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Hawkeye

The role of the everyday-man superhero in Marvel had always been Spider-Man's, but in 2012 Matt Fraction and David Aja teamed up to write a tale about one of Marvel's more subtle heroes that gave the webslinger a run for his money. The fourth attempt at a running Hawkeye series turned the purple archer into a frustrated man trying to pay his rent, which wound up getting him involved with a spunky teenager who might be a better archer than him, a Russian mafia known for their iconic red Adidas tracksuits, a dog known for its love for pizza, and a battle against every criminal underboss in New York.

Fraction hilariously writes a story of what it's like to try and have a stable home life while working a 9-5 in New York City and does so from the perspective of an Avenger, which is an impressive feat. The most remarkable thing about Hawkeye as a character is how utterly unremarkable he is. He doesn't have superpowers, heck he doesn't even know how to set up a DVR. He bumbles his way through mishap after mishap with a cocky swagger akin to that of a man who is just trying to hold it all together. It is an immediate and satisfyingly relatable portrayal, which is the entire theme of the comic itself. Hawkeye might be battling gangster's on-panel, but his (and Kate Bishop's) greatest foe is really just life itself. It's unforgiving.

This allows readers to follow along with the epic of two flawed, very human protagonists, and their efforts to try and make things finally go their way. They don't always make the right choices (the entire conflict more or less comes to fruition because of an affair), but they mean well. At the end of the day, sometimes that is all that matters. Aja's art is also phenomenal. He doesn't do the entire series, but his issues are always the best, a minimalist, cartoony portrayal with a heavy emphasis on recurring symbols and purple coloration.

Hawkeye was a surprise hit for Marvel and racked up a few Eisner awards, deservedly so. The complex humanity expressed here is uncharacteristic for a comic of any kind, especially a superhero one.

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