AVENGERS #109, DAREDEVIL #99 (1973)

It must be hard for the egomaniac Clint Barton to deal with being the star of a multi-issue story without having his name in the title of any of them. And he doesn’t even get to be in the first several pages.

Avengers #109 starts with the villain–a one-off guy we’ll not see again until the ’90s (and then only once).

He’s Imus Champion. And he’s rich.

Then we check in on Scarlet Witch’s lovelife.

No, not with Clint. With Vision.

But Wanda’s waking up and thinking about Hawkeye is relevant: Clint Barton goes back to being Hawkeye and decides to leave The Avengers, largely because he has a huge crush on The Scarlet Witch (who only has eyes for Vision). 

So he puts on his old duds.

After this, he fights Imus Champion after teaching him archery. The art of the bow and arrow was one of the few things that Champion hadn’t mastered, so he went to learn from the best. But then he attacked Hawkeye to prove he was now the best.

Champion wins, and Clint is rescued by the team.

And finally, he quits.

And then goes to San Francisco, hoping that beating up Daredevil will at least get him back into Black Widow’s pants.  It doesn’t work.

Daredevil #99 starts with DD needing some rest that he won’t get because of the whole Hawkeye thing.

daredevil versus hawkeye

“Oh no!  Not my beautiful bay window!”  Really, Steve Gerber?  That‘s how you write Natasha?

Awful.

Daredevil is jealous.

And so the men fight over the woman.

Their fight is a draw, so they decide to let Black Widow pick between them.

And when they get back to her flat to tell her the great news that they’re both idiots….

Daredevil gets recruited for a mission.  To be continued in The Avengers #111.

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