as present as his professional life but the two parts of his life are constantly mixed both spatially and in his relationships. Never being able to disconnect, Clint feels like a failure. The introduction traces very well the psychology of the character and pays tribute to the previous series of the archer by Matt Fraction and David Aja. The humor disappears at the end because the hero compromises himself more and more. Indeed, the story is a little deeper when we also find the theme of Matt Fraction's run: how can a hero help locally, in his neighborhood? This idea is contemporary with the bankruptcy of ideologies: since it is no longer possible to change things at the national level, what can be done to help our neighbors? Clint decided to tackle the drug trade in his neighborhood. While it cannot prevent trafficking throughout the country, it tries both to stop it locally and to help drug addicts drop out. Clint's two faces correspond to these two facets of the struggle. When Clint goes to court to see Hood's judgment it is also a way for the screenwriter to denounce the American justice that punishes the poor and protects the rich. Otto Schmidt also tries the same visual jokes as David Aja: a mask of Hawkeye appears in the boxes to hide Clint's back or front.