Mockingbird (Marvel Comics)

Barbara "Bobbi" Morse is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Astonishing Tales #6 in 1971 as a supporting character and eventual love interest of Ka-Zar, with a Ph.D. in biology. She is soon revealed to be the highly trained Agent 19 of S.H.I.E.L.D., taking the moniker Huntress in Marvel Super Action #1 in 1976, and Mockingbird in Marvel Team-Up #95 in 1980, before going on to be a member of several Avengers teams, briefly marrying and subsequently divorcing Clint Barton/Hawkeye.

Mockingbird has been described as one of Marvel's most notable female heroes.

In media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Bobbi Morse and Agent 19 are depicted as separate characters, the former appearing in the second and third seasons of the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2014–2016), portrayed by Adrianne Palicki, and the latter (as retired S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Laura Barton) appearing in the films Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) and the Disney+ miniseries Hawkeye (2021), portrayed by Linda Cardellini.

The character first appears as Barbara Morse in the Ka-Zar story in Astonishing Tales #6 (June 1971) written by Gerry Conway and pencilled by Barry Smith. The earliest story to be written and drawn (by Len Wein and Neal Adams) featuring the character was intended to appear in Savage Tales #2 (July 1971), but the series was canceled (a #2 and subsequent series appeared much later) and new homes were found for the stories in the ensuing months. In subsequent publications, creators including Roy Thomas, Len Wein, Neal Adams, Mike Friedrich, Archie Goodwin, George Evans, Steven Grant, and Mark Gruenwald made significant contributions to the development of the character.

After appearing in the 1983 Hawkeye mini-series, Mockingbird became a founding member of the West Coast Avengers, appearing in the group's initial self-titled mini-series, followed by regular appearances in the group's ongoing monthly series, until its end in 1994.

Mockingbird appeared as a regular character throughout the 2010–2013 New Avengers series, from issue #1 (August 2010) through its final issue #34 (January 2013). She also co-starred in the 2010 series Hawkeye & Mockingbird, which ran for 6 issues. Mockingbird became a regular character in the 2013 Secret Avengers series by Nick Spencer and Luke Ross.

In September 2015, Mockingbird starred in the one-shot Mockingbird: S.H.I.E.L.D. 50th Anniversary #1 by writer Chelsea Cain and artist Joëlle Jones. That November, Marvel announced the launch of her first ongoing series by Cain and artist Kate Niemczyk in March 2016. It was canceled after eight issues due to poor sales, despite receiving critical acclaim.

The character who later becomes Mockingbird first appears in a short sequence in Astonishing Tales #6 (June 1971) in which a frantic young brunette arrives at the English country estate of Lord Kevin Plunder (who is also known as "Ka-Zar"). Encountering the butler, she exclaims, "Lord Kevin Plunder where is he? I must speak with him! 'tis a matter—of the fate of worlds!" In a brief second appearance in the same issue, the character claims that "Lord Kevin Plunder and I have never met—and yet I feel that I know him...You see, I can—can 'feel' people in my mind! And I know that unless I speak with him—Lord Kevin will die!" Subsequent creators continued to develop the character, and no later story makes reference to any psychic abilities.