This story contains spoilers for Hawkeye, which airs Wednesday on Disney+.
Since premiering almost a month ago, Hawkeye has done some truly great things. It introduced the world to Kate Bishop, a longtime fan favorite character. It gave us a great new superhero in the form of Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop and Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova. It rightfully eulogized Natasha Romanoff’s death in a way that even the character’s late stand-alone film didn’t get to do.
But it’s also done something else: it’s redeemed the character of Clint Barton by giving him a long-deserved spotlight.
Despite being one of the founding Avengers, Clint has never been an overly popular character. While legacy players like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor had multiple movies to develop their characters and got substantial narrative beats to shine in during ensemble films, Clint was often shoved to the side: a skilled fighter and marksmen who contributed to the team where it mattered but who, off the field, offered little more than witty commentary and a representation of the stable family man. Even Black Widow, the only other original Avenger to not receive a stand-alone project until earlier this year, received more nuanced attention throughout her years in the MCU.
Hawkeye, however, is finally giving weight to Clint Barton’s MCU story — a journey that until now, has mostly been swept under the rug. Sure, we know that he recruited and saved Natasha from the Red Room, that he worked at SHIELD for a long time, and that he has a family he hides from the wider world of avenging. But we’ve never gotten a chance to dig beyond the surface, to tap into his emotions, his feelings, and his personality. The series joins the growing Disney+ pantheon of shows that have been known for highlighting all of these things.
Putting Clint’s relationship with Kate at the center of the show has helped humanize the character, as both archers learn from each other about what it means to be a hero in a strange, sometimes unforgiving world. Although at first Clint doesn’t want anything to do with the girl he sees as someone who ruined his Christmas, over the course of the series, he finds himself drawn to the reckless, kind-hearted 22-year-old. Against his better wishes, that allows him to mentor her. Much like he did with Natasha at the beginning of her defection to SHIELD and with Wanda Maximoff in Age of Ultron, Clint provides Kate with encouragement during scary moments in the field, shows her how to properly take care of herself after a nasty fight, and gives her serious life advice about how loss and mistakes come with the title of “Avenger” just as much as name recognition and cool costumes do.
These moments, while narratively important, do more than just push the plot forward. They also help Clint realize his legacy matters as he gets to, for the first time, see the reason behind why Natasha chose to save him on Vormir. It wasn’t just so he could have a second chance with his family, but also so he could continue to help others the same way he once helped her. Through Kate, Clint gets to see that he’s making a difference in someone’s life and that people did — and do — see him as a hero, even if he never thought of himself as one.
In a show ripe with the theme of second chances, Hawkeye also gives Clint the opportunity to put his past to rest. It allows him to fully come to terms with his time as Ronin by showing how his actions have unknowingly affected others around him: Maya, Maya’s father, Yelena, his family, and himself. Treating Clint’s past in this way is infinitely more effective than simply showing vicious flashbacks to the five years we didn’t see, as it allows us to see the character as more than just a killer who made bad decisions. Instead, we can see him as a human being who made some bad mistakes.
That, in turn, allows us to sympathize with him as he tries to right his wrongs. When Clint suits up again as Ronin in episode 5, finally serving up the showdown Maya’s been waiting for, we’re led to believe — thanks to conversations with two of the most important people in his life — that he’s about to go back to the life of a vigilante. Instead, after a brutal fight where he easily bests Maya, Clint sets her straight about the truth behind her dad’s murder. He apologizes for the way they’ve both been treated by people who have abused their skills, showing his heart and showing that he understands her more than anyone else.
And just as Clint getting to make his peace with Ronin allows him to appropriately mourn the mistakes of his past, it also allows him to grieve and deal with his best friend’s death. The presence of Natasha Romanoff has been both a narrative through line and a heavy weight throughout the series. Hawkeye lets Clint take important moments — from loud and overt (Rogers: The Musical), to forced acceptance (telling Kazi that Natasha was the one who killed Ronin), to quiet reflections (Kate’s impromptu Christmas party at her apartment), to resigned heartache (learning Yelena was the person trying to kill him) — and gives each emotional response the attention it deserves over the course of five episodes, bringing a true feeling of acknowledgement to the anguish Clint has been carrying with him since Avengers: Endgame.
Hawkeye’s finale airs Wednesday, and thanks to the way the series has humanized the character, we know we can expect some emotional payoffs for Clint’s journey. One of the things we still need to see is Clint’s interaction with Yelena, a conversation and/or fight that will undoubtedly help bring Natasha’s death full circle for both characters regardless of whether they end up on the same side. And while it’s entirely possible that Yelena won’t have her “redemption” in Hawkeye’s final hour, Clint will likely still try to appeal to her the same way he did to Maya, another version of him making a “different call” as he knows she, too, was weaponized by people who took advantage of her grief.
Standing up against his past to protect the people he cares about is an emotional beat that would free him from his relationship with Ronin.
There’s also the Kingpin-sized elephant in the room, which has the potential to bring out some hardcore defense from Clint given how worried he is about the danger the crime boss poses to his family. We know that Barton will do whatever he can to keep everyone safe, but this is also where we could see the payoff of Clint’s relationship with Kate, as he truly rises to the role of hero. Standing up against his past to protect the people he cares about is an emotional beat that would free him from his relationship with Ronin, and it would put Kate on the road to taking up his mantle. It would also allow him to leave New York with the feeling of being worthy of the person Natasha Romanoff gave a second chance to.
Like all good Christmas stories, it’s assumed that Clint will likely make it home in time for the big day and reunite with his family. Beyond that, however, it’s unclear if the show will attempt to end Clint’s story for good or set the stage for more introspection down the line. But if Hawkeye has shown us anything, it’s that Clint Barton’s story is one that always has room to grow. They say the best gifts come with a bow, but for Hawkeye fans — both those who have loved the character for a long time and those who are just realizing how special he is — the show’s humanization of its long under-utilized character has been the best gift of all.
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Since premiering almost a month ago, Hawkeye has done some truly great things. It introduced the world to Kate Bishop, a longtime fan favorite character. It gave us a great new superhero in the form of Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop and Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova. It rightfully eulogized Natasha Romanoff’s death in a way that even the character’s late stand-alone film didn’t get to do.
But it’s also done something else: it’s redeemed the character of Clint Barton by giving him a long-deserved spotlight.
Despite being one of the founding Avengers, Clint has never been an overly popular character. While legacy players like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor had multiple movies to develop their characters and got substantial narrative beats to shine in during ensemble films, Clint was often shoved to the side: a skilled fighter and marksmen who contributed to the team where it mattered but who, off the field, offered little more than witty commentary and a representation of the stable family man. Even Black Widow, the only other original Avenger to not receive a stand-alone project until earlier this year, received more nuanced attention throughout her years in the MCU.
Hawkeye, however, is finally giving weight to Clint Barton’s MCU story — a journey that until now, has mostly been swept under the rug. Sure, we know that he recruited and saved Natasha from the Red Room, that he worked at SHIELD for a long time, and that he has a family he hides from the wider world of avenging. But we’ve never gotten a chance to dig beyond the surface, to tap into his emotions, his feelings, and his personality. The series joins the growing Disney+ pantheon of shows that have been known for highlighting all of these things.
Putting Clint’s relationship with Kate at the center of the show has helped humanize the character, as both archers learn from each other about what it means to be a hero in a strange, sometimes unforgiving world. Although at first Clint doesn’t want anything to do with the girl he sees as someone who ruined his Christmas, over the course of the series, he finds himself drawn to the reckless, kind-hearted 22-year-old. Against his better wishes, that allows him to mentor her. Much like he did with Natasha at the beginning of her defection to SHIELD and with Wanda Maximoff in Age of Ultron, Clint provides Kate with encouragement during scary moments in the field, shows her how to properly take care of herself after a nasty fight, and gives her serious life advice about how loss and mistakes come with the title of “Avenger” just as much as name recognition and cool costumes do.
These moments, while narratively important, do more than just push the plot forward. They also help Clint realize his legacy matters as he gets to, for the first time, see the reason behind why Natasha chose to save him on Vormir. It wasn’t just so he could have a second chance with his family, but also so he could continue to help others the same way he once helped her. Through Kate, Clint gets to see that he’s making a difference in someone’s life and that people did — and do — see him as a hero, even if he never thought of himself as one.
In a show ripe with the theme of second chances, Hawkeye also gives Clint the opportunity to put his past to rest. It allows him to fully come to terms with his time as Ronin by showing how his actions have unknowingly affected others around him: Maya, Maya’s father, Yelena, his family, and himself. Treating Clint’s past in this way is infinitely more effective than simply showing vicious flashbacks to the five years we didn’t see, as it allows us to see the character as more than just a killer who made bad decisions. Instead, we can see him as a human being who made some bad mistakes.
That, in turn, allows us to sympathize with him as he tries to right his wrongs. When Clint suits up again as Ronin in episode 5, finally serving up the showdown Maya’s been waiting for, we’re led to believe — thanks to conversations with two of the most important people in his life — that he’s about to go back to the life of a vigilante. Instead, after a brutal fight where he easily bests Maya, Clint sets her straight about the truth behind her dad’s murder. He apologizes for the way they’ve both been treated by people who have abused their skills, showing his heart and showing that he understands her more than anyone else.
And just as Clint getting to make his peace with Ronin allows him to appropriately mourn the mistakes of his past, it also allows him to grieve and deal with his best friend’s death. The presence of Natasha Romanoff has been both a narrative through line and a heavy weight throughout the series. Hawkeye lets Clint take important moments — from loud and overt (Rogers: The Musical), to forced acceptance (telling Kazi that Natasha was the one who killed Ronin), to quiet reflections (Kate’s impromptu Christmas party at her apartment), to resigned heartache (learning Yelena was the person trying to kill him) — and gives each emotional response the attention it deserves over the course of five episodes, bringing a true feeling of acknowledgement to the anguish Clint has been carrying with him since Avengers: Endgame.
Hawkeye’s finale airs Wednesday, and thanks to the way the series has humanized the character, we know we can expect some emotional payoffs for Clint’s journey. One of the things we still need to see is Clint’s interaction with Yelena, a conversation and/or fight that will undoubtedly help bring Natasha’s death full circle for both characters regardless of whether they end up on the same side. And while it’s entirely possible that Yelena won’t have her “redemption” in Hawkeye’s final hour, Clint will likely still try to appeal to her the same way he did to Maya, another version of him making a “different call” as he knows she, too, was weaponized by people who took advantage of her grief.
Standing up against his past to protect the people he cares about is an emotional beat that would free him from his relationship with Ronin.
There’s also the Kingpin-sized elephant in the room, which has the potential to bring out some hardcore defense from Clint given how worried he is about the danger the crime boss poses to his family. We know that Barton will do whatever he can to keep everyone safe, but this is also where we could see the payoff of Clint’s relationship with Kate, as he truly rises to the role of hero. Standing up against his past to protect the people he cares about is an emotional beat that would free him from his relationship with Ronin, and it would put Kate on the road to taking up his mantle. It would also allow him to leave New York with the feeling of being worthy of the person Natasha Romanoff gave a second chance to.
Like all good Christmas stories, it’s assumed that Clint will likely make it home in time for the big day and reunite with his family. Beyond that, however, it’s unclear if the show will attempt to end Clint’s story for good or set the stage for more introspection down the line. But if Hawkeye has shown us anything, it’s that Clint Barton’s story is one that always has room to grow. They say the best gifts come with a bow, but for Hawkeye fans — both those who have loved the character for a long time and those who are just realizing how special he is — the show’s humanization of its long under-utilized character has been the best gift of all.
Continue reading...