The Avengers #64
The Avengers #64 is the issue where readers first learn that Clint Barton — the archer previously known only as 'Hawkeye' and newly operating as Goliath — has a given name at all, a revelation delivered by the dying words of his brother, Barney Barton, in a moment of genuine emotional weight rare for the era. It also marks the first and (apparently) final appearance of Barney himself, whose heroic sacrifice closes out a stealth crossover storyline that had threaded through Captain Marvel #12, Sub-Mariner #14, Captain Marvel #14, and both Avengers #63 and #64. The issue is part two of what collectors and fans have called the 'Goliath Trilogy,' a compact three-part arc by Roy Thomas that restructured Hawkeye's identity and backstory more substantially than any story had since the character's debut. Barney Barton's later resurrection and evolution into the villain-turned-antihero Trickshot made this issue retroactively foundational to one of Marvel's most complex sibling dynamics.
In "Like a Death Ray from the Sky!", the Avengers face a terrifying threat from Egghead, whose new orbital death ray looms over Earth as he issues ultimatums to the U.S. government. With Gene Colan’s moody art and George Klein’s sharp inks bringing the high-stakes drama to life, this 1969 issue delivers a tense, grounded clash of wits and power.
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The creative team of writer Roy Thomas and penciller Gene Colan — with inks by George Klein, letters by Sam Rosen, and editorial oversight from Stan Lee — produced this issue as the middle chapter of a three-issue arc spanning Avengers #63–65. According to Thomas's own recollections documented in the Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 7 introduction (as reported by the 50 Year Old Comics blog), the name 'Clint' was subject to a longstanding comics-industry taboo over concerns that sloppy lettering could render it as a profanity — and Thomas later admitted he had simply forgotten about the prohibition until it was too late to change. Colan himself, interviewed later by Thomas for the Alter Ego magazine, acknowledged that team books were not his preferred format because concentrating on four or five characters at once was 'an awful lot of work,' a creative tension that is nonetheless invisible in the book's moody, shadow-driven pages.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First and (apparently) final appearance of Barney Barton, older brother of Clint Barton/Hawkeye, created by writer Roy Thomas and penciller Gene Colan; published May 1969 (on-sale March 11, 1969).
- This issue contains the first-ever revelation of Hawkeye's civilian name — Clint Barton — disclosed to his teammates during Barney's dying moments aboard Egghead's space station.
- Story title is 'Like a Death Ray from the Sky!' — part two of three in the 'Goliath Trilogy' (Avengers #63–65); Clint Barton operates throughout as the new Goliath after abandoning his Hawkeye identity in the previous issue.
- Barney Barton arrives at Avengers Mansion posing as a mob boss with coordinates to Egghead's orbital weapon; he is immune to Egghead's Puppet Master-powered paralysis ray and sacrifices himself to destroy the device, saving the team.
- The Avengers roster for this issue consists of Black Panther (T'Challa), Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Yellowjacket (Hank Pym), Vision, and Goliath (Clint Barton); Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff) appears in a supporting cameo before departing to report to S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Full creative credits: Writer — Roy Thomas; Penciller — Gene Colan; Inker — George Klein; Letterer — Sam Rosen; Editor — Stan Lee; cover by Gene Colan and George Klein.
- The issue has been reprinted in Essential Avengers Vol. 3 (black-and-white), Marvel Super Action #25, Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 8 (hardcover), and The Black Widow Strikes Omnibus.
- Barney Barton was later revealed as a covert FBI agent (a retcon introduced in subsequent series) and eventually resurfaced physically alive as the costumed villain Trickshot in Hawkeye: Blindspot #1–4 (2011), written by Jim McCann.
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Reprints
Reprinted in The Avengers #94 (1975), Die ruhmreichen Rächer #63 (1977), Namor #6 (1979), Marvel Super Action #25 (1980), Los Vengadores #64 (1982), Essential Avengers #3 (2001), Essential Avengers #3 [2010 Edition] (2010), Marvel Gold. Los Vengadores: La Batalla por La Tierra #[nn] (2013), Avengers Epic Collection #4 (2015), The Avengers Omnibus #3 (2018), Black Widow Epic Collection #1 (2019), The Black Widow Strikes Omnibus #[nn] (2019), Hawkeye Epic Collection #1 (2021), Secrets of the Unknown #115
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