With the Hawkeye series underway, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is set to see more out of the superhero than before. Those who have followed the character in the comics are aware of his characterization, with a mixture of sassiness, goofiness, and straight-to-business when needed.
The best way to understand how Hawkeye’s mind works is through his quotes, of which there have been many in the comics. Some show the most of his personality simply through his words, making them the ideal ones to remember.
10 "That's The Thing About Being A Leader, Steve... You Have To Find That Approval In Yourself." (Secret Avengers #21.1)
There have been multiple leaders of the Avengers, with Captain America taking the charge in most of these. After he realized Steve had led him to believe something else when already having a plan in mind against the Masters of Evil, Hawkeye praised the former’s leadership ability.
To this, Steve questioned Hawkeye if he had his approval, which Hawkeye countered by claiming that this was something Steve had to find within himself, leaving Captain America pondering Hawkeye’s words.
9 "My Head Is Killing Me. Be More Careful, Not Everyone Has Non-Stop Regeneration!" (Hawkeye Vs. Deadpool #1)
Although Deadpool's relationship with Hawkeye wasn’t a romance, as he’s had with others, the two did share a bromance in this story. The two took regular swipes at one another’s expense, all of which served to be comedic gold.
On one occasion, Deadpool let his invulnerable tendencies run wild, which Hawkeye wasn’t a fan of since he couldn’t catch up. To reference this, he put it in simple terms, something that had the effect of making even the reader come back to reality as it became clear that Hawkeye didn’t have plot armor.
8 "Not Another Alternate Reality! Not Again! Oh, Well -- At Least This Time I'm Not Dressed Like A Brown Plantman." (Avengers Vol. 3 #2)
In this story, the heroes were stuck under Morgan le Fay’s spell and saw multiple realities. Captain America and Hawkeye broke Morgan's spell and tried to help their friends, but Hawkeye started to show the toll of this otherworldly adventure.
At least he retained some level of optimism, as Hawkeye claimed the good side of landing in yet another reality was that he looked like himself this time, rather than fall prey to the different realities’ knack for doling out strange scenarios.
7 "I'm Not Giving Up On Us!" (Hawkeye: Blind Spot #4)
In this story, Hawkeye’s brother Barney Barton returned as a supervillain known as Trickshot. Rather than reunite with his brother to create a powerful sibling pair, Trickshot was adamant in his belief that he could fight and defeat his brother.
Rather than fall for this, Hawkeye decided to appeal to Trickshot, reminding him that they were family. Despite the two being way past the time to trade life stories, Hawkeye promised Barney that he wasn’t going to give up on him.
6 "If That Rumbling I'm Hearing From Either Side Means What I Think It Does, The Avengers Are Here." (Avengers Vol. 3 #9)
By this story, Hawkeye had left this version of the Avengers to help the Thunderbolts in their hopes of redemption. However, he continued to display the faith he had in his teammates, as he held onto hope for the Avengers to come to the rescue.
Not only did this faith pay off, but Hawkeye also displayed a never-say-die attitude. What makes this line so epic is that the Avengers arrived as soon as Hawkeye uttered the line, proving his like-minded thinking with his teammates.
5 "Stark Always Had A Control Problem. When He Wasn't Abusing It, He Was Losing It." (Age Of Innocence: The Rebirth Of Iron Man Vol. 1 #1)
The protagonist of this story was the teenage Anthony Stark from Earth-96020, although the characters also recalled the qualities of the main universe Tony Stark, here, Hawkeye had few choice of words for his longtime ally.
Within a couple of sentences, he had already described Tony, in that he always had to have control or abuse it. The quote showed how Hawkeye had gauged Tony right while uttering this quote as a way to praise him.
4 "I Can't Miss... I'm On A Team With Super-Humans. And One God, In Case You've Forgotten." (Avenging Spider-Man Vol. 1 #4)
Although he’s considered among the greatest comic book marksmen, Hawkeye is shown to have a grounded way of thinking as he realizes that he’s still in a group of superheroes with vastly incredible powers compared to his abilities.
When asked by Spider-Man if he can afford to be a little careless, Hawkeye was serious in his claim that there was no margin of error for him. Instead, Hawkeye argued that he had to do double the work in order to earn his place in the team.
3 "I'd Be More Worried If Natasha Wasn't Spying." (Black Widow Vol. 4 #2)
One thing that was dropped for the MCU was the romance between Hawkeye and Black Widow. After having engaged in this relationship, he had a pretty good idea of what she was supposed to be like and what was expected of her.
This issue had Black Widow in the main role, during which she made some questionable choices. However, Hawkeye was satisfied with the knowledge that she was still staying true to her nature as a spy, owing to how he had come to know her.
2 "Go Out, Fight Hard, Screw Up. Save The World A Few Times... Just Keep Taking The Shots, Okay?" (Young Avengers Presents Vol. 1 #6)
Hawkeye has always been sassy in nature, but he combines this style with the wisdom he’s attained on the field. When Kate Bishop was unsure of her place in this issue, Hawkeye assured her that it was far from easy but he had faith in her.
He never said that she had everything under control, instead, Hawkeye took this burden from her by promising that the Avengers would be there to back the younger generation should things go south, thereby bringing Kate’s spirit back.
1 "We've Only Been Separated A Few Days, But We Can Hug." (Avengers: Millennium Infinite Comic)
This story had a very silly premise, with the Avengers looking to alter a bad future by changing the past. What most can agree on is that Spider-Man and Hawkeye had a memorable role, as they found humor in a situation where it shouldn’t have been the case.
After being reunited, Hawkeye instantly started to mess around with Spider-Man, asking him if he wanted a hug in secret. Spider-Man’s continuation of the banter only added to the light-hearted moment, which was what Hawkeye had been going for.