Earth's Mightiest Annotations
by Sean McQuaid
Supplemental: Mockingbird

MOCKINGBIRD (Barbara "Bobbi" Morse Barton) was a biologist turned SHIELD
agent who later went freelance as the costumed intelligence operative
Mockingbird. As Mockingbird, she met and married Hawkeye after they joined
forces against Crossfire (Hawkeye [v1] # 1-4), and she began serving
alongside Hawkeye in the Avengers (Avengers [v1] # 239), becoming a full
official member of the group when she joined Hawkeye in founding the teamÆs
west coast roster (West Coast Avengers [v1] # 1-4).

     Mockingbird remained a mainstay of the team until an ethical dispute
estranged her from both Hawkeye and the Avengers (WCA [v2] # 37); this
dispute hinged on MockingbirdÆs abduction and violation by her crazed
admirer, the Phantom Rider (WCA [v2] # 17-22), who died in their final
confrontation (WCA [v2] # 23) when she allowed him to fall from a cliff
after heÆd tried unsuccessfully to kill her. The Phantom RiderÆs ghost then
began tormenting her (WCA [v2] # 31), and prompted MockingbirdÆs
estrangement from the Avengers when he convinced Hawkeye that Mockingbird
had "murdered" him. Mockingbird eventually exorcised his ghost from the
earthly plane (WCA [v2] # 41) and started working with the Avengers again on
an irregular basis as of WCA [v2] # 42-45, while trying to mend her marriage
to Hawkeye.

     While on leave from the WCA, Hawkeye and Mockingbird became mentors
to a midwestern team of novice adventurers called the Great Lakes Avengers
(WCA [v2] # 46) until Hawkeye returned to the western Avengers roster
(Avengers West Coast # 60), prompting Mockingbird to rejoin as a reservist
(AWC # 69) and, eventually, as a full active member (AWC # 87-88). By that
time, Hawkeye and Mockingbird had realized how much they still loved each
other and finally fully reconciled (AWC # 89-91), calling off their divorce
before it became final. Their renewed bliss proved short-lived, though, when
Mockingbird was seemingly slain in action by Mephisto (AWC # 100). More
recently, she was one of several deceased Avengers temporarily resurrected
by the villainous Grim Reaper to serve him in Avengers [v3] # 10, but
shook off the Reaper's control and helped the Avengers defeat him before
returning to the realm of the dead once more in Avengers [v3] # 11.

     Mockingbird was an experienced biologist, a highly trained
intelligence agent, an acrobatically agile gymnast and an extremely
formidable hand-to-hand combatant. Her principal weapons were her battle
staves, steel striking rods that could be snapped together into a single
battle staff. She took her code-name from her habit of unnerving opponents
with derisive verbal banter.

     Mockingbird first appeared in Astonishing Tales [v1] # 6 as Bobbi
Morse and became Mockingbird in Marvel Team-Up # 95.