Marvel Comics announced a new solo adventure story centered around Hawkeye and his team-up with Ronin, an identity he previously held.
What’s going on: The new series — called “Hawkeye: Freefall” — will focus on Hawkeye’s battle with villain the Hood, who returns to New York City to create a criminal enterprise, according to a press release emailed to the Deseret News.
- A new fighter comes to the city using the name Ronin, which was the identity previously owned by Hawkeye.
- This confusion makes Hawkeye’s “allies to believe it’s actually him moonlighting as the brutal vigilante,” according to a press release.
- “Are Hawkeye and Ronin truly at cross-purposes, or do they share a common enemy in upstart super villain Parker Robbins?”
Context: Hawkeye and Ronin have a complicated character history. Hawkeye was believed to have died years ago in the Marvel Universe. A young woman named Kate Bishop took on the name Hawkeye. When Clint Barton returned, he used the name Ronin, which belonged to a former Avenger. He later gave up the name to return as Hawkeye.
Trailer: Watch a trailer for the new series below.
Reactions: Associate editor Alanna Smith praised the series, writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Otto Schmidt for their work on the project.
- Smith: “We were really looking for an artist who would capture the personality of Clint and just the characters in his orbit in a really engaging way, and (Schmidt) does that really, really well.”
- Rosenberg: “It’s an action book and there’s a big mystery of who Ronin is. We’re giving you more Hawkeye content that you’ll hopefully love.”