Marvel

Preview art by Alan Davis

By Marc Strom Hawkeye, meet Hawkeye. The once-dead Avenger comes arrow-to-arrow with his youthful successor next month when YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #6 soars onto shelves on June 25. Writer Matt Fraction and artist Alan Davis shine the spotlight on Kate Bishop, the team's resident Hawkeye, just in time to see what happens when a certain Ronin decides to pay her a visit…and wherever Clint Barton goes, fisticuffs follow. According to Fraction, the original claimant to the Hawkeye name has a few issues with his would-be replacement. "Who gets to be Hawkeye" the writer questions. "Does Kate deserve it? What did she do—and more importantly, what is she doing—to earn that mantle and honor that legacy?" For any of the Avengers, legacy means more than just taking on someone's name. While Kate's fellow Young Avengers all have some sort of tie to Earth's Mightiest Heroes, she fell in with the group by accident, not birth.

Preview art by Alan Davis

"You don't just get to put on an outfit, carry a bow, and call yourself Hawkeye, any more than carrying a shield makes you Captain America," Fraction explains. "In a lot of ways, the emotional spine of YOUNG AVENGERS has always been about the steps a new generation takes to both honor—and to differentiate itself from—its predecessors. [And] this story is no different." Why, then, considering her lack of any ties to the original Avengers, would Kate becomes so involved in the group, to the extent of even financing it with her family's wealth? "Again, that's really what this issue is about," Fraction teases. "Does she want this because she's bored, or because she wants to do the right thing, to help people, to make a difference? Is she willing to sacrifice it all to make the world a better place? "Whatever that crux is that heroes have to face, does she have it in her to face it?" As to why she chose Hawkeye's legacy to follow in, though, Fraction offers a more definitive answer: "Because he's the coolest Avenger. Duh."

Preview art by Alan Davis

And Barton, always one of the more volatile members on the Avengers' roster, might share more with the brash young girl who has taken on his legacy than he expected. "They do [have a lot in common]," Fraction admits, "Which I think they both kind of discover as the story progresses, to their surprise. Maybe. Or maybe not." And much like the heroine of his story, Fraction stands as a relatively new addition to the Marvel Bullpen, joining the House of Ideas with PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL just a year and a half ago. So when the writer first found out Alan Davis, the fan-favorite artist who co-created Excalibur, would draw the issue, he says he "didn't believe it." "I actually thought [series editor] Tom [Brevoort] was messing with me, like some kind of hazing-the-new-guy gag," he quips. "Talk about a life-long dream. I just tried to not look like a moron in the script, and let the maestro do his work. And seeing those pages for the first time—unbelievable."

YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #6 cover by Jimmy Cheung

Finally, Fraction hopes to continue the Young Avengers established by series creators Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung, and maybe even get the chance to move the team forward a little. "I love the original series with every fiber of my being," the writer exudes. "I wanted, even if it was just for a little while, to keep the characters moving, to keep them talking, to watch them interact with one another and just be the kids I love reading about. "Most of all" Fraction adds, "I got to write an issue of YOUNG AVENGERS. It was great." YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #6 shoots into stores like an arrow on June 25. While you wait, read the team's original adventures on Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.