Tired of performing in an amusement park show and jealous of Iron Man's popularity, the marksman called Hawkeye designs a costume and equips his arrows with special tips to become a new hero. But when he fails to stop a jewel thief, the police ironically think he helped him and he is forced to escape. He crosses paths with the Black Widow who offers to take him as a partner and asks him to defeat Iron Man. Struck by her beauty, Hawkeye agrees to confront the hero at Stark's Industries and wins the first round. Iron Man intercepts him as he is racing away and a stray arrow injures Natasha who came to pick him up. They are both forced to flee in her boat.
When everybody is growing suspicious that Iron Man is behind Tony Stark's disappearance, Natasha convinces Hawkeye that it is the perfect time to raid Stark Industries. After finding nothing at the factory that he can take with him, Hawkeye barely escapes from Iron Man.
The Black Widow comes back to Hawkeye with a new costume and explains why she disappeared. Reluctant to betray his country, he still agrees to help again to destroy Iron Man. They capture Happy and Pepper to lure Iron Man near a railroad loading station. They engage in battle, but when the Black Widow is injured, Hawkeye chooses to leave with her.
Clint is transported to Arkon's dimension with the whole Avengers Mansion. There he gets captured along with Vision, Wanda and Pietro. Goliath is able to destroy the prison and the Avengers defeat Arkon and Enchantress.
Clint unknowingly lands on Earth-712 and has a vision of it being destroyed by the sun. After learning the possible reason for the cataclysm, he and his fellow stranded Avengers beat the Squadron Surpreme and fly off to stop the catastrophe.
Clint listens as T'Challa tells of his origin.
Goliath is called by the UN to protect an experimental weather control station with Thor and Iron Man from a seeming attack by the Sub-Mariner, whom Goliath has to fight, and his allies.
Having tied up Jarvis in the Avengers' headquarters, Hawkeye shows himself to the team to offer his services. He tells them how he chose to reform after the Black Widow was shot for defecting the Reds. The Avengers decide to forget the past and give him a chance as a new member of the team.
The new members of the Avengers get a visit from Thor, but their first encounter is not very cordial.
Despite having just been admitted in the team, Hawkeye openly challenges Captain America's leadership. As the Avengers are searching for the Hulk to add muscle to their team, they fall into a trap set by the Mole Man and find themselves in the pit of the Minotaur which they defeat. The Mole Man then decides to send them back to the surface before they destroy him too.
The Avengers travel to Sin-Cong to free its people of their Red tyrant, the Commissar, who turns out to be a robot controlled by the Communist army.
Hawkeye attends Reed Richards and Sue Storm's wedding at Baxter Building where he realizes that the Fantastic Four are attacked by several of their old foes. He decides to lend a hand, and seeing Captain America already struggling against the Cobra, the Executioner and the Enchantress, he stops Mr. Hyde who is about to strike his fellow Avenger from the back. While the battle rages on, Reed Richards uses a machine that transports all their enemies back to the recent past with no memory of what occurred. Finally, Reed and Sue are wed in front of all their family and friends.
After hearing Cap's tale of the Greymoor Castle, Hawkeye asks him what happened to Bucky after the war. Troubled by the question, Cap tells his partner that Bucky died on a mission, then leaves.
Hearing about the Swordsman recent intrusion in the Avengers Mansion, Hawkeye tells Captain America how the man has once been his mentor back in his circus days, but that their relationship turned sour when he realized that he was a criminal. Next day, Cap tells his teammates that Fury accepts his offer to work in his team. But Hawkeye crosses path with a thief who confesses he sold Captain America's initial letter. He arrives too late to warn his teammate this is a trap, but the rest of the Avengers track him town to a warehouse where the Swordsman has captured him. The villain threatens to push Cap down a building if they don't make him leader of the team, so the hero jumps before they agree. With teamwork, they manage to save him. Then while they fight the Swordsman, their foe suddenly vanishes. Back at their headquarters, Hawkeye and Quicksilver once more question Cap's leadership, but finally come to a truce. Then they get a message from Iron Man saying that he vouches for the Swordsman's membership so they decide to take his word and give the man a chance despite their suspicions. Some time later, Cap and Hawkeye catch the Swordsman apparently setting a bomb, but the villain escapes with the bomb which detonates outside their HQ,
Hawkeye has resumed his criticizing of Captain America's leadership because of his old age, but they finally agree that these internal tensions are probably due to their inaction. Some time later, the Avengers experience some weird events where their interventions are perceived by the press as criminal. With more and more incidents involving them, the authorities force the Avengers to disband, and due to their already conflictive relationship, they part in bad terms. Hawkeye tries to find a job in show-business, but due to the recent bad press, the only man to open the door is the Ring Master who welcomes them among his carnies. But the hypnotist's attempt to convince them to pillage the audience fails so the former Avengers engage combat and defeat the Masters of Menace. The Ring Master calls the police, forcing his troublesome recruits to flee. Thanks to Captain America' trick to get Power Man confession on tape and after Princess Python has admitted the truth to the D.A., the authorities reinstate the Avengers' status and even decide that an official Avengers Day will be held. But later, Captain America tells his teammates that he's quitting anyway.
The Scarlet Witch blames Hawkeye for his attitude that led to Captain America's leaving the team. Kang captures the remaining Avengers and takes them to his own century. The Scarlet Witch sets them free from their glass cages and despite Kang's effort, the Avengers reunite with Cap who has found a way to track them down. Realizing that Kang intends to overthrow the current king and marry Princess Ravonna, the Avengers choose to side with the people. They convince the king's army to fight back, but Kang manages to take over anyway. Kang's refusal to slay the conquered princess provokes a rebellion amongst his commanders and the conqueror gets the help of the Avengers to stop the war and save the princess in exchange for their safe return to their century.
Back from Kang's century, Hawkeye resumes his attacks on Cap's leadership. Hearing that Wanda and Pietro may have relatives in Latveria, the other Avengers decide to accompany them, but it's all just a trap set by Doctor Doom who seals the land within a giant dome right after their arrival. Their joint effort enables the heroes to lift the dome away and escape.
