20 most upbeat superhero stories

Cover of Hawkeye (Image via Marvel)

13. Hawkeye (2012-2015)

While Hawkeye may have provided unintentional comedy via his wardrobe in earlier appearances, he’s generally played as a straight man sort of character. That’s odd, when you consider that his entire schtick is… being really good at archery?

Don’t get me wrong. I mean, I can barely play a game of darts where I actually hit the target, much less scale up to the bigger, deadlier version. But when you’re part of a superhero team where one of the members is a 99-year-old super soldier, another is an engineering genius, and yet one more is an actual alien god, archery doesn’t seem like it would cut it.

But, in the hands of writer Matt Fraction and artist David Aja, Hawkeye’s normalcy is his true strength. In the Hawkeye series that ran from 2012 to 2015, the duo bring out the snappy quips and everyman persona that lend real strength to the character. Even when big-name superheroes like Wolverine and Spider-Man appear, they only serve to highlight the

Also, Hawkeye has Lucky, also known as Pizza Dog. Lucky is a generally awesome dog whom Hawkeye rescues from Russian mobsters. Plus, one of the best issues of the run, Hawkeye #11, is told from Pizza Dog’s perspective, to great and mostly wordless effect.