Hawkeye vs Green Arrow: Who Is the Better Archer?
Like Marvel Comics, DC Comics also has its archer and great marksman – Green Arrow. Despite their similar abilities and designs, the two come from inherently different backgrounds and that is why we have decided to compare them in this article. So, Hawkeye vs Green Arrow: who would win in a fight between the archers?
Green Arrow would win in a fight between him and Hawkeye. While Hawkeye may be good, he’s not near the level of the Green Arrow, both in terms of marksmanship feats, and in terms of narrative importance. Green Arrow’s in- and out-of-universe legacy are just too big for Hawkeye to stand a chance.
In the rest of the article, we will talk (in more detail) about the similarities and differences between Hawkeye’s and Green Arrow’s power and how do they compare.
Hawkeye and His Powers
Hawkeye, whose real name is Clinton Francis “Clint” Barton, is a comic book character created by Stan Lee (text) and Don Heck (art), published by Marvel Comics. His first appearance occurs in Tales of Suspense #57 (September 1964).
A costumed archer redeemed from a criminal past and equipped with a vast arsenal of arrows of the most disparate shape and multiple uses, Hawkeye is a historic member of the Avengers who, at the expense of his brash and sometimes arrogant character, often a cause for squabbles with his companions as a team.
Marksmanship
Although Clint Barton does not possess any superpowers, he is nonetheless blessed with excellent vision. He is an outstanding archer, capable of shooting with great precision as well as an expert marksman.
He will one day admit to Spider-Man that he trains a lot to never miss his target because, in a team composed of superhumans and a god (Thor), that’s the only thing that makes him special.
Martial Arts
He also received extensive training in martial arts, primarily from Captain America himself, which makes him a very dangerous man in close quarters combat or with bladed weapons in general.
Weapons
In battle, Barton uses a custom bow with various arrows with special properties. Some are composed of adamantium or vibranium; others contain various substances or special devices (acid, explosive, smoke, taser, sonic attack, grappling hook, net, etc.).
As Goliath, Barton used “Pym Particles” to change the size and increase his strength, and fought with his bare hands. As Ronin, he wielded shuriken, nunchaku, and wielded other bladed weapons as well.
Green Arrow and His Ppowers
Green Arrow is a character created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp in 1941, published by DC Comics. The first (and also the current) Green Arrow, Oliver Queen, was not a significant hero during his first twenty-five years of publishing history.
He is a superhero who operates in the city of Star City, with a costume and methods that are very reminiscent of those of Robin Hood and is equipped with special objects and devices, such as bow and arrows that he comes up with himself, with various functions and upgrades, such as the arrow-glue, the arrow-net, the arrow-boxing glove, with the tip of kryptonite and others similar.
Marksmanship
Green Arrow is the greatest archer in the world, gifted with an exceptional aim and fantastic speed of execution (by his admission, he is capable of shooting 29 arrows per minute). At the beginning of his career, he made use of rigged arrows (the arrow-cuffs or the famous arrow-boxing glove) but later began to adopt conventional arrows.
Thanks to his unfailing precision and exceptional coordination of movements, he has the ability to transform even the most harmless objects into lethal weapons: so even if he does not possess superpowers, he is able to perform extraordinary actions.
Fighting Skills and Martial Arts
When he can’t use the bow, Oliver also makes use of a short sword which he uses in close combat. Oliver is also skilled in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat, martial arts such as karate, taekwondo, and jeet kune do.
His reflexes and his agility, as well as his coordination in movements, are comparable to those of the best acrobats and trapeze artists.
Hawkeye vs Green Arrow: Marksmanship
Barton has trained to be a master archer specializing within the use of standard bows, longbows, compound bows, and crossbows with near-perfect accuracy. He’s capable of firing multiple arrows at one target in a matter of seconds, hitting multiple targets with some quick blows, and hitting small targets directly at a very large distance. Barton is even known for piercing an apple within the middle.
He trains a minimum of two hours every day to boost his skills. Barton is taken into account to be the foremost skillful and accurate archer in his own fictional universe, although that wasn’t necessarily corroborated by the comics. His accuracy rivals that of Bullseye, as he trained himself to form precise shots from virtually any angle, physical position, or state of motion.
As far as the Green Arrow is concerned, his primary skills are his bow and arrow skills. Ever since he was a teenager, Oliver has had a natural skill in archery. He can use anything from the best of bows to complicated composite bows and trick arrows with full efficiency. He even demonstrated skill with a bow made up of alien technology.
Oliver’s aim is so great that he can ricochet off with arrows several times to take out groups of enemies. With the assistance of Green Lantern, Oliver was ready to shoot down an assassin on the moon with a bow construct.
Oliver has fought opponents who normally couldn’t be injured with arrows, but his skills allowed him to persevere. Also, while working with Batman, he was able to injure Superman together with his arrow.
After observing all of those powers and talents, we have to give this one to Green Arrow. Sure, Hawkeye is great, but seeing what the Green Arrow is capable of, and the formidable list of the enemies he has defeated, we do not really have much doubt as for now.
Hawkeye vs Green Arrow: Fighting and Martial Arts
Clint is considered to be a great martial artist. He was trained in various martial arts by Captain America, who was considered to be among the best melee fighters in the world. On his first mission with Luke Cage’s renegade group of New Avengers as Ronin, he proved he was a far cry from his old days where he rarely used his martial arts.
During the battle against ‘Elektra’ and the Hand, he displayed excellent fighting skills, managing to fight against almost endless hordes of ninjas. This earned him an awfully respectful compliment from his teammate Iron Fist, one of the most effective martial artists in the world. Additionally, Clint defeated Zaran, Machete, and Batroc practically simultaneously.
Barton has exceptional eyesight. His eyes are sharper than those of normal people. His flawless vision allows him to perfectly aim at his targets without even looking. Clint’s body works like that of a high-performance athlete, with exceptional strength, endurance, speed, and endurance.
While Barton’s reflexes don’t approach superhuman levels, they’re functionally above 98% of all normal people. Clint was ready to coordinate his body enough to dodge multiple arrows from rigged shots and multiple shots.
Thanks to his rigorous training over the years, Oliver, on the opposite hand, is at the height of natural human abilities. He uses a bow with a weight of 150 pounds which has built up his strength over time. Wildcat noticed it during a boxing session with Oliver.
As he rode his motorbike, Oliver was strong enough to use the forward momentum to show around and throw the motorbike at an enemy.
Oliver may be a highly skilled martial artist who trained under Wildcat for ages. Oliver knows various pressure points and grips and may quickly defeat groups of armed opponents before they’ll react. Oliver also trained Roy Harper in martial arts.
This category is way more flexible when the two of them are concerned and it’s rather more difficult to see the winner. Still, seeing how Hawkeye put far more effort into his physical training and fought more using his fists than Oliver, who may be a great martial artist but focuses more on his weapons, we’d give this time to Clint Barton, thus leveling the series at one point each.
Hawkeye vs Green Arrow: Weapons
Although rarely uses melee weapons, preferring his bows and arrows over anything else, Barton’s incredible reflexes and hand-eye coordination allow him to easily master most other weapons, regardless of their nature.
In his youth, he also received intensive training in sword fighting from the original Swordsman, who was considered one of the greatest sword-fighting experts the world has ever known. Barton is adept at wielding swords, knives, nunchakus, and staves, and is one of the few people who can properly wield Captain America’s shield, which he has done.
He has also constructed arrows, bows, blades, darts, throwing irons, bolas, and axes, as well as many of his own rigged arrows. Clint is a seasoned motorcyclist and snowmobiler. He is one of the most experienced and courageous pilots of the Avengers Quinjets and Sky Cycles.
Oliver Queen, on the other hand, focuses mainly on bows and arrows and he uses other weapons less commonly than Hawkeye. Yet, that is his exact advantage here. He has a variety of arrows and bows at his disposal and has illustrated his ability to operate any bow.
If you remember, he’s successfully used a bow and arrow construct to shoot at the Moon, a construct created by Green Lantern, and also a bow made of alien technology. This is something that far surpasses Hawkeye’s abilities.
Ultimately, we have to give this final point to Oliver Queen. While Hawkeye might be more versatile when weapons are concerned, Oliver Queen’s perfected his bow and arrow skills so much that it surpasses anything that Hawkeye can offer. There is absolutely no dilemma that Green Arrow surpasses Hawkeye’s abilities in every relevant category.
This was a decisive point and it makes the situation rather clear. We shall now give our final verdict on who the better archer is.
Hawkeye vs Green Arrow: Who Is the Better Archer?
The ultimate verdict here is quite simple actually. Hawkeye might be Marvel’s best marksman, but he doesn’t really come close to Green Arrow. Green Arrow isn’t just a majestic archer, whose skills come close to being art, he is such an integral part of DC Comics’ lore that Hawkeye seems irrelevant.
Green Arrow is a well-respected character, a powerful member of the Justice League, and a character who has battled the likes of Superman (see The Dark Knight Returns), while Hawkeye never had such achievements. Sure, he’s good, but he’s just not good enough to beat Oliver Queen.
And this clears up our situation. Green Arrow clearly takes this one and there should be no serious debate as to the winner of this comparison.
Who Came First, Hawkeye or Green Arrow?
Green Arrow debuted more than 20 years before Hawkeye appeared in the comics. Green Arrow had his debut in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. Hawkeye debuted in Tales of Suspense #57 in September 1964, 23 years later.
