I’ve always been a HUGE Avengers guy, and Hawkeye’s always been one of my favorite Avengers. So, I was thrilled back in the 80’s when Hawkeye, aka Clint Barton, was given his own mini-series, in which he met super-spy Bobbi Morse, aka Mockingbird. That mini was written and penciled by the late great Mark Gruenwald, and was full of fun banter, beautiful artwork, and ridiculous villains, ending with Hawkeye and Mockingbird’s having been married after a whirlwind courtship. That mini led to Hawkeye and his new bride being founders of the West Coast Avengers, with Hawkeye being the Chairman of this new group. Alas, during a battle with the Devil of the Marvel Universe himself, Mephisto, Mockingbird was struck down, making Hawk a widower in Avengers West Coast #100.
Or was she? Turns out the Mockingbird that was killed was just a Skrull in disguise, as revealed during the Secret Invasion. The REAL Mockingbird was held captive, along with other kidnapees of the Marvel U, on the Skrull Homeworld. But now she’s back, and struggling to come to terms with not only her ordeal during her captivity, but also her marriage to Hawkeye, which had been on the rocks when she was abducted. Wow, complicated, huh?
New Avengers: The Reunion details her reactions to a world she doesn’t recognize anymore, and her relationship with Hawk, a man she’s no longer sure she wants to be with, not to mention a man who’s no longer Hawkeye anymore. He’s taken the identity of Ronin, though he’ll always be Hawkeye to me. I thought the writing on this series was done well, as I appreciated the banter between the two of them as they fell easily into making fun of each other and flirting, much as she wanted to resist. The characterizations were spot on, especially Clint’s struggle to give Mockingbird her time to work out what she was keeping from him. There were also some great one-liners in this series, (Mockingbird to female villain: “This isn’t a catfight. This is me kicking your ass!”). I liked the spy-slant to the story, and Clint and Bobbie’s bickering took on a Mr. And Mrs. Smith style of one-upmanship. The villain, along with the plot she was trying to carry out, was TOO much of an afterthought, in my opinion. I know that this is more a story about Hawkeye and Mockingbird, but still…
I didn’t appreciate the artwork as much, finding it a bit too Manga-influenced and really hating the washed-out looking colors. Clint looked SO baby-faced when out of costume to the point of distraction, but I did like the redesign of Mockingbird’s costume. I don’t think the artist, David Lopez, is suited for action packed stories like this one. He seems like he’d be perfect for a title like Runaways. Despite my misgivings about the artwork, I thought the covers by Jo Chen were very attractive and dynamic.
All in all, I liked this series more than I thought I would after the first issue. Despite my misgivings to play spoiler, I wasn’t thrilled with the open style, though hopeful, ending. Here’s hoping that this will lead to more stories starring these characters… I’d love to see a revamp of the West Coast Avengers… and that Hawkeye will finally be spotlighted in some stories worthy of the character. Not the best, but not bad.
(my rating for this mini-series)
Rating: /5.0
Reviewer: Don Chiavon
Summary: "The writing on this series was done well." "I didn’t appreciate the artwork as much." "Not the best, but not bad."
Deals on eBay
 New Avengers The Reunion by Jim McCann 2009 Hardcover $10.00 Time Remaining: 17d 49m Buy It Now for only: $10.00 Buy It Now |
 New Avengers The Reunion Marvel comics 2010 issues 1 4 complete lot $5.00 Time Remaining: 3d 6h 20m Buy It Now for only: $10.00 Buy It Now |
 New Avengers The Reunion TP Jim McCann David Lopes Alvaro Lopez Marvel Comics $13.95 Time Remaining: 24d 2h 5m Buy It Now for only: $13.95 Buy It Now |
 New Avengers The Reunion 1 4 Dark Reign Marvel Comics Hawkeye Mockingbird Mccann $2.99 Time Remaining: 3d 5h 21m Buy It Now for only: $6.00 Buy It Now |
 New Avengers The Reunion Vol 1 Marvel Trade Paperback $9.99 Time Remaining: 3d 19h 50m Buy It Now for only: $9.99 Buy It Now |
It was the 1960's that finally saw the creation of the Marvel Universe with The Fantastic Four #1. Goodman had taken note of how well rival company DC Comics was doing with the superhero team book Justice League of America, and he wanted a team all his own. He turned to writer Stan Lee, who started at Timely as a teenager, basically hired to be a gofer in 1939 before moving up the ranks until he was named Editor. Stan "The Man", along with Jack Kirby, came up with the Fantastic Four, a family of adventurers who hijacked a rocket and were bombarded with "Cosmic Rays" in space. As a result, the foursome gained strange powers when they crashed back to Earth.
Marvel marched on, from the first Marvel mini-series, Contest of Champions, to the first company-wide crossover, Secret Wars, to the recent Marvel Universe splitting Civil War. Marvel went from the boom of the speculators market of the 1990s to the bust of bankruptcy, and back to the successful multi-media company it is today. The comics themselves have evolved from the Silver Age of the advent of the Fantastic Four, "The Worlds Greatest Comic Magazine!", to die cut holographic foil covers on the 1990s, to the digital, downloadable motion comics at Marvel.com. From the less than humble Captain America serial of 1944, to the flop of Howard The Duck the movie in 1986, to the blockbuster Spiderman and X-Men movie film franchises of today. The Marvel Universe has permeated the world of pop culture. Spiderman is every bit as recognizable the world over as Mickey Mouse.