‘Hawkeye’ TV Show: Comic Writer Reveals 1 ‘Huge’ Element He Enjoyed Seeing in the Marvel Disney+ Series
The new Disney+ Hawkeye TV show is based on the Marvel comic book series written by Matt Fraction. The show doesn’t follow the source material to a tee. But there are a few elements of his comic that Fraction enjoyed seeing on the show.
‘Hawkeye’ is based on Matt Fraction’s 2012 Marvel comic books
Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, was created by Marvel legends Stan Lee and Don Heck. The character first appeared as a villain in the 1964 issue, Tales of Suspense #57. He was promoted to an Avenger a year later, in The Avengers #16, and has seen several reboots since.
The Marvel Hawkeye TV show is based on the fourth volume of Hawkeye, which was written by Fraction and illustrated by various artists, including David Aja and Annie Wu. The series, which ran from 2012 to 2015, introduced the partnership between Clint and Kate Bishop. Fraction received several accolades for his Hawkeye comics, including multiple Harvey Awards and Eisner Awards.
Matt Fraction reveals what he liked seeing in Marvel’s ‘Hawkeye’ TV show
Like most Marvel Cinematic Universe projects, the Hawkeye TV show takes some creative license with its story and characters. But there is one significant part of the comic books that Fraction was thrilled to see in the Hawkeye series.
In an interview with EW, the writer revealed that he was intrigued with Hawkeye’s hearing loss when reading Marvel comics as a child. He incorporated that element into his own books and was excited to see it on screen.
“I had never seen that before,” Fraction said. “Superheroes would always be better the next month. It was a beautiful moment of, ‘Oh, right, the regular guy has real and lasting damage.’ That endeared the character to me forever.”
He added: “When I got to do the character, I knew I was gonna head back to that because it was so important to me as a kid. Then to see it in the show, seeing him and his son signing to each other was cool. Seeing the pictures from set where he had hearing aids in was huge.”
Matt Fraction consulted showrunners for the Disney+ series
Because the Hawkeye TV show is based on Fraction’s work, showrunners asked the writer to consult during early development. He told EW that he offered some backstory and perspective on how Clint should be feeling.
“I talked mostly about the characters and how I viewed them,” Fraction recalled. “I talked about the psychology of surviving abuse, living with PTSD, and ASL/hard-of-hearing culture as I had encountered it in my life and through research.”
He added: “I gave notes and pitched a line here or there., but for the most part got to encounter it as a fan and talk about what I did or didn’t like. They could take or leave my opinion, and I got a credit!”
A collection of Fraction’s comics, Hawkeye by Fraction & Aja: The Saga of Barton and Bishop, was released in early November and is available on Amazon. Hawkeye TV show episodes 1 to 4 are currently streaming on Disney+, with new episodes airing Wednesdays until the finale on Dec. 22.
