For a moment, Marvel was really all about legacy characters. The result was not necessarily memorable, but there are exceptions like Kate Bishop, the second Hawkeye.
Kate is heir to the Bishop fortune, being the daughter of publishing magnate Derek Bishop. Sometime after her mother died, Kate was attacked in Central Park. Following that event, she began to train hard and started to school herself in the arts of archery and other types of combats. She was determined to help others.
When Kate met the Young Avengers during her older sister’s wedding—when gunmen took the entire church hostage—she decided with Cassie Lang to join the team and that’s where her new career started. Now, she’s a legitimate hero, fighting alone, with a team, or with Clint Barton, the original Hawkeye.
Hawkeye Kate Bishop Reading Order:
We all know Kate Bishop is the Superior Hawkeye, but let’s not forget about the first Hawkeye aka Clint Barton! You can read more about Clint in his dedicated reading order!
At the beginning of her Marvel career, Kate Bishop teamed up with the Young Avengers. In fact, she made her first appearance in Young Avengers #1 (April 2005) by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung. This series was created in the wake of “Avengers Disassembled“.
- Young Avengers by Heinberg & Cheung Omnibus
Collects Young Avengers (2005) #1-12, Young Avengers Special (2005), Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways (2006) #1-4, Young Avengers Presents (2008) #1-6, Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers (2008) #1-3, Dark Reign: Young Avengers (2009) #1-5, Siege: Young Avengers (2010) #1, Avengers: The Children’s Crusade (2010) #1-9, Avengers: The Children’s Crusade – Young Avengers (2011) #1, Young Avengers (2005) #1 Director’s Cut, And Material From Uncanny X-Men (1981) #526.
If you don’t go with the omnibus, these first Young Avengers stories are also now collected in the Modern Era Epic Collection:
- Young Avengers Modern Era Epic Collection: Not What You Think new
Collects Young Avengers (2005) #1-12, Young Avengers Special (2005) - Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways
Collects Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways #1-4.
This TPB only collects the part dedicated to the Young Avengers in the massive Civil War event. Also, in Winter Soldier: Winter Kills, Kate teamed up with the Winter Soldier, and Civil War: Fallen Son #03, Kate met Clint Barton for the first time.
- Young Avengers Presents
Collects Young Avengers Presents #1-6. Issue #6 is the one about Kate, also collected in Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon by Matt Fraction.
Kate Bishop and her team contributed to a lot of Marvel events of that time. What follows is not an exhaustive list of all of Kate’s appearances, but it’s most of them. She rarely had the opportunity to be more than a sidekick here and there. It’s mostly optional.
- Secret Invasion
Collects Secret Invasion (2008) #1-8. Kate Bishop appeared throughout this event (reading order here), but her participation is more in the line of a cameo here and there. - Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers
Collects Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers #1-3. - Dark Reign: Young Avengers
Collects Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1-5. - The Mighty Avengers: Dark Reign
Collects The Mighty Avengers #21-36, Secret Invasion: Requiem. Kate and the Young Avengers joined the fight in The Mighty Avengers #28-31. - Siege
Collects Siege #1-4: The Cabal, Siege Prologue. Kate Bishop appeared in the main series, but also in Avengers: The Initiative and more (see reading order). - Siege: Battlefield
Collects Siege: Spider-Man, Young Avengers, Loki, Captain America, Secret Warriors. - Marvel Must Haves: Avengers: The Children’s Crusade
Collects Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #1-9, Avengers: The Children’s Crusade – Young Avengers #1, Uncanny X-Men #526 (B Story).
It’s a new era, the Marvel Now Era. Fewer events, especially for Kate Bishop and the Young Avengers. Kate Bishop is back with the team. Her profile was growing, so she teamed up with Clint Barton for one of the most famous series about Hawkeye, the one by Matt Fraction and David Aja.
- Young Avengers by Gillen & McKelvie: The Complete Collection
Collects Young Avengers (2013) #1-15, Marvel Now! Point One (2012) #1 (Young Avengers Story).
(!) Nothing to do with Kate Bishop, but if you like Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie’s work, go check out Wicked & Divine.
- Hawkeye Vol. 1: My Life as a Weapon
Collects Hawkeye #1-5, Young Avengers Presents #6. - Hawkeye Vol. 2: Little Hits
Collects Hawkeye #6-11. - Hawkeye Vol. 3: L.A. Woman
Collects Hawkeye Annual #1, Hawkeye #14, #16, #18, #20. - Hawkeye Vol. 4: Rio Bravo
Collects Hawkeye #17, #12-13, #15, #19, #21-22.- You can find all of this in one big omnibus.
- but also in Hawkeye by Fraction & Aja: The Saga of Barton and Bishop (collecting Hawkeye #1-22, Hawkeye Annual #1, Young Avengers Presents #6).
- Hawkeye Vol. 5: All-New Hawkeye
Collects All-New Hawkeye #1-5. - Hawkeye vs. Deadpool
Collects Hawkeye vs. Deadpool #0-4. - All-New Hawkeye: Vol. 6: Hawkeyes
Collects All-New Hawkeye (2015B) #1-6. By Jeff Lemire- Wolverine: Old Man Logan Vol. 1: Berzerker
Collects Old Man Logan #1-4, Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant-Size.
- Wolverine: Old Man Logan Vol. 1: Berzerker
It’s event time with Civil War II (full reading order here). Another War in which Kate Bishop has a small role to play.
There’s a new Hawkeye Series by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero, and it’s all about Kate Bishop in Los Angeles doing some PI work. When that series ended, the story continued in West Coast Avengers in which Kate teamed up, still in LA, with Clint Barton, America Chavez, Kid Omega, Gwenpool, and Fuse. After that, Kate made some guest appearances and a few cameos, I only listed the books in which she plays at minimum an active role in a storyline.
- Hawkeye: Kate Bishop Vol. 1: Anchor Points
Collects Hawkeye #1-6.- America Vol. 1: The Life and Times of America Chavez
Collects America #1-6. It’s an America Chavez series, but Kate Bishop is in 3 issues.
- America Vol. 1: The Life and Times of America Chavez
- Hawkeye: Kate Bishop Vol. 2: Masks
Collects Hawkeye #7-12. - Hawkeye: Kate Bishop Vol. 3: Family Reunion
Collects Hawkeye #13-16, Generations: Hawkeye & Hawkeye #1
- West Coast Avengers Vol. 1: Best Coast
Collects West Coast Avengers #1-6. - West Coast Avengers Vol. 2: City of Evils
Collects West Coast Avengers #7-10. - War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery
Collects War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery #1-5. Part of the War of the Realms crossover event (see the Reading Order), but can be read independently from the rest.- Death’s Head – Clone Drive
Collects Death’s Head #1-4.
- Death’s Head – Clone Drive
This period is also collected in:
- Hawkeye: Private Eye
Collects Hawkeye #1-12. - Hawkeye: Go West
Collects Hawkeye #13-16, Generations: Hawkeye & Hawkeye #1, West Coast Avengers #1-4. - Hawkeye: Kate Bishop – Team Spirit
Collects West Coast Avengers #5-10, War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery #1-5.
Kate Bishop joined the MCU! That’s probably why she got a new series. Kate Bishop has her sights set on the Big Apple! But a lot has changed since she was last in New York. So before she completes her journey back, she’s taken on a pit-stop case first. A confidence-booster, to prove to herself that she’s making the right decision and not going to backslide into her old ways just by changing time zones. Besides, the case is perfect: Swanky resort? Check. Jewel heist? Check. Almost definitely 100% a trap? Check!
- Hawkeye: Kate Bishop
Collects Hawkeye: Kate Bishop (2021) #1-5.
Following the conclusion of this limited series, Kate Bishop didn’t get to star in anything for a short while but made a few anecdotal appearances like in Women of Marvel (2023) #1 – segment “A Starling Rescue” and Extreme Venomverse (2023) #5.
More recently, during the Blood Hunt event, with the Avengers not available, Kate joined Captain America’s team to fight vampires in the streets of New York in The Avengers (2023) #14-16, but also appeared in a short story in Blood Hunters #2.
- Avengers By Jed Mackay Vol. 3: Blood Hunt
Collects Avengers (2023) #12-16.