Warning: contains spoilers for Taskmaster #2!
Hawkeye is one of the hardest working Avengers because he's constantly justifying his place among Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Though he's had actual super-powers on and off over his time in comics, Hawkeye's signature weapon is his trademark bow and arrows; his quiver a mix of regular and "trick" arrows. Hawkeye is the greatest archer in the world, which makes him an essential target of the skill-mimicking assassin Taskmaster, who just used Hawkeye's weakest gimmicks to defeat Hyperion, Marvel's pastiche of Superman.
In Hawkeye #3 by Matt Fraction and David Aja, Kate Bishop is helping Clint Barton sort through all of his old trick arrows. As he attempts to justify each goofy arrow they pick up, Kate mocks the particularly silly boomerang arrow. "It comes back to you in the end. Boomerang. Respect it," says Clint. Later, as they're being chased by gangsters who're after a woman that Clint's involved with, those trick arrows prove to be pretty useful. When Kate is caught in a stalemate with a gangster who has his gun pointed at Clint, she misses on purpose knowing the arrow will return to knock him out from behind, proving that Clint was right: you have to respect the boomerang arrow.
In Taskmaster by Jed McKay and Alessandro Vitti, Taskmaster has been framed for the murder of Maria Hill and he is confronted by Nick Fury, Jr, who not only knows he's not guilty but has the evidence to exonerate him. Unfortunately, to unlock it, he needs the kinesic signatures of three of the most dangerous people on Earth, one being Squadron Supreme Director Phil Coulson. When Taskmaster's reconnaissance fails, he knocks Coulson out, but not before he calls for Hyperion. Although this impending battle freaks Tony Masters out, it is a fight that he is prepared for.
While Taskmaster puts up a good fight, his weapons and skill do very little against the Superman-level threat, as the mercenary is beaten to a bloody pulp while Hyperion respects his effort but states that the moment he went after Coulson, his life was forfeit. In Taskmaster's last stand, he shoots an arrow or two, with the second missing Hyperion altogether. Just like with Kate Bishop, however, Taskmaster's arrow comes back in the end and strikes Hyperion, delivering an Argonite payload which is Hyperion's equivalent of Kryptonite. Later, Taskmaster explains he needed to lose the fight to win it; Hyperion only discounted the arrow because he'd already decided Taskmaster was outmatched.
The moment highlights the huge imbalance between the characters, allowing Taskmaster to win the day specifically because Hyperion underestimated his abilities. This hearkens back to Hawkeye's original affection for the gadget, which in many ways symbolizes his strength as an Avenger - like the boomerang arrow, he's someone villains dismiss, only for him to find the right angle of attack and truly make a difference. In adopting this technique, Taskmaster shows himself to be the villainous equivalent of the heroic Hawkeye; an assassin capable of hunting the biggest possible game, but only due to the fact that he's so constantly underestimated. As Taskmaster's series continues, he's likely to keep existing on this razor-edge perception, making him the type of incredibly compelling character who might feasibly succeed in any mission... or might mess it all up at a moment's notice.
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