Widowmaker #1(of 4)

Overall: This issue gets underway with some Russian diplomats heading to a disputed island to talk to the Japanese government about the island. Upon arriving, Ronin and a couple of ninja minions kill the Russians after having killed the Japanese diplomats as well. Back in the US, Hawkeye and Mockingbird break into the diplomat quarters at the UN building and discover an ex-SHIELD agent who was serving as a member of the Japanese Secret Service murdered in his room. This goes on to prove the data that Hawkeye had received from Steve Rogers about a list that was targeting many spies and ex-spies(a list that includes Mockingbird). Mockingbird gets a transmission from her WCA agents telling her that a spy den in Russia had been attacked, which leads to her, Hawkeye and Dominic Fortune going to Russia to try to figure out what was going on. The trio arrive at the spy den where they are met by the Black Widow, who had also gotten wind of the spy hit list. BW explains that she had trained in this spy facility, making the death of all the spies inside personal to her. While the four heroes look over the devastation in the spy den, a bunch of Russian super-heroes tear the roof off the joint and tell the heroes that they would imprison them, but that the ring leader had to be executed. This issue ends with the Russians telling Hawkeye that since he was the leader of the Japanese terror group, he'd be executed, even though he isn't the Ronin who had been killing the diplomats.

Umm, I guess this comic was okay. It didn't really blow me away or anything, it just kind of was. I'm going to chalk the slow start up to the fact that this was only the first issue, and as such had to set things up. With three of my favorite Marvel characters in this mini(Hawkeye, Mockingbird & Black Widow), I'm still expecting GREAT things, but so far, I'm still waiting.

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.I love how the Russians simply refer to Black Widow as "Traitor".

Hawkeye & Mockingbird #6

Overall: This issue is basically a wrap-up for the first storyline. Hawkeye and Mockingbird have broken up(again!), and each one is forced to deal with the aftermath of the battle with the Phantom Rider and Crossfire. Hawkeye has been having difficulty sleeping since he was so close to killing Crossfire and crossing the line, so he decides to pay Crossfire a visit at the Raft. Hawkeye stands behind mirrored glass and watches Crossfire, which is fine by Crossfire, who taunts Hawkeye hoping he'll get some sort of reaction from the archer. Instead, Hawkeye watches Crossfire's performance for a while before walking away. Before he can leave the Raft, Hawkeye bumps into Steve Rogers(with a bow and arrows)who demands that Hawkeye shoots at a target since Hawkeye hadn't picked up the bow since the climatic battle with Crossfire last issue. Hawkeye manages to hit the bullseye every time, that is until Steve brings up the battle with Crossfire, which screws up Hawkeye's aim. The two then start to talk about Mockingbird, who Hawkeye admits he is worried about, and that maybe it would be best if he just quit being Hawkeye(again!). Steve yells at Hawkeye to quit if that's what he wants, but the world needs the old, brash Hawkeye who was willing and able to fight tooth and nail to achieve his goals. Steve continues to mention some of Hawkeye's greatest hits, and Hawkeye, now fired up by Steve's speech, takes the bow and fires a dozen arrows straight into the target's bullseye. Now getting the real Hawkeye back, Steve describes a mystery threat to Mockingbird and tells Hawkeye to rejoin Mockingbird's WCA organization in order to help her take care of said threat. As for Mockingbird, she battles a Skrull in the Savage Land and learns that Dominic Fortune(a member of the WCA)was dying and needed help from Mockingbird to save him. This issue ends with Hawkeye returning to the WCA facility and warning Mockingbird that somebody had targeted her for death.

Vexingly, this series seems to be taking a hiatus(already?!?)as the next two issues are going to take place in a mini-series called “Widowmaker” where Hawkeye, Mockingbird and the Black Widow have to deal with somebody using Hawkeye's old Ronin moniker to attack them. All I'm going to say about that is that Hawkeye/Mockingbird had BETTER return after Widowmaker ends. Marvel has done an amazing amount of great things this past year and have won me back over as a fan, but if I lose this series, some of that goodwill will go out the window! As for this issue itself, the Hawkeye stuff was great, from his meeting with Crossfire, to his talk with Steve, while the Mockingbird stuff was kind of lacking. I don't care about Dominic Fortune, and if I never see a Skrull again, it would be too soon... All in all this was a very good issue. Let's hope it's not the last...

Score: 8 out of 10.Whenever Steve Rogers and Clint Barton are in the same comic book, you know it's gonna be good!

Hawkeye & Mockingbird #5

Overall: We kick this issue off with Hawkeye, Mockingbird and the Phantom Rider facing off against Crossfire and the Phantom Rider... Wha-huh?? The Phantom Rider with Hawkeye and Mockingbird is one of the good guys(Hamilton Slade), while the Rider with Crossfire is an evil Phantom Rider(named Lincoln Slade)from the past who managed to possess the daughter(Jaime Slade) of the good Phantom Rider... Confused? Well, thankfully I'm not, so I'll try to explain this comic as best as I can. Hamilton is in charge of preforming an exorcism to get the spirit of Lincoln out of the body of Jaime. But the process takes time, so Hawkeye is forced to deal with Crossfire, while Mockingbird has to face her past and deal with the evil Phantom Rider. Hawkeye makes quick(and surprisingly brutal)work of Crossfire, paying him back for the attempted murder of Mockingbird's mother, while Mockingbird is able to hold off the evil Phantom Rider long enough for Hamilton to complete the ritual. So Lincoln's spirit is locked away in a jar and Jaime is free, which means happy ending time... Or does it?? Crossfire manages to get one last shot off and kills Hamilton, who drops the urn containing the spirit of Lincoln, which rebonds with a willing Jaime(who was always too power hungry for her own good). Mockingbird manages to defeat the Phantom Rider again, and rescues the crazed Jaime from a possible fall to her death. This issue ends with Hawkeye and Mockingbird splitting up since Hawkeye feels more comfortable with the Avengers, while Mockingbird would rather be doing the spy thing from the shadows.

There was a lot of good here, especially for a HUGE fan of the old West Coast Avengers series like myself. The writer, Jim McCann, did a fantastic job of incorporating aspects from a story that took place a good twenty years ago into this storyline seamlessly. Sure, it wasn't perfect, the death of Hamilton was especially bothersome to me because if Crossfire had a shot left, why would he kill Hamilton, who he has NO history with, as opposed to shooting his archenemy Hawkeye, or better yet Mockingbird, since that would hurt Hawkeye more than anything else? The exorcism stuff with Jaime was also kind of hokey, but besides those little quibbles, I enjoyed everything else about this comic, and I'll be looking forward to seeing what happens now that it appears Hawkeye and Mockingbird are headed for splitsville(again!).

Score: 8 out of 10.The heck with the boxing glove arrow, THIS is the best arrow EVER!

Hawkeye & Mockingbird #1

Well, I WAS going to do at least 4 reviews tonight, but I didn't get started doing my reviews until later in the day(hey, believe it or not, I DO have a life outside of all of this blogging!), so I only have 2 reviews to post tonight. I'll try to bust out at least 3 or 4 new reviews tomorrow, but no promises! Anyway, onto tonight's reviews!

Hawkeye & Mockingbird #1 Writer: Jim McCann. Pencils: David Lopez.

Review: This issue opens up with Hawkeye and Mockingbird chasing some gun runners through the streets of Manhattan. Clint and Bobbi manage to halt the goons near a museum, and before Clint can question the driver of the gun runner's van, the criminal is shot by a sniper. Bobbi goes to work trying to save the criminal, while Clint looks around for the shooter, and spots Crossfire off in the distance. Clint tries to pick Crossfire off, but Crossfire manages to escape. The medics arrive to take the shot criminal away, and Bobbi and Clint run into Jaime Slade, a descendant of the Phantom Rider(!!). Jamie is at the museum putting together an exhibit to honor her family, and needless to say, once Bobbi realizes who Jaime is, she freaks out a bit. Bobbi and Clint return to the WCA(World Counterterrorism Agency)headquarters, and demands to know why her underlings didn't know about Crossfire's involvement with the gun runners. After ripping her team, Bobbi storms off, leaving Clint feeling worried about her. Clint asks the WCA's resident computer whiz to see if he can find any living members of Bobbi's family, and when he does, to get back in touch with Clint. From there Clint heads to Avengers Tower and spars with Capt. Rogers and Bucky, thus making this comic nearly perfect. Bobbi has a reoccurring nightmare about the Phantom Rider, while Jaime Slade winds up getting possessed by the ghost of her ancestor. Clint gets word about the whereabouts of Bobbi's mother and brother, and heads out to see them. Upon arriving, he meets Bobbi's mother, who informs Clint that her daughter had been dead since just after graduate school. This issue concludes with Jaime Slade(in full Phantom Rider regalia)meeting up with Crossfire to discuss their mutual enemies, Hawkeye and Mockingbird.

What I Thought: Well hot damn, this comic was awesome!!! I absolutely love both characters here, and I couldn't have been happier to see Crossfire and the Phantom Rider show up as the villains. Crossfire has a long history with Clint, once paying an army of c-list villain a small fortune to cut off Clint's arm, while the Phantom Rider once kidnapped, drugged and raped Mockingbird back in the hugely under appreciated West Coast Avengers series. I can't really think of anything here that I didn't like... I've got to say, I am LOVING the Heroic Age so far!

Score: You know what? I wasn't going to do it, but I'm going to give this comic a 10 out of 10. Sure it wasn't technically perfect, but getting to read some old school West Coast Avengers style action made me VERY happy, so screw it, this comic gets a perfect score. So I'm biased... Sue me!God is it good to see Clint Barton as Hawkeye again!