Bow Rant

[shanachie_quill]

Okay. I can't take this anymore. I love the Avengers' fandom. Love y'all to death. But for the love of goddess. Google is your friend. Clint Barton is an archer. He loves his bow. He would not under any circumstance use a CROSSBOW. That is like sacrilege to an archer.

The word bow is not interchangeable. A crossbow is not a longbow is not a compound bow is not recruve.

Clint NEVER uses a crossbow in any incarnation (not in comics, not in movies, not in cartoons). In Thor, he carries a compound bow (and I would love to know the thought there because he's never carried one before) and in Avengers every picture, every shot has him with his normal recurve bow.

So all of you fanfic writers who keep writing the word CROSSBOW when you're discussing Clint...please, please stop...because you're making my head hurt! And making every archer I know freak out. (Not to mention my inner!Clint is screaming bloody murder.)

ETA: The Avengers ‏ @Avengers

Hawkeye’s weapon of choice is the recurve bow, along with an arsenal of custom augmented arrows. #AvengersFacts

To help you differentiate between the bows, I'm including some pictures. PLEASE USE THEM! And ASK if you have any questions. If I don't know the answer, I can point you in the right direction. Yes, I used to shoot, yes I know people who still shoot. We can help. And we're happy to help.



Compound Bow (what Clint uses in Thor)



Recurve Bow (what Clint uses in Avengers)



The parts of a Compound and Recurve Bow



Longbow



Crossbow



Military Crossbow

Comments

[samjohnsson]

Random, but that mil-spec xbow is really kind of hot.

Otherwise, agreed with all of this. (And you apparently haven't seen the fics where he's carrying a gun.)

[shanachie_quill]

Isn't it? I mean...I'm a former archer so it makes my brain hurt...but it is pretty and hot and I just...yeah.

Oh I have but that's a whole 'nother kettle of fried fish sticks I wasn't gonna touch last night. And the gun is at least comic canon because in some of them he does use a gun. And if you do the military sniper canon (which I use in at least one of my Clint incarnations--it makes sense).

[samjohnsson]

The long stiff stock, the precisely-spread arms, the tension in the strings, the way the silenced guide would carefully wrap itself around the bolt and guide it home... mmm. I may have opinions about that crossbow.

Meh. When I see a sidearm in movie!canon, then I'll buy it. Comic canon, it depended highly on who was writing that series.

[shanachie_quill]

Oh I think you do.

The pen in comic canon...I do think the pen was my favorite. He picked a pen up when he was being "interrogated" before joining SHIELD and fired it at a window and broke the window. It was awesome.

Oh I'm not saying I agree with it. It just doesn't knock my head sideways like the crossbow does. And I think what really irks me is the blatant use of everyone of the word interchangeably. They seem to think every type of bow is the same.

[samjohnsson]

Oh I think you do.

If gun!porn is valid, I will happily accept bow!porn and xbow!porn.

They seem to think every type of bow is the same.

Guns, too. I've seen sniping "done" - at sniping ranges - with a pistol. Or an automatic rifle.

[shanachie_quill]

I totally accept bow!porn and xbow!porn. And happily...although...not exactly use of it in bed. And I totally think Clint has an unnatural love of his bow.

*shudders* That is just....nooooo.

[shanachie_quill]

Oh Oh Oh (I was going through posts looking for something else and came across this...) SIDEARM in movie canon! 9mil (I believe...) in Avengers! Booyah!