Hawkeye have a close relationship in both the comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but in their very first meeting, the popular Russian hero actually convinced the sharpshooter to her against the Avengers. In Hawkeye's first comic book appearance, his attraction to Black Widow made him blindly her in a fight against Iron Man, with both heroes acting as villains from the getgo.
The two heroes will always be intertwined on the page and on the big screen. In the MCU, the pair have a close bond as they originally worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. in Budapest before ing the Avengers on a full-time basis. Both characters would go to Vormir to retrieve an Infinity Stone, where tragically Black Widow sacrificed herself to help save the world and allow Hawkeye to spend more time with his recently returned family. In the comics, their partnership has been both friendly and romantic. In his very first comic appearance, Hawkeye couldn't help but be blown away by Black Widow's beauty, leading him to a briefly villainous turn.
In Tales of Suspense #57 by Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Sam Rosen, Hawkeye is introduced as a sharpshooter at a carnival, who grows frustrated when Iron Man arrives to help save people from a malfunctioning ride and steals the spotlight from him. When he later goes home, he stops a thief who stole jewelry, but as he tries to pick up the valuable items, the police mistake that he is the thief. Thankfully, Black Widow arrives and tells him to get in her car. Hawkeye can't believe that he's in the presence of such a beautiful woman and s her luxurious estate.
Hawkeye's lust for Black Widow makes him agree to hunt Iron Man - who is one of Black Widow's targets. He spars with the armored hero with Black Widow watching - but a special warhead arrow that the Russian designed for him bounces off of Iron Man and hits Hawkeye's romantic target by mistake. Hawkeye grabs her and says she's the only person he's ever loved - it's quite dramatic. In later adventures, Black Widow would get Hawkeye to break into Stark Industries and steal blueprints for a powerful weapon.
Ultimately, things would work out for both Hawkeye and Black Widow. While Hawkeye went from a hero who refused to injure villains to going one-on-one with Iron Man, time would eventually correct his mistakes. Black Widow and Hawkeye would fall in love and once the Russian government turned against her, the pair would the Avengers. Hawkeye's villainy in his early run was all for love - but thankfully, in the end, both he and Black Widow would become heroes just like the MCU.
