Hawkeye Epic Collection, vol. 1: The Avenging Archer

Date Completed: 1 June, 2025

Grade: A-

I was very worried this was going to be another Black Widow volume 1 situation. Hawkeye as a character started as a villain for Iron Man, and eventually joined the Avengers, which is where most of his character development occurred. But a volume about Hawkeye surely couldn't be just a bunch of Avengers reprints, and yet these issues couldn't be ignored either. I was very pleased to see that rather than the short mish-mosh of parts of books (like in Black Widow), this volume contained whole stories, and for those early Avengers issues, kept only issues which led to major character developments. There are the occasional weird one-shot issues (like Marvel Tales #100) which are necessary for completing Hawkeye's non-Avengers appearances, but those are fine. It does seem that the goal was to include stories necessary for the Hawkeye mini-series of 1983, and to this point, the volume also contains stories which are specific to the character Mocking Bird (Marvel Super Action #1 and Marvel Team-Up #95). Initially I was surprised to see these issues which didn't feature Hawkeye at all, but I remembered her involvement in the Limited Series, and they really did provide important background and set-up for the series. Mark Gruenwald's 1983 Limited Series is clearly the highlight of the book, and lends further evidence to my belief that the 1980s were some of the best years of Marvel Comics. I don't want to spoil details, but it is a solid story with lots of action and heart. I'm actually excited to see where volume 2 goes, but it will be some time before I get there, since the Hawkeye books are currently relegated to my chronological spot.



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