Though he was one of the original six Avengers, Clint Barton (aka Hawkeye) has never really been a popular MCU character. When the universe is filled with gods, super-soldiers, and talking raccoons, a guy with a bow and arrow doesn't seem too appealing. But Hawkeye has his fans and has remained a big part of the MCU since the early days.
Regardless of the fact that he is a lesser hero, Hawkeye has grown as a character over the years. Some of the character developments worked better than others, but in the end, he rose above his reputation as the more useless member of the Avengers.
10 Hairdo
In Avengers: Endgame, fans get a glimpse at how the various heroes are handling Thanos' victory. After losing his entire family, Clint seems to take it the hardest and he goes down a dark path.
When he resurfaces as Ronin, Clint is also sporting a new hairdo. The combination between a mohawk and mullet might work for some people, but Clint looks pretty silly and angsty as a middle-aged man trying to pull off this look.
9 Prominence
Like Black Widow, Hawkeye was the only member of the original six Avengers not to get his own movie before the team-up adventure. In fact, the only time audiences saw him before that was in a quick cameo in Thor. Then in the actual movie, Hawkeye is sidelined when he is made one of Loki's lackeys.
It seemed like the franchise didn't know how to use this bow-and-arrow guy among all the superpowered characters. Over time, the MCU has tried to make Hawkeye a more prominent and important character whenever he appeared.
8 Black Widow
Though the films have never dove too heavily into their backstory yet, it was pretty evident Hawkeye and Black Widow shared a connection. They go back further than the other heroes and are the closest in the group.
When introduced in The Avengers, there seems to be a hint of romance between them. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Widow is seen wearing an arrow necklace. However, their relationship is later clarified as just best friends.
7 Weapons
Thankfully, a unique haircut is not the only change Clint goes through when he becomes Ronin. The first look at Ronin is in an impressive action sequence set in Japan. He single-handedly takes on an army of Yakuza and not just with his bow and arrow either.
Clint looks to have evolved to using a sword for his missions which he continues to use throughout the film. It's not much more practical than the bow and arrow, but at least it's something new.
6 Grounded
Hawkeye had the chance to be one of the more interesting members of the Avengers. He is someone who seems to have no business being there and it would have been unique to see a superhero who is constantly in over his head.
Unfortunately, the movies introduced him as an apparent badass and tried to act like he belonged among Earth's Mightiest Heroes. As the films went on, they seemed to realize their mistake and backtrack, trying to make Hawkeye the blue-collar, down-to-earth member of the team.
5 Family
A big part of Hawkeye's rebranding came in Avengers: Age of Ultron. After spending the previous film being mind-controlled, Clint is fleshed out with the introduction of his family he has been hiding from the team.
While it first felt a little forced, Clint's family becomes a big part of his character and motivation in the later movies. When they are all wiped out by Thanos' snap, it helps to sell the impact of that defeat.
4 Usefulness
Hawkeye is a character who seems like he could get sidelined easily. The fact that his first significant role in the MCU had him playing a brainwashed henchman proved that the filmmakers would have to put real effort into making him important.
This really seems to be a conscious decision going forward after Phase 1. Whenever Hawkeye was in a movie, it was ensured that he would have a significant role in the mission to make him stand out among the more interesting characters.
3 Self-Aware
In Phase 1, the MCU seemed to want to convince people that Hawkeye was cool. Once that didn't work, they decided to start embracing the fact that he was the lamest member of the team.
Age of Ultron really leaned into this aspect of the character and it made Hawkeye a lot more likable. The others joke about how unimportant he is to the team, and he himself seems to acknowledge they don't really need him. He even jokes about how impractical a bow and arrow is when fighting an army of robots.
2 Retirement
Since he wasn't going to be showing up in his own solo movie anytime soon, the MCU found a new way to keep Hawkeye out of the picture until he was needed again. After introducing his family in Age of Ultron, Clint decides it's time to retire from the superhero game.
Of course, that retirement only lasts until he is needed for Captain America: Civil War. Then he is brought out of retirement again in Avengers: Endgame. And it looks like it might happen one last time in his Disney+ series before he passes the bow to a new generation.
1 Ronin
Hawkeye was a hard hero to take seriously when he was fight introduced. However, the character took a surprisingly dark turn in Endgame when he became Ronin.
While it is understandable that Clint would be troubled after losing his whole family, it was quite shocking to see what he became. He turned into a ruthless vigilante who killed anyone he deemed unworthy of being left behind following the snap. It is the darkest we've seen a hero in the MCU go.
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