Who Is Marvel’s New Hawkeye? Powers & Origin of Charli Ramsey Explained

The new Ultimate Hawkeye has been introduced, and they’re wildly different from either Clint Barton or Kate Bishop. Charli Ramsey is an Indigenous American character, who took Barton’s gear after he threw it away; Ramsey saw a holographic message of Stark that was intended for Clint Barton, and decided to take up the mantle instead, using Barton’s gear to fight against the Roxxon Corporation for polluting their land.

The Ultimates #5 – written by Deniz Camp, and illustrated by Juan Frigeri – marks the first appearance of Charli, who initially has a tense stand-off with Captain America, after Tony Stark, not wanting any more of his technology to cause more deaths, sends Steve Rogers to confront the new Hawkeye and take the gear back by force if he needs to.

While Captain America initially fights Charli, in the end, the pair work together to defeat Roxxon’s forces, before Captain America welcomes them to the Ultimates.

Ultimate Hawkeye Is A Wildly Different Take On The Character – And That Is What Makes Them Great

The Ultimates #5 – Written By Deniz Camp; Art By Juan Frigeri; Color By Federico Blee; Lettering By Travis Lanham

Like their predecessors in the role of Hawkeye, Charli doesn’t have any superpowers. Their arrows, though, are the product of a quiver designed by Tony Stark, which is a self-printing projectile weapons system. Charli is able to use the system to create a variety of trick arrows, such as repulsor arrows, sonic blast arrows, and inertia-canceling arrows, among others. However, the quiver can’t produce infinite arrows, as the weapons system still needs material to print in order to create arrows. In addition, Charli’s mask includes a built-in magnification system for better aim and to see further away.

What is particularly exciting about Charli Ramsey is the way creator Deniz Camp has used the flexibility of the Ultimate Marvel concept to introduce an entirely new character to Marvel Comics, under the guise of an unfamiliar variation on a classic hero. Just as with Miles Morales before them, Charli has the potential to be the break-out star of this new Ultimate Universe – and could perhaps become more than the next Hawkeye, but the definitive Hawkeye, in the same way Miles has become as synonymous with Spider-Man as Peter Parker.

Captain America And Hawkeye’s Connection Transcends Universes

The Ultimates Gain Their Latest Ally

While Charli Ramsey departs from Clint Barton’s traditional personality, a classic Hawkeye element which remains consistent in Ultimates #5 is the friendship and camaraderie between Captain America and Hawkeye. When Clint Barton first joined the Avengers in Marvel’s main continuity, he struggled under Cap’s leadership and seemed quick to begrudge Steve. However, Captain America’s unyielding faith in Clint gave way to an incredibly strong friendship between the pair. Deniz Camp brings the same spirit of this bond over into The Ultimates by having Captain America vouch for Charli’s inclusion on the fledgling superteam.

Charli Ramsey’s character continues the trend of the Ultimate Universe being a place for reinventions of classic characters while still retaining a core aspect of their Earth-616 counterparts. Charli had a different upbringing than Clint, and growing up as an Indigenous American means that Charli will have a different outlook on the world than Clint would have. At the same time, the idea of Hawkeye and Captain America being close friends is carried over, creating the framework for Charli to join the Ultimates. The new Hawkeye is both a welcome addition to the Ultimates and the Ultimate Universe.

The Ultimates #5 is available now from Marvel Comics.