Marvel has officially debuted its new version of Marvel's new Ultimate Universe, and an explicit replacement for Clint Barton who - in this new timeline - refused to take up the Hawkeye mantle and ditched the advanced tech Tony Stark gifted him.
Fans meet the new Hawkeye in a preview for Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri, Federico Blee and Travis Lanham's Ultimates #5. The issue sees Tony Stark call Captain America in to investigate a new Hawkeye who has been raiding the facilities of the villainous Roxxon corporation. While their actions so far benefit the Ultimates' goals, Tony's tests suggest they're likely to be more villain than hero, and he asks Steve Rogers to step in.
Tony previously gave the Hawkeye costume and equipment to Clint Barton, who was one of dozens of heroes who were unwilling to take up the powers and identities they should have possessed in this timeline. Tony was so sure of Clint's potential that he handed over a quiver that can print a variety of custom arrows, including smart missiles and EMP blasts. Tony confirms that "a properly trained man could take an army with these 'arrows'" and begs Steve to get his technology back.
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The New Hawkeye Debuts, Using Tony Stark's Tech
The Hero's Arrows Basically Have Superpowers
Marvel's new Ultimate Universe is a reality that was rewritten by the time-traveling super-genius known as the Maker, who methodically killed, depowered, or corrupted every hero fans know from Marvel's mainstream continuity. Thankfully, Tony's father was able to create a brief window where the Maker would be out of the picture, allowing his son (now going by Iron Lad) to assemble the Ultimates Network - a worldwide team of heroes who are dedicated to destroying the Maker's power base before he returns.
Marvel has taken a novel approach to its Ultimate titles, with each issue covering a month of time in-world, counting down to the Maker's return. Each Ultimates issue depicts a crucial mission as Tony and his growing team attempt to recruit more heroes who will stand with them against Maker's corrupt world order. Now, fans are meeting Hawkeye, but this time Tony doesn't want the hero on his roster, he wants them stopped.
Previously, Tony tried to bring back heroes including Captain Marvel and Hawkeye by empowering the people whose hero origins the Maker prevented via time travel. The project was a disaster, with Carol Danvers even killing civilians when her powers exploded out of control. While Peter Parker's Spider-Man has so far been a notable success, Tony took the massive failure of his endeavor hard, especially because he'd tried to upgrade these heroes with his family's advanced tech. It therefore makes sense that, even as this Hawkeye targets a significant ally of the Maker's regime, Tony isn't willing to take the chance of his weaponry being used for evil.
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Hawkeye's Trick Arrows Have Always Been Powerful...
...But Nothing Close to the New Version
The new Hawkeye's arrows are a huge upgrade from Clint Barton's character, with Tony confirming that a single shot from forty miles away is enough to destroy a tank or even a battleship. Likewise, when Captain America confronts the new Hawkeye, he's faced with a repulsor arrow - the same technology that makes Iron Man such a powerful hero. While Clint Barton has long been an Avenger in good standing, he's never been a powerhouse, depending more on his immense skill and spy training to contribute to the team. Indeed, villains overlooking Hawkeye has saved the universe in the past.
However, despite their major difference in power levels, weaponized arrows are a traditional element of Hawkeye's character. Rather than just shooting traditional arrows, Hawkeye has incorporated tech from all over the Marvel Universe, including Iron Man's repulsors, Hank Pym's size-changing particles, and even Hulk's gamma radiation (which he used to kill the Green Goliath in Civil War II.) Hawkeye's most frequently used arrows are all about non-lethal takedowns, with an electrified net arrow, tear gas arrow, and blunted boomerang arrow all having appeared before.
The MCU finally gave Hawkeye's trick arrows their due in Disney+'s Hawkeye show, where Clint used Pym Particles to turn his ally Kate Barton's arrow gigantic.
The new Hawkeye reinvents Clint Barton's feud with Captain America, as the Ultimate Universe transforms a friendly rivalry into something far darker.
However, while Clint Barton has often used explosives, he's never had anything like the new Ultimate Hawkeye, whose tank-killing arrows can take right-angles in order to chase down their targets with high explosives. Tony's quiver prints the weapons that Hawkeye needs for a mission, making this new hero the equal of even Iron Man in of power - and perhaps even more dangerous when their skill becomes part of the equation.
Hawkeye vs Captain America Is the Perfect Introduction
The Original Hawkeye Had a Major Rivalry with Captain America
Sending Captain America to face off with the new Hawkeye is the perfect introduction. The two characters have a long history, with Clint Barton having a major grudge against Steve Rogers and continually fighting to prove himself the Super-Soldier's equal. While the two are firm friends today, Clint has long been painted as an anti-authority figure who chafes under Cap's leadership, and their rivalry was especially vicious at the beginning of their relationship.
The Ultimate Universe is adding a new development to this rivalry by introducing a Hawkeye who is Native American, with the first words between the two being Hawkeye asking, "So they sent a cowboy, huh?" So far, The Ultimates has been a socially conscious book, with the new She-Hulk coming from a Pacific Island radiated by gamma bomb testing - a reference to nuclear testing and its consequences in the real world. The Ultimate Universe no longer has an America, since the nation was disbanded as part of the Maker dividing the world into competing territories.
That makes Captain America's symbolic nature far more complex. The Ultimate Cap represents a country that no longer exists and which he holds up as the opposite of the Maker's authoritarianism, but by doing so he also keeps a specific legacy of imperialism and conquest alive - a dichotomy that Hawkeye is seemingly all too aware of. What's more, this Steve Rogers was shaken to his core by learning of world history since he was frozen in World War II, and Captain America has taken radical steps against the Maker, including choosing to rescue America Chavez at the cost of many innocent lives.
The Ultimates' breakneck pace doesn't allow a lot of time for dwelling on the emotional states of its heroes, so it will be interesting to see how far the charge of being a "cowboy" applies to this Captain America. In Marvel's original Ultimate Universe from the 2000s, Captain America was depicted as a jingoistic soldier for the American government, but this time around he's struggling far more with his purpose.
Ultimates #5 is the final issue before the entire team assembles for the first time to battle the corrupted Hulk and his Immortal Weapons. Hopefully, Hawkeye is part of that team, because while Tony might feel the need to control how his tech is used, the Ultimates will need all the help they can get to beat the Maker, and fans definitely deserve more time with this new version of the Avenging Archer who suddenly packs the same punch as Iron Man himself.
The Ultimates #5 is coming from Marvel October 9.
