In a shared universe it’s inevitable that from time to time a character will be portrayed in a way that’s inconsistent with his or her accepted personality. Sometimes it’s on a small scale, like a guest shot that leaves you saying, “Wow, Reed Richards is acting like a total dick” (though, maybe that’s a bad example considering he usually is kind of a dick). Other times it’s a creator having a larger take on a character that differs from the norm, such as, for example, The Goddamn Batman. But for the most part these things can be shrugged off or ignored because they have no lasting impact on the character’s development.
Occasionally, though, these warped characterizations can end up supplanting the original. Sometimes this is due to a specific event in a character’s past that new writers just can’t seem to get around (see: Hank “Crazy Wifebeater” Pym) but occasionally the culprit is something more subtle and harder to identify – the tide of public opinion. 
One weird scene here and one shaky justification there, presented to a group of readers unfamiliar with the details of a character’s history and the next thing you know, a character gets a new personality because everyone mistakenly believes he has had it all along.
Just because it’s common knowledge, however, doesn’t mean it’s true, so I think it’s time to set the record straight once and for all: Hawkeye is not a whore.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Hasn’t Hawkeye slept with every female character in the Marvel universe, up to and probably including Bova? Well, firstly, judge not lest ye be judged; in the right circumstances, tip back a few drinks and, well, I probably wouldn’t kick Bova out of bed if you know what I mean. And secondly, yeah, he has. But that doesn’t make him a himbo. In fact, I’m here to argue the exact opposite, because I believe a closer reading of Hawkeye’s appearances paint the picture of a man who is not only not a player but instead is the ultimate one woman man.
Sure, Hawkeye has been known to make sexist comments occasionally in his past and he has a history of hitting on women of all shapes and sizes. But the key to understanding his character is not his actions, but rather the timing of his actions. 
In Hawkeye’s first appearance he immediately fell head over heels in love with the Black Widow. Their relationship lasted for a number of years (in real time, which is somewhere between five minutes and a century in Marvel time) before she dumped him. During the time they were together, Hawkeye was committed fully to his girlfriend. But then she sent him packing with a Dear John letter and his heart was broken.
It’s at this point that Hawkeye began manifesting his more womanizing tendencies. Not long after being dumped by Widow, he famously made a pass at the Scarlet Witch, which she rejected in favor of Vision. Just a few issues later Hawkeye quit the Avengers and chased Widow out to San Francisco to confront her new boyfriend, Daredevil. After getting little closure, he turned into the classic Hawkeye people think of, the guy who kisses Deathbird and reads Playboy while on monitor duty.
Why? Because of his heartbreak. It’s classic behavior displayed by untold millions of men in the past, present and no doubt the future: show the world you’re not hurt by jumping back in the saddle. Show your ex that you didn’t need her by piling up new conquests. Love them and leave them before you can get hurt again.
The proof here is in Mockingbird’s pudding (okay, maybe that’s not the best way to phrase it). When Hawkeye met Mockingbird he again fell in love pretty much instantly (ah, writer’s prerogative), leading to a whirlwind marriage thanks to an inherent compatibility based on a shared love of Denny O’Neill. 
Yes, that marriage had some serious ups and downs before she died, but one up and down it definitely did not have was any hint of infidelity. Once again, with love in his life, Hawkeye was back to a one woman man. Now he had found someone whom he could put his heart in, who he could commit to. He had no need of anyone else.
Except, of course, she died. And once again, just as he had upon Widow’s death, Hawkeye threw himself into short term physical relationships to drown the pain, from Moonstone to the Wasp (the unlikelihood of which is a whole different topic) to, eventually and finally, the Scarlet Witch. But he wasn’t sleeping around because he was a player. No, he was sleeping around because he was a romantic who needed to put up his defenses in order to keep his heart safe from the terrible wounds only women can inflict on men, whether they are a superhero or not.
So next time someone tries to tell you that Hawkeye is a whore, keep this in mind. And cross your fingers that the writers do the same, because Mockingbird has returned and by all rights that means that Hawkeye should return as well.
Return to what he is at heart: a one woman man.
1 comments:
Well said! I agree, and he's a saint compared to that Cyclops guy, who everyone thinks is the salt of the Earth.
And that issue with Hawkeye reading Playboy on monitor duty is one of my all-time favorites. It's the one where the Avengers have a membership drive and recruit Clint and SheHulk, right? Classic.
Re: Bova - Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?
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