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dembury's review
3.0
There's plenty to like and plenty to dislike here- I personally didn't love this run, but I could see others really digging it, so it kind of lands middle of the road for me.
As far as things that worked well, I think "Freefall" does a great job at giving a very Matt Fraction-esque but fresh Clint. He's messy, kinda goofy, loves a good internal monologue, and has this rough charm to him. The way he is written is just fun, too; he's got a good voice here. The core of the story was also a neat idea to see explored, and put Clint in situations that had protentional for being fun to see him get out of.
BUT that potential gets wasted pretty heavily and gets utterly bogged down by side characters readers don't really care about (coughBrycecough), repetitive conversations, and a ridiculous amount of appearances from literally like every other superhero that comes to mind: Iron Man, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Bucky, Falcon, Black Widow, Night Thrasher, U.S. Agent, Mockingbird...it's way too much crammed in, and all these appearances really take away from the story. The ending also falls flat- there is a lot of buildup but it doesn't feel very rewarding.
As far as things that worked well, I think "Freefall" does a great job at giving a very Matt Fraction-esque but fresh Clint. He's messy, kinda goofy, loves a good internal monologue, and has this rough charm to him. The way he is written is just fun, too; he's got a good voice here. The core of the story was also a neat idea to see explored, and put Clint in situations that had protentional for being fun to see him get out of.
BUT that potential gets wasted pretty heavily and gets utterly bogged down by side characters readers don't really care about (coughBrycecough), repetitive conversations, and a ridiculous amount of appearances from literally like every other superhero that comes to mind: Iron Man, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Bucky, Falcon, Black Widow, Night Thrasher, U.S. Agent, Mockingbird...it's way too much crammed in, and all these appearances really take away from the story. The ending also falls flat- there is a lot of buildup but it doesn't feel very rewarding.
tshepiso's review against another edition
1.0
I'm not gonna pull any punches here Hawkeye: Freefall was an infuriating read. I was really excited for this comic because I loved Matthew Rosenberg's Hawkeye and the Winter Solider but this this book could not be farther from that quality-wise.
What frustrates me most about Hawkeye: Freefall is how mischaracterized Clint is throughout. Rosenberg takes the concept that Clint being a hot mess, something most touched on in Matt Fraction's run of Hawkeye, and blows that up to the most illogical endpoint. Here Clint doesn't just have a messy personal life but is mind-numbingly incompetent as a superhero. He makes so many bafflingly bad choices in its hard to believe this version of the character has lead several superhero teams. The story sees Clint take on a low level crime boss, The Hood, by secretly taking up his old Ronan mantle. Why Clint does this while going to extreme lengths to hide it from everyone is never sufficiently explained. And the various idiotic plans he makes to maintain his double identity all blow up in his face spectacularly so what he gets from it is literally nothing.
Beyond Clint most of the writing and character choices throughout this book just seem lazy and derivative. In this comic Clint is dating Linda Carter aka Night Nurse but their relationship is painted with such a broad brush and lacks any nuance or specificity. Linda is just slotted into the nagging girlfriend role regardless of whether or not it make sense for her character. She's disapproving of Clint's superhero-ing despite the fact that she's literally a nurse for superheroes. And they break up for the most contrived reasons. It honestly felt like Rosenberg inserted romantic drama into the story because Clint is known to have a messy romantic life but never considered if it actually served the story or made sense.
This shallow character writing extends to the way the various Avengers and superhero allies Clint encounters throughout are written. Almost all of them are extremely distrustful of Clint even when given no reason to be and are also extremely hostile to him for no reason. These are all people Clint has known and worked with for years but instantly assume Clint would become a serial murderer unprompted. I think Rosenberg was attempting to emphasize Clint as an underdog by having everyone against him but the writing choice (like every other one in this book) made no sense.
Hawkeye: Freefall's antagonist, the Hood also leaves much to be desired. He's a standard crime boss and the comic makes no effort to expound on the how or why of his entire operation or make him interesting in any way. Most of his scenes consist of him killing people that could provide him with information on who exactly is trying to kill him. I think these scenes were trying to be comedic but the jokes never landed. The only interesting thing about the Hood is his magical cloak that's possessed by a demon but despite being the core concept of this character it barely comes into play at all.
So overall I hated pretty much everything about this book. To end on a positive Otto Schmidt's was solid throughout. I do wish it had been in service of a better story though.
lillanaa's review
3.0
It's difficult not to compare this to the Fraction run, which happens to be one of my favourite comic runs ever, but it does stand on its own, for the most part. The plot is a little convoluted, and not everything feels thought out from a writing standpoint, but characterisation and great art saves this one for me. The constant cameos serve to remind that this is part of a larger universe, which makes things feel a little more fleshed out, but most are so quick and full of quips that it feels unnatural and too short to actually set up any "friendships". This ultimately just feels like it should be longer, to actually fill out a proper storyline, everything happens too fast and the explanations are far too short.
unladylike's review
5.0
Matt Rosenberg is smart and funny and wrote a great Hawkeye miniseries and I like him.
duncan_mcguire's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
raul3893's review
4.0
Sometimes I thought the characterization was a bit off, but overall very funny and very unique premise, my only complain is that it felt like part 1 of 2 also I’m happy to say I understood the references
clintasha's review
4.0
overall enjoyable!!! the plot is good and clint's character is good and the art is simply gorgeous so i might be more biased. i feel like the ending was sort of anticlimactic though??? idk it was just lacking since there wasn't really a complete resolution and ur just left wondering what happens next with clint's life all torn up
nonne's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5