Although it is a well known fact at this point that Iron Man is perhaps one of the greatest annoyances of Captain Americain life there is another Avenger which gets even more under his skin. Captain America lives his life by a certain inflexible code, and those who don’t share the same ideals as him aren’t necessarily his enemies, but they are certainly people he wishes he could change. So when he comes up against someone who is as stubborn as he is, but in the opposite direction, there will be friction, and this Avenger always drives Captain America crazier than any other.
In Captain America et Hawkeye #629 by Cullen Bunn and Alessandro Vitti, Barton and Rogers are in the middle of a battle against a group of armed soldiers. Initially they have no idea who these people are, only that they seemed dangerous and so an all out strike was their logical response. As the two handle the situation with little effort, the real conflict begins to rage between the Avengers themselves.
Captain America is immediately annoyed with Hawkeye as he was the one who fired the first arrow against the alleged attackers. When Barton asks Rogers who these people they’re fighting are, Captain America replies, “I’m not sure, Hawkeye. You started shooting before I could ask them! “. Due to Hawkeye’s impulsive nature, Captain America was forced into battle against people he didn’t know, making him very uncomfortable as it goes against his code of not fight only those who want to do harm, and since he didn’t have a chance to investigate the situation, he didn’t know what the intentions of these soldiers were.
This issue wasn’t the first time Captain America showed his annoyance towards Hawkeye, but it was a significant moment for both of them, as Captain America completely vented everything about Hawkeye. Captain America criticizes Hawkeye for never taking things seriously and fighting like it’s all a video game. To make matters worse, Hawkeye fights back by telling Cap that at least he’s not a sidekick like Bucky, and Captain America almost loses him to the point of getting dangerously close to attacking Hawkeye himself.
Whenever Captain America and Iron Man are at odds, their conflicts are far more global than petty skirmishes, with Civil War being the most extreme example. However, Iron Man’s leadership skills, intelligence, and proven heroism have, if nothing else, earned Captain America’s respect. Hawkeye, on the other hand, doesn’t hold the same regard as Iron Man in Captain America’s eyes, which Captain America wishes he could fix but has seemingly given up trying. Given Hawkeye’s flippant and impulsive nature that was on full display in this issue, he turned out to be the one Avenger which goes under Captain Americamore than regular skin Iron Man.
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