Does Hawkeye Know Who Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova Is?

Hawkeye Episode 4 came with some massive reveals, including Natasha Romanov’s sister, Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh. Yelena attacked Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) on a rooftop, aiming to kill Clint Barton. However, after her mask came off, the tone took another turn, and fans wondered if Hawkeye knew Yelena as Natasha Romanov’s sister.

Clint recognized her as a Black Widow assassin

The biggest evidence that Hawkeye knows Yelena Belova comes during their fight on the rooftop across from Maya Lopez’s apartment. Kate Bishop broke into Echo’s home after Hawkeye’s wife Laura helped them track the Rolex watch’s signal.

A masked assailant ambushes the two archers, and Clint fights them. When her mask finally comes off to reveal Yelena, she flees, and Kate Bishop demands to know the woman’s identity.

Hawkeye knows a Black Widow’s moves, and Yelena had the same training as Natasha. Clint tells Kate that things just became far more dangerous.

However, does the danger come from Yelena directly or simply because Hawkeye knows how much of a threat a Black Widow can pose? 

Why was Yelena trying to kill Clint Barton in ‘Hawkeye’?

Some events in Marvel movies have happened a bit out of order recently. Black Widow took place after Captain America: Civil War and before Avengers: Infinity War.

However, the post-credits scene saw Valentina talking with Yelena over Black Widow’s grave after Avengers: Endgame. Valentina would go on to recruit John Walker at the end of The Falcon and Winter Soldier. But Valentina let Yelena know something about Hawkeye.

Yelena, though, departed to confront Hawkeye. Valentina told her that Clint was responsible for killing her. However, the only characters who witnessed Black Widow’s death were Hawkeye himself, the banished Red Skull, and the audience. And we all saw her heroic sacrifice was willing.

Despite how much Valentina actually knows, all Yelena heard was the accusation against Hawkeye. She managed to track him down to Echo’s apartment in New York, but was she able to because she already knew Hawkeye?

When could Clint Barton have met Yelena before ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 4?

One important piece of information that fans miss from Yelena’s backstory involves Thanos. With Black Widow taking place before the Thanos snap and the post-credits scene coming after the five-year skip, fans did not know if she survived the snap.

Kevin Feige gave a vague answer when a fan on Twitter asked him directly if she survived.

“You will find out, but not on this Twitter thread,” he teased.

However, it seems unlikely that Yelena knew or ever met Hawkeye previously, whether or not she survived.

After Captain America: Civil War, Clint returned to his family and hid out there, almost entirely off the grid. However, after they disappeared, he started his rampage as Ronin.

If Yelena disappeared, then there was almost no way for her to have met Hawkeye. Especially since she only reconnected with Natasha after he ‘retired.’ If she did survive, Hawkeye hid from the world as Ronin, making it even more unlikely for the two to have ever met.

However, as the Hawkeye series nears its climax, some fans hope to get answers about Yelena and even Kingpin in the near future.