Thunderhawk?
by Sean McQuaid


Okay. This is all speculative, so odds are it means nothing. But just in
case I'm on the money, be warned that this document may include spoilers
for future issues of Avengers and Thunderbolts. Proceed at your own risk.

There's been a lot of talk lately about how Warbird (Carol Danvers, formerly
known as Ms. Marvel and Binary) may be joining the Thunderbolts. That may
be true, too, but that's not what I'm gonna talk about here. Instead, I'm
going to devote some typing to a theory that hasn't been getting much press
lately.

A long while back, some of us were talking
about the possibility of Avengers mainstay HAWKEYE defecting to the
Thunderbolts since Busiek was being coy about whether or not he'd
include him in Avengers # 4's finished Avengers roster. Hawkeye made the
Avengers roster, as it turns out, but I still think he may do some time as
a T-Bolt in the near future. Crazy, you say? Hawkeye's a major mainstay of
the Avengers, true. Hawkeye loves the Avengers and vice versa, true. The
Avengers fans and current Avengers writer Busiek are big on Hawkeye, true.
So how and why could Hawkeye make the jump to Thunderbolts? Glad you asked...

1) The post-Zemo Thunderbolts need leadership and they need credibility.
Hawkeye can offer them both of those things in spades. He's an experienced
team leader as a past leader of the Avengers, and his long Avengers career
has given him a very positive public profile. Practically nothing in the
Marvel Universe wins you more brownie points than being a longtime member
of the Avengers in good standing. The Thunderbolts could use that sort of PR
since they're still hated and feared by many folks for being former
super-crooks and recent accomplices of current super-crook Baron Zemo. The
T-Bolts could also really use a solid leader like Hawk since they don't have
a real leader of their own: Moonstone and Jolt are the leading figures in
the current T-Bolts roster, but Moonstone is too unscrupulous and
untrustworthy, while Jolt has the appropriate ideals and strength of
character for leadership but is too young and inexperienced to pull it off.
The Thunderbolts lack leadership and credibility, but Hawkeye can fill those
voids easily.

2) As Captain America observed in the sixth issue of the current Avengers
series, Hawkeye is feeling "confined" as an Avenger. Hawkeye had already
matured into an invaluable Avenger by the time he became chairman of the
team's western roster, and as chairman of the western Avengers he matured
further into one of the team's best leaders. It's frustrating for him to be
a second banana again in an all-star Avengers led by Captain America,
Hawkeye's old mentor, Mister Ideal Leader himself. Hawkeye's developed into
a great hero, but in the current Avengers roster he's just one of a
half-dozen or so great heroes led by the greatest of them all. He's not the
star of the show anymore, and this carnival performer turned showoff
superhero wants to be the star, wants to show the world what he can do, and
it's hard to do that when you're just another member of the band. But with
the Thunderbolts, he'd be the indisputable headliner on that team of
disreputable losers and relative unknowns. He'd be the boss. He'd be the
star. And he'd have the chance to build up a great super-team all his own
more or less from scratch--heck, from practically less than scratch, seeing
as how the T-Bolts are starting out in a deep hole image-wise thanks to
their Masters of Evil connections. If Hawkeye can whip these sorry
second-raters into a first class super-team, he'll have performed the same
feat his idol Cap did with Hawkeye and the rest of the second-generation
Avengers years ago. He'll have turned semi-villainous lead into super-heroic
gold, and there'll be no disputing his place as a major player in the MU.
It's a chance for Hawkeye to carve out a new super-team dynasty all his own,
and it's an opportunity he probably can't resist.

3) As the gatefold cover text of the Avengers series reminds us every month,
Hawkeye is a former outlaw. He spent the early days of his career as a
hunted fugitive before joining the Avengers. More than most other heroes,
he can understand the Thunderbolts and what they're going through as bad
guys trying to turn good. In terms of theme and personality, he's a good
match for the team--and Busiek has already hinted at that by having Black
Widow hold Hawkeye up to the Thunderbolts as an example of reformation
in Thunderbolts # 9.

4) This can only help Thunderbolts sales. T-Bolts is selling steadily,
which is a minor miracle in the shrinking comics market, but it's still a
second-tier book with much lower sales than Avengers. Avengers is the
hottest comic Marvel has this side of the X-Men these days, so a crossover
with the Avengers (coming in Avengers # 12) can only help the T-Bolts...and
it'll help T-Bolts sales even more if a certain popular Avenger makes
Thunderbolts his new home.

5) Kurt Busiek loves Hawkeye and loves the Avengers, and as Avengers writer
he'd hate to lose Hawkeye...but since Thunderbolts is his book, too
(and his creation for that matter), he won't be losing the character if
Hawkeye makes the switch. Besides, Busiek's always saying there's never
enough room for all the characters and subjects he wants to cover in
Avengers, so transferring a star player like Hawkeye to the less crowded
Thunderbolts will free up some space, and give his baby Thunderbolts a major
shot in its already healthy arm.

6) Cool character interplay. Think about it: Hawkeye would be the boss of a
team consisting of one adoring fan-girl (Avengers groupie Jolt) and four
former foes (Atlas, MACH-1, Moonstone and Songbird). Lots of potential for
all sorts of sparks to fly there, folks! And it's a situation that echoes
Busiek's old idea for an Avengers storyline in which Cap leads a group of
former Masters of Evil, the same story idea that was the initial
inspiration for the T-Bolts.

7) Foreshadowing aplenty! Consider all the Hawkeye/T-Bolts connections, and
the indications of Hawkeye wanting a team of his own to lead:

Thunderbolts # 3:
Hawkeye's old flame Black Widow teams up with the Thunderbolts and is one
of the first to suspect their true identities.

Thunderbolts # 9:
Black Widow, by now convinced that the T-Bolts are secretly the Masters of
Evil even though she has no proof, tries to convince MACH-1 and Songbird to
reform for real and turn against their criminal boss, Zemo. She holds
up outlaws-turned-Avengers Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver as
inspirational examples of what the T-Bolts can be if they're up to it.

Thunderbolts # 10:
The Thunderbolts are exposed as the Masters of Evil, and who's the first
superhero to confront them? Hawkeye, fresh from the Franklinverse, making
his first appearance back in the mainstream MU in the pages of T-Bolts.
He attacks Moonstone, who flees.

Thunderbolts # 11-12:
Hawkeye is among the Avengers rescued from Zemo by the repentant
Thunderbolts, most of whom turn against Zemo and thwart his scheme for
world domination. When the dust settles, Hawkeye is one of the few heroes
who seems prepared to deal with the Thunderbolts leniently. The T-Bolts
surrender to the Avengers with the intention of taking their chances in
the courts, but are whisked away against their will by the Kosmosians before
they can stand trial.

Avengers (v3) # 1:
>From the moment the Avengers reform, Hawkeye is complaining about the fact
that he's not being treated as a leadership figure within the group.

Avengers (v3) # 4:
Hawkeye vies for a greater say in Avengers business and continues to express
his frustrated leadership aspirations.

Avengers (v3) # 5-6:
Hawkeye, still frustrated at not being able to play a leadership role,
clashes with Avengers leader Captain America.

Avengers (v3) # 7:
During Warbird's court martial, Hawkeye speaks of how he believes in second
chances--something the T-Bolts would doubtless like to hear.

Thunderbolts # 18:
By this time, the Thunderbolts have escaped the Kosmosians and returned to
Earth, and they've embarked on a new course as superheroes on the run,
trying to evade the law while proving their worth to the world through
heroic acts. Reporter Gayle Rogers, Hawkeye's one-time love interest from
her short-lived supporting role in Solo Avengers, is assigned to cover the
Thunderbolts as her regular beat, a beat that'll probably be that much more
interesting for her and the readers if and when Hawkeye joins the T-Bolts.
The pieces are falling into place...

Avengers/Squadron Supreme '98:
Hawkeye does some bonding with the Squadron Supreme's Haywire, who reminds
Clint of himself as a young man. When their adventure is over, Haywire
surprises Hawkeye by deciding to stay on the Avengers' Earth. More
specifically, Haywire plans to travel out west...the same general direction
the fugitive Thunderbolts have fled in. Hmmm...

What's it all add up to? Looks like Hawkeye's bound to join the Thunderbolts,
probably as their leader. Haywire and/or Warbird may be around, too. However
it all plays out, Busiek is certainly keeping things interesting...

-Sean