Hawkeye; To Film Or Not?

The last couple of years we have had a lot of comic book orientated films - indeed its another throwback from the 80s, except this time we have the graphics to make it work, and the likes of Captain America, The Flash and the original Punisher film are a thing of VHS past (buried, forgotten, and hopefully never brought up by anyone). Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed a lot of comic films myself - the last Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton was very watchable and Watchmen hit a spot that I can't fault. In fact, the fanboy in me wishes that we could see more of these movies, specifically an animated (or live action) version of Marvel Zombies 1-4 would be pretty cool.

I could just imagine Steve Buscemi voicing the head of Zombie Deadpool in MZ4

But I am going off point because, as fun as these films are, I cannot help but get the sneaking suspicion that we have not yet scratched the surface. Everyone know's that the Hulk has been used on television since...forever...and that Batman and Spiderman have both been thrashing out films since the dawn of time. Comic book films are good, but going back to the same characters are not, and we should ask ourselves about the expansion of the idea's that breakdown comic books - the likes of Watchmen - which challenge us to go beyond just saving the girl, winning the heart of the public (or hiding in plain sight) and generally being a "superhero"

Comic's like Dark Reign challenge us and make us think more, they make sure we cannot know what to expect, so when we do see "it" coming we are suprised, shocked and (heaven forbid) even scared.

One particular character I think would be perfect for the screen would be Hawkeye. A member of the Avengers, this guy can probably be best described as Robin Hood in purple leather as opposed to green tights. Now, before you say anything, I am aware that the new Avengers film should (if its worth its salt) feature this man and there are already unconfirmed reports of that happening. The last "Avengers" animated film, which went straight to video, made reference to him but did not feature him and so far Hawkeye has been seen as an unusual back character who simply fits in when needed.

I think that a character like Hawkeye is just what we need and can see him shooting that arrow to stop the "wave of injustice" on our streets. Its something we need to tackle, the idea of expanding on the same rubbish, and using interesting characters that expand the idea of what a "superhero" and a "comic book character" is.