The Iron and the Archer!

The thought that Iron Man--Iron Man--doesn't have the maneuverability to outmaneuver arrows seems a ludicrous one, given how often he's done the same with missiles or even rays. But from day one, Hawkeye has not only been a challenge to Iron Man, but at times even a threat:

Fortunately, Iron Man was able to get out of this particular jam by retreating and replacing his armor with one of the spare suits he keeps hidden around Tony Stark's plant for emergencies. It's probably bad enough that an archer constitutes an emergency for Iron Man--but, back in the fight, he finds that this one can not only side-step his power dive but also ensnare him:

Finally, Iron Man meets his first blast arrow, and gets a reprieve from this embarrassing matchup when the force of the blast wounds the Black Widow and Hawkeye is forced to withdraw in order to get her to safety:

In their next encounter, Hawkeye has a partner in the fight--the newly costumed Black Widow, who has suited up and been given "powers" by her Russian masters in the form of a nylon line as well as suction boots. As if Hawkeye alone wasn't enough of a threat to Iron Man--now the Avenger has to deal with someone who swings from a line and can walk up and down walls. But at least Iron Man can probably handle Hawkeye by now, right? Well...

It isn't long before Hawkeye and the Widow have Iron Man on the ropes. While the Widow takes shots at him, Hawkeye finds that an old tactic works just as well against this guy now as it did before:

I know what you're thinking: "Come on!" you're saying, "Iron Man's gotta beat this guy this time, right??" Yes and no.  Because instead of wading into Hawkeye, which would end this fight in a matter of seconds, he decides his best option is... is...

Attacking the Black Widow.

Round Three finds Iron Man again matched against Hawkeye, only this time in an alternate timeline where Iron Man and the rest of the original Avengers are bent on removing all super-powered beings on the planet. Hawkeye makes short work of the Avenger, relying on a tactic which this Iron Man has never seen:

("Yeah," you're probably mumbling, "like it wouldn't have worked against Iron Man a third time." Your thoughts are as clear as crystal to me.)

Round Four finds a (hopefully!) more savvy Iron Man who's known Hawkeye for quite some time, going up against him when the archer is a member of the Defenders. It's really too bad Hawkeye isn't packing any missiles, because I'm sure Iron Man would be more resourceful against those. But arrows apparently catch Iron Man flat-footed every time:

"Okay," I can hear you saying, exasperated, "but at least ONE tactic isn't going to surprise him THIS time, right?" Believe me, I feel your pain:

But this time, let's see Iron Man show a little of that resourcefulness:

In fact, sometimes we forget in these fights against Hawkeye that Iron Man can attack long-range, as well (heck, sometimes Iron Man forgets it):

No, I don't know why those repulsors can't just knock out Hawkeye. If Iron Man can adjust their intensity, this fight could be over in an instant. But it looks like Iron Man's oversight is going to end up handing Hawkeye yet another round:

Even the Super-Adaptoid, adapting Hawkeye's arrows and accuracy, finds that's enough to put him in Iron Man's league:

One of these days, let's hope it's Iron Man who'll have the last laugh when it comes to iron vs. arrows. But, like Iron Man here with the Adaptoid, I won't hold my breath.