Dark Reign: The List: Avengers #1

You know, I really should know better by now. Be warned, this is yet another rant about how I hate Bendis' work with Hawkeye.

I had been excited at the prospect of these List specials, since they had a kind of similar tone as the old connected Annuals of the late 80s and early 90s. The prospect of seeing Norman Osborn face off against the Avengers was intriguing. I knew Clint Barton/Hawkeye/Ronin was supposed to have a big part too, and Bendis promised a big development with the character. So I naturally figured Clint might end up as Hawkeye again so I picked up this issue.

Mistake.

I hate Bendis' take on Clint Barton. Clint spends the issue rambling on with an ill-formed plan about how killing Osborn is the best option. How he doesn't need a real plan to do it. Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman, and Clint's wife Mockingbird all try to talk him out of it, explaining that it is wrong for heroes to kill and that how a hero acts in the tough times defines what kind of hero he is. It's funny, because this is all stuff I've heard Clint say in the past when he was an actual heroic character. In this he's whiny, sneaky, and pouty. This character bears so little resemblance to the Hawkeye I like that I was actually cheering for Ares at the end of the issue. Hell, Clint brings along a bunch of guns and shoots Bullseye! Why bother having this be Hawkeye? This could be any generic gun-toting doofball. The issue closes with Clint knocked out and arrested, after trying to take on Ares and Norman Osborn. So let's add moronic to Clint's character traits. All the traits I liked about Hawkeye are gone, so really, I suppose I have to admit I don't like the character.

I did like that Clint was able to take out Bullseye, Venom, and Daken, and it was also cool seeing Bendis acknowledge the romantic history Clint shares with Moonstone. But that's about the extent of the good stuff. (The plot was pretty simple, obviously, Clint infiltrated Avengers Tower and got caught. That's really about it.)

Marko Djurdjevic does a nice job on the art, actually elevating the content with his pencils. I liked his take on Mockingbird's new costume especially. I bet he would have done a bang-up job on the real Hawkeye suit, don't you think?

Average