Originally created by Stan Lee and Don Heck, Clint Barton has never been the most famous Avenger.
It topped out at about 23 issues, way more than anyone had expected going in.
(It also made ourBest Comics of the Decade listin 2019.)
Matt Fraction wrote the ‘Hawkeye’ comic that formed the primary inspiration for the new Disney+ series.Jesse Grant/Getty Images; Marvel Comics
“I had never seen that before,” Fraction tells EW.
“Superheroes would always be better the next month.
It was a beautiful moment of, ‘oh right the regular guy has real and lasting damage.’
Clint Barton and Kate Bishop in ‘Hawkeye’ by Matt Fraction and David Aja.David Aja for Marvel Comics
That endeared the character to me forever.”
“The double act was what did it,” Fraction says.
“It was a relationship I hadn’t seen before, and hadn’t written before.
Clint Barton and Kate Bishop in ‘Hawkeye’ by Matt Fraction and David Aja.David Aja for Marvel Comics
He’s not a healthy role model.
What could the mentor teach the mentee, and what could the mentee teach the mentor?
I knew I was writing to that image.
Kate Bishop smiling through it all in ‘Hawkeye’ by Matt Fraction and Annie Wu.Marvel Comics
And we got to it!
Steinfeld has definitely brought Kate’s optimism to the screen.
“She looks like an Annie Wu drawing come to life,” Fraction says of that moment.
‘Hawkeye’ #19 by Matt Fraction and David Aja uses a lot of American Sign Language (ASL) to tell its story of Clint Barton dealing with hearing loss.Marvel Comics
I felt like ‘oh it’s a visual language…it’s like comics!
This is a natural fit.’
Then to see it in the show, seeing him and his son signing to each other was cool.
Seeing the pictures from set where he had hearing aids in was huge.”
“I talked mostly about the characters, and how I viewed them.
“I gave notes and pitched a line here or there.
They could take or leave my opinion, and I got a credit!”
With a laugh, Fraction adds, “I get to take credit for everything that works.
If it works and you like it, that was totally me!
If it doesn’t, man they just didn’t listen to me!
It’s the best.”
The first four episodes ofHawkeyeare streaming now on Disney+.
