Clint Barton is nothing if not adaptable. The man called Hawkeye is famed for his arsenal of trick arrows but is equally inventive without them. This fact is showcased in Black Widow and Hawkeye #4 by Stephanie Phillips and Paolo Villanelli.
The story of Black Widow and Hawkeye centered on Natasha Romanov and her new symbiote companion as they hunted Clint Barton. Accused of murdering the Russian ambassador to the United States, Barton became the most wanted man on Earth. Disturbingly, the archer also confessed to the killing when Natasha confronted him on the truth of the matter.
The whole affair proved to be the machinations of Black Widow’s old enemy, Damon Dram. He had schemed to start a war between the United States and Russia by making it appear the U.S. had assassinated a Russian diplomat. Hawkeye discovered the plot and thwarted it by shooting the ambassador non-lethally with an arrow that was obviously his. Barton reasoned that “if they came after me, then they wouldn’t go after each other.” He also bargained to turn himself over to Dram in exchange for him forgetting about his feud with Black Widow.
The truth came out after Black Widow came to Barton’s rescue. Unfortunately, Damon Dram was counting on this. Moreover, he had learned of Natasha’s new symbiote partner and planned accordingly. Dram had a sonic attack ready, which drove the symbiote off of Black Widow’s body and aggravated Hawkeye’s sensitivity to loud noises thanks to his hearing aids.
Hawkeye (briefly) gets a symbiote
Thankfully, Damon Dram was so focused on getting revenge on Black Widow that he completely ignored Hawkeye and the symbiote. The symbiote briefly bonded with Clint Barton, giving him the weapon he needed to fight back. This, in turn, gave Natasha the distraction she needed to turn the tables on Damon Dram one more time. However, despite the improvised “alien-goop bow and arrow” being effective, Barton decided against keeping it.
Black Widow and Hawkeye #4 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
