Hawkeye busts up yet another meeting between HYDRA and AIM, which is revealed to be working on a weapon for the former known as the Cosmic Cube which has the power to make HYDRA's dreams of world conquest a reality. The only thing that Hawkeye is interested in, though, is the location of the Black Widow. Nothing comes out of the encounter and he is hauled before Nick Fury to explain why he just ruined a S.H.I.E.L.D. operation. Hawkeye calls Fury out on why S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't seem to be able to do anything about either HYDRA or Black Widow but Fury warns him to leave well enough alone. Amazingly enough, Iron Man sides with Fury, saying that Hawkeye is letting revenge cloud his judgment. He storms off.
Captain America and Black Panther approach him later and offer to help but Hawkeye is still sore that they didn't back him up against Stark and Fury. They get another helper in the form of an old friend of Barton's, Bobbi Morse, who has taken his place on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s special ops team. Cap doesn't think it's a good idea but it's too late for that.
Mockingbird points them in the direction of HYDRA safe houses and storage facilities but the rest of the heroes dismiss her advice; they are already on to her attempts to mislead them away from actual S.H.I.E.L.D. operations and have been tracing Black Widow by way of the Grim Reaper. Or rather, a tracking device that Hawkeye planted on the Reaper during their last encounter. The idea is that it will lead them straight to Baron Strucker, and that the Widow won't be far behind.
Hawkeye and Mockingbird attack the Reaper as he's about to change transport but they end up getting beaten and captured. Unknown to HYDRA, it was all a ruse to get them closer to Strucker with Cap and Panther not far behind. The one thing they didn't count on was the HYDRA transport having a cloaking device that blocks the signal from the tracking device. The two birds are on their own and Strucker has them thrown in the dungeons where they receive an impromptu visit from Black Widow herself. She seems about to say something but Hawkeye rages and swears revenge against her, then immediately breaks out of his cell when she's gone.
Meanwhile, it turns out that AIM has been stalling HYDRA all this time and no-one actually expected the Cosmic Cube to work. Only now, it does and MODOC is forced to reconsider his plans.
After reclaiming their gear, Hawkeye and Mockingbird have a second go at taking out Baron Strucker but are hopelessly outnumbered. Fortunately, Cap and Black Panther have managed to track them again and jump in to save the day. Cap corners Strucker but he activates a self-destruct sequence for the base and Widow jumps in to save him. Hawkeye gets a clear shot at Natasha as she makes her escape with Strucker but instead fires at Mockingbird who is about to be killed by Viper, choosing friendship over revenge. Then, he goes after Black Widow and the two engage in an all-out gunfight where they disarm each other and proceed to duke it out hand-to-hand. This is where Widow has the advantage and she disables Hawkeye, but Strucker insists on finishing him off and begins to drain his life force. Mysteriously, Widow decides to save him. Cap and Panther come to drag him out and Fury brings the Helicarrier to extract Mockingbird. HYDRA Island goes down in flames.
Fury chews the Avengers out for meddling in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s business, even if they did capture Grim Reaper and Viper. Widow lies to Strucker about Hawkeye, and they are then confronted by MODOC who apologizes for not being able to complete the Cosmic Cube and returns all the money. Mockingbird and Fury inspect the unconscious body of Viper who, it turns out, is not Viper at all.
Tropes:
- All Men Are Perverts: Hawkeye makes it clear he knows that Mockingbird is answering directly to Fury on this. When she asks why Hawkeye allowed to tag along, anyway, he says her costume was part of the decision. She has no trouble exploiting this to charm the mooks, though the Grim Reaper has basic common sense.
- Armor-Piercing Response: "You're dead to me!"
- Big Damn Heroes: Cap and Panther.Hawkeye: You guys are really late.
- Big "WHAT?!": Mockingbird when Hawkeye says he'll act as a diversion so she can escape.
- Didn't See That Coming: "We believe there's a chance the Cosmic Cube may actually work."
- Foil: Mockingbird illustrates that there are others in SHIELD who agree with Hawkeye about feeling betrayed by Black Widow, but she's able to focus on the bigger picture and not get bogged down by a need for revenge.
- Friendship Moment:
- Cap and Black Panther volunteer to help Hawkeye, saying he won't get very far without help.
- Hawkeye apologizes to Cap and Black Panther for the trouble he got them into and thanks them for backing him up.Cap: That's what being on a team means.
- Good News, Bad News: The Grim Reaper does this when briefing Strucker. He says MODOC wanting more money is the bad news, but he boasts that they captured an Avenger.
- Have We Met?: Hawkeye when Mockingbird first approaches him. He needs a good look at her face before realizing who she is.
- Hope Spot: Cap throws his shield at Black Widow's line to try to keep Strucker from escaping, but the Grim Reaper deflects it at the last moment.
- Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: During the climax, there are dozens of HYDRA mooks firing on and missing the Avengers and Mockingbird.
- In the Back: Black Widow shoots Strucker in the back to save Hawkeye.
- Irony: Hawkeye is incredulous that Captain America is cautioning him about fighting HYDRA.
- Jerkass Has a Point: When he first orders Hawkeye to back off, Fury states HYDRA is far more complicated than dealing with supervillains. Iron Man (much to his horror) agrees with Fury.
- Loophole Abuse: When Iron Man is appropriately outraged about his orders being defied, Cap says it sounded more like a suggestion. Black Panther also claims that Wakandan Elders regularly talk about the blurry line between revenge and avenge. Iron Man is not pleased to hear these excuses.
- Meaningful Echo: "The costume had a lot to do with it."
- The Mole: Mockingbird volunteers to help the three Avengers, but it's immediately apparent to them that she's there on Fury's behalf to keep them busy.
- Mythology Gag:
- While briefing Strucker, Viper says she has made contact with Gorgon and a clan in Japan (the Hand). Black Widow also name-drops two other comic villains, Count Nefaria and Aleksander Lukin.
- In New York City, the Grim Reaper says "the fat man" has agreed to not interfere in HYDRA business. This is likely a reference to Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin.
- Hawkeye and Mockingbird repeatedly flirt with each other when not sniping at each other. In the comics, they were married for a time.
- Negated Moment of Awesome: Cap gets ready to face Strucker one-on-one, but Black Widow swings in to carry the Baron to safety.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Black Widow when Hawkeye makes his threat to her.
- The final scene of Skrull Viper.Mockingbird: What does it mean?
Nick Fury: It means we've got a big problem.
- Pinned to the Ground: During the fight against HYDRA, Madame Hydra manages to tie up Mockingbird with her whip. When Mockingbird tries to get back up, Madame Hydra pins her back down with her foot on the side of her head.
- Pin-Pulling Teeth: Madame Viper tongues the ring on a grenade before pulling it out with her teeth.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Viper stops Strucker from executing Hawkeye on sight, saying they could use him as a very valuable bargaining chip. Strucker takes her advice.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After Hawkeye jokes about leaving her behind:Mockingbird: That's probably what Iron Man is saying about you right now. You disobeyed your team leader, dragged half your team out here, got a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent captured — all to get back at a girl who lied to you. Real professional.
- Revenge Before Reason: Hawkeye really has it out for Black Widow. Even those helping him out say he really needs to calm down.
- Sadistic Choice: Hawkeye is faced with pursing Black Widow and Strucker, and saving Mockingbird. Luckily, he's swift enough to do both and avert this.
- Sequel Hook: Two words: Skrull Viper.
- Skewed Priorities: Iron Man urges Hawkeye to drop his vendetta and leave HYDRA to SHIELD, saying the Avengers are busy enough as it is with tracking those that escaped during the Breakout.
- Spanner in the Works: The reason Fury is so outraged at the end is because the team inadvertently jeopardized his long-term plan to take down HYDRA.
- Springtime for Hitler: The Cosmic Cube. AIM expected it to be a distraction HYDRA would waste money on, not the world-conquering device it was advertised it as. Then the scientists make a discovery.
- Superman Stays Out of Gotham: The Badass Normal Avengers take the lead on this adventure, with Iron Man and Hank back at the mansion, while the other super-powered members don't appear at all. This is lampshaded by Cap, who notes it'd be a lot easier to search the area with their teammates that can fly on their power.
- Trojan Prisoner: Hawkeye and Mockingbird let themselves be captured so that Cap and Black Panther can follow them to HYDRA Island. Things hit a snag when the tracking signal gives out during the trip, due to HYDRA's cloaking technology. It takes Hawkeye and Mockingbird using HYDRA's own communications relay to broadcast an Avengers signal for the quinjet to pick up the trail.
- Understatement: Sitting in a cell, Mockingbird observes they're in big trouble.
- Wham Line: "I am sorry, Clint."
- Wham Shot:
- Black Widow shooting Strucker.
- Fury's big problem in the final scene.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Hawkeye over Cap and Black Panther not saying anything when Iron Man and Fury were telling him to drop the revenge pursuit.
