The 5 Best Comics to Read Before Watching ‘Loki’ on Disney+

Every single superhero team has to have the normal guy. In the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye. An expert sharpshooter who prefers a bow and arrow, Clint is often the audience surrogate, a typical dude caught in atypical situations. Yet despite being a part of the MCU since its earliest days (remember when he showed up in Thor?), Clint is typically relegated to a supporting player—until now.  

This week will see the debut of a Hawkeye Disney+ series, as the MCU’s favorite archer is stuck in New York City during the holidays after discovering Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) is using his old Ronin persona. The solo series is heavily inspired by the beloved Matt Fraction and David Aja series—a comic frequently praised as one of the best Marvel comics ever. 

Ahead of Hawkeye’s debut on Disney+, we’ve rounded up five comic book series featuring the archer. Even more so than the titles we selected for Loki, the majority of these character-defining runs were released within the last decade or so, which means you won’t have to comb through decades of titles to find the good stuff. Our picks, below.