The One-Shot Wonder

Since the first Thor movie, Marvel has released one-hour short movies as bonus content to their films on Blu-Ray DVD. Most of these shorts help flesh out many reoccurring characters like Agent Phil Coulson and Agent Peggy Carter, so in the vain of One-Shot stories giving lesser known characters screen time, I'm pitching a Marvel One-Shot based on Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye.

The reason I'm pitching a Hawkeye One-Shot is because out of the six heroes we've seen in "The Avengers", Hawkeye has the least backstory. While Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and The Hulk all have movies, Hawkeye's backstory has barely been mentioned. Trailer footage from "Avengers: Age of Ultron" alludes to Black Widow's origin being explored, so Hawkeye would be a logical choice for a One-Shot. What I'm pitching is a one hour origin story for Hawkeye that barrows from his comic origin and ties into this Cinematic Universe. This short would follow Clint Barton and his brother Barney Barton as eighteen-year olds running away from the orphanage they we're never adopted from. These two brothers would join the Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders, there they'd be trained in swordplay and archery by circus members Jacques and Buck respectively. While with the circus, Clint would read vintage Captain America comic books depicting Cap's adventures to entertain himself (this'll come in later). After years of training, Clint would become the star circus performer "Hawkeye: The World's Greatest Marksman", wearing the Hawkeye costume from the early comic books. 

Clint would soon discover an undercover thief club within the circus called The Circus of Crime. Barney, Jacques and Buck would pressure Clint into joining the Circus of Crime in committing robberies. One of these robberies would be aimed at a deadly HYDRA weapon being held at a museum in Brooklyn. The Circus of Crime would be intercepted by Director Nick Fury and-newly appointed SHIELD agent-Black Widow. During the confrontation between The Circus of Crime and SHIELD, Hawkeye would turncoat on his brother and the circus and decide to use his talents to prevent crime instead of committing it (See? It came in). Nick Fury would see Clint as another common crook after the robbery is stopped, but Black Widow would vouch for Clint, relating to Clint's troubled past and desire for redemption. From then on Clint would use the codename Hawkeye to work alongside Black Widow and SHIELD and use his skills for the good of others. With his circus costume being a reminder to his corrupt past, Clint would upgrade to his current uniform. And with Hawkeye's evil brother in SHIELD custody, who's to say he can't break out later for a rematch?

Out of all the heroes we've seen in these Marvel movies, I feel Hawkeye is the most underrated. Have you ever asked a kid who his favorite Avenger is and heard him say "that guy with a bow"? Although we don't know where the character of Hawkeye will go after Avengers 2, an origin for the character would make his every step all the more significant. Thanks for reading.