Before Hawkeye became an Avenger, he was a roustabout and the circus known as Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders. During his time spent at the carnival, Hawkeye was trained by both Swordsman (Jacques Duquesne) and Trickshot.

As the years pasted, Mr. Carson would eventually turn ownership over to his daughter Marcella Carson. It was around this time that Taskmaster had taken over the carnival by force to use for a traveling training academy. Marcella managed to sneak Hawkeye’s name onto a mailing list in order to send a cry out for help. Hawkeye answered the distress call only to be captured by Taskmaster. Luckily Scott Lang (Ant-Man) had been at the carnival with his daughter Cassandra Lang and able to lend a hand. Together both Hawkeye and Ant-Man were able to foil Taskmaster’s plans forcing Taskmaster to flee capture once again.