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What_the acolyte Joined: 01.01.1970 Posts: 76
How to do an ongoing Hawkeye series so that it does not bomb
Posted: 11.08.2009 12:33am
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Ok, its been well established that Hawkeye is one of the most (if not the most) popular Avengers, but every time he gets his own series, it bombs. I don't buy this nonsense that he's just just a good backup character. So let's analyze what's the problem and posit a solution.
I think that the problem can be attacked through the assessment of 6 main categories:
1. Character development
2. Steady secondary characters
3. Personal villains
4. Circumstance and Environment - personal place in the world
5. Good Story
6. Good Art
So I will elaborate further on the above here. Please feel free to comment, expand, or disagree with me.
1. Character Development - I think that most of the Hawkeye series of the past did not have the opportunity of developing Hawkeye as a character. The first 1984 limited series did a great job, and while Solo Avengers started off good, it quickly turned into a series of one-off filler stories that did not evolve the character at all. By the time they tried to reinvigorate Hawkeye towards the end of the series it was too late. Add to the fact that Don Heck's art was too out of synch with contemporary comic art and the series failed. The Fabian Nicieza series failed to develop the character at all. It was just a series of adventures that did not affect or evolve the character at all. The problem is that most of the character development occurs in th Avengers comics and a Hawkeye series just becomes filler. So I think an on-going Hawkeye series needs to be the place where big Hawkeye events occur and not in an Avengers title. The book needs to give the character room to grow, much in the same way that Iron Man grows in his book andnot in the Avengers. Remember, when something big is happening with Iron Man, he leaves the Avengers to focus on it. Think back to the Armor Wars. This needs to be the same case with Hawkeye. For example, Hawkeye was goin through a divorce in West Coast Avengers but in his own series (Solo Avengers) this was hardly mentioned. No wonder it bombed.
2. Steady Secondary Characters - A good solo comic-book has to work almost like a sit-com. You have a main character or two and a host of ancilliary supporting characters. Jerry Seinfeld had Elaine, George, and Kramer, but there was also Newman, George's parents, Coach Steinbrenner, Uncle Leo and Mr. Lippman. Can you imagine Superman without Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Jimmy Olsen, and the gang, or Batman without Vicky Vale, Robin, Commision Gordon, and Alfred? Hawkeye has some existing supporting characters but these need to be expanded and they need to be a regular part of his life for fans to get comfortable with them. Mockingbird is an absolute must. Black Widow could make cameo appearances as well (for better or worse she is a part of Hawkeye's life). But this is not enough to make a cast. Hawkeye enjoys the occasional beer. So who does he have a drink with? Does anyone remember Hawk's friend George Latham? George came from CTE (Cross Technological Enterprises) where Hawkeye worked and he was supposed to be Hawkeye's mechanic. Where is George? Bottom line is, Hawkeye needs more friends or associates to have an ongoing series. Trick Shot and Swordsman need to fit in somewhere (maybe as villains or friends or sometimes as both?)
3. Personal Villains - Who is Hawkeye's Joker or Lex Luthor. I would say that Crossfire is a good candidate. He's always had a thing for Hawkeye for some reason, but this needs to be expanded. Who else could be Hawkeye's villains? What about Oddball, Bullseye, Trick Shot, Swordsman, Phantom Rider, Abomination, Master Pandemonium, Batroc, The Silencer, Egghead, Ultron? Yes, I know, some of these guys are dead but come on, this is Marvel. I think any villain whose main MO is marksmanship is fair game. Or maybe some new villains need to be created. Anyway, someone needs to be out to get Hawkeye and there has to be a personal connection. Did you know Ultron had the hots for Mockingbird?
4. Circumstance and Environment - Where is Hawkeye's Batcave or Fortress of Solitude? Hawkeye is from Waverly, Iowa. Is it conceivable he still has some relatives there? He really needs a place to call home. Also, Hawkeye had some cool vehicles as I recall. First there was the Sky-Cycle, which was a terrible design and then he had a cool purple and blue skycycle which was super cool. Where is this stuff. Basically, where is Hawkeye's batmobile? All of this stuff has to be worked out and it needs to become personal. Maybe Hawkeye needs a job like Matt Murdock or Peter Parker. Maybe he repairs bikes. Seriously, what would Clint do in his spare time besides drink beer? Nobody knows because this has never been explored, but for a regular series, this needs to be developed.
5. Good Story - Once all of the above elements are in place, the stories need to be good. There are a lot of talented writers out there so there should be no excuse. The stories need to build and develop and EVOLVE Hawkeye's character, secondary characters, villains and circumstances. It's really all about the story. Hawkeye has always been an interesting character but his stories were never told well. The strength of Hawkeye's character always shines through and people still love the character despite the fact that most of his solo stories were mundane. Maybe Mockingbird needs to have kids? I don't know what the story is. I just think we all know a good story when we read it, and it should be possible to make great Hawkeye stories if the above mentioned elevents are expanded and evolved. I would recommend making the stories more mature as Hawkeye's fans have been around for many decades.
6. Good Art - Again, there is no excuse for poor or boing art. There are thousands of artists out there who would give their left leg to work on a series like this. Take a look a the current Hawkeye / Bullseye series. The background art half the time is purple and blue and create a Hawkeye atmosphere. This is brilliant. It really feels like Hawkeye belongs in the book. It is vibrant and it is not dry like most of Hawkeye's older books. Good Art also means good costume. I think Hawkeye has one of the best costumes ever. It should be possible to shuffle it up a little but maintain the essence. He does need to have the purple cap with the mask though. We saw him a few times in a costume that just had his hair exposed and he looked dorky and too young.
Anyway, just my two cents...
heikks86 acolyte Joined: 01.01.1970 Posts: 34
Posted: 11.08.2009 3:13am
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his main villian could be someone like Bullseye or Boomerang
Bullseye is Daredevils rouge. Stealing rouges from other's gallery is usually never a good idea for new series. At least not as the main.
U want it to work long term they need to make new one for him, or bring back a nobody no one remembers.
I think they'd have to find something that hasn't been covered in New Avengers already. Because we've seen him kick some serious A, we've seen him be all angsty and take the lead, we've seen his rebirth ... what else can he do in a solo title?
Maybe they should make a solo title that has Bullseye as the lead, and Ronin has to take it from him, whilst also dealing with tribulations of other things.
They should try and make a series that tackles serious issues, sort of like Green Lantern/Green Arrow, because that would be a perfect fit for his kind of street level character. _________________ An All Star DC Universe fan fic!
I have to agree with you Godlike13. Bullseye belongs to Daredevil as a main villain. Since BE donned the Hawkeye uniform, he has made himself a de facto enemy of Clint's though, so he should definitely be an occasional enemy. It might even be interesting if there was a Hawkeye / Daredevil crossover. I don't remember themever meeting.
For better or worse, I think Hawkeye's main enemy is either Crossfire or Trickshot, or maybe even Swordsman? Most likely Crossfire. Crossfire had a pretty cool costume. He just needs a more defined background. Crossfire could be a great villain. Everyone loves a guy with a patch (is that what it is?).
godlike13 wrote:
Bullseye is Daredevils rouge. Stealing rouges from other's gallery is usually never a good idea for new series. At least not as the main.
U want it to work long term they need to make new one for him, or bring back a nobody no one remembers.
Taskmaster would rock Hawkeye. Not only with his "anything u can do, i can do better" power, but also because he's 100% bad &@*!.
Plus Taskmaster's not really an arching type of guy. He's more of an enigma.
What about Alkhema, Egghead, or even Grim Reaper? Still i think it would be better to create new ones.
italianfan.93 hero Joined: 01.01.1970 Posts: 523
Posted: 11.08.2009 1:06pm
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I think there are so many villains Hawkeye would have to fight: Taskmaster for sure, it would be epic, and then Bullseye occasionally, and what about baron Zemo? You can't deny that would be awesome, and Zemo could hire anyone to take out Hawkeye...
Here's an attempt to a semi-decent plot: Clint investigates on some criminal activity (I dunno what it could be) but it's all part of a great scheme of Zemo, and he wants Clint to be taken out before he finds out anything and offers the job to... Echo, who wants revenge because CLint is with Bobbi now, and there could be an awesome showdown between the two women with Bobbi being nearly killed, and then Clint would want to know what exactly is happening since his wife has been almost killed (but no "I'll kill them all" kinda crap) and then I dunno, the story goes on from here, Zemo could ask help to Osborn and Norman would send Taskmaster, and Clint and Bobbi would have to deal with him and eventually defeat Zemo and then decide NOT to kill him, even tough they know he'll be out of jail in no time, because they know what's right and what not.
There, if you write this well you have a first story arc with character development, personally connected villains, tie-in to Dark Reign, a top class enemy with a grand scheme, and a not boring plot, and it took me five minutes to figure this out. Don't tell me Marvel doesn't have a more skilled than me writer with more than five minutes to dedicate to a Hawkeye solo series and a better knowledge of characters. _________________ Check out my Avengers fanfic...
http://marvel.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=159478
Volume 1, chapter 6 The Hunt Goes On, Issue 4 up now
I have to agree with you Godlike13. Bullseye belongs to Daredevil as a main villain. Since BE donned the Hawkeye uniform, he has made himself a de facto enemy of Clint's though, so he should definitely be an occasional enemy. It might even be interesting if there was a Hawkeye / Daredevil crossover. I don't remember themever meeting.
For better or worse, I think Hawkeye's main enemy is either Crossfire or Trickshot, or maybe even Swordsman? Most likely Crossfire. Crossfire had a pretty cool costume. He just needs a more defined background. Crossfire could be a great villain. Everyone loves a guy with a patch (is that what it is?).
godlike13 wrote:
Bullseye is Daredevils rouge. Stealing rouges from other's gallery is usually never a good idea for new series. At least not as the main.
U want it to work long term they need to make new one for him, or bring back a nobody no one remembers.
DD and Hawkeye fought a long time ago, over the love of Black Widow lol
anyway, I agree Crossfire is the closest Clint has to an archnemesis, and he is freakin cool too. Also, it's a bionic eye. The explosion that took Crossfire's eye and ear was because of a failed assassination attempt. So he has incredible vision and hearingon the (left?) side of his face, but is 80% deaf in his other ear
