Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye is Probably Headed for Retirement, Fans Say — But He May Already Have a Replacement
Hawkeye (or Clint Barton, played by Jeremy Renner) became one of the most reluctant of all Marvel superheroes, taking a break for a while, then finding himself in deep all over again. His initial retirements were for good reason after facing some major predicaments, including battling Ultron as starters. At the Battle of Sokovia, Quicksilver gave his life to save Hawkeye’s, giving the latter a sense of guilt.
Returning to family life after a wild ride like this was definitely not easy. Yet, Clint managed to, if also facing one of the biggest horrors: Seeing his family turn to dust during Thanos’s snap. Of course, there was yet another retirement before the snap, leading Hawkeye back into the fight.
Now he could be done for good.
Should Hawkeye have stayed retired all along?
It was really impossible for Hawkeye to stay out of The Avengers limelight considering he was one of the original founders and recruited favorites like Natasha Romanoff. While he went through a period where he was brainwashed temporarily by Loki, Hawkeye managed to get back to normal and prove how much of a normal family man he was.
This did contrast from the original comic book persona who was by far more wild. Nevertheless, fans never minded seeing at least one superhero living a normal life part of the time. Separating those two worlds, though, was probably one surreal experience for Clint.
He always seemed to assimilate himself back into being with his family during each of the times he retired. That first retirement was much shorter than he planned when Captain America called him in to take part in The Avengers’ Civil War.
Having the snap occur, however, pulled him back into being a fighter without anyone recruiting him directly. Hawkeye became Ronin for five years, killing criminals in his path as a sense of catharsis after losing his family.
After the battle of Thanos, Hawkeye may not feel needed
Thanks to Hawkeye being recruited by Black Widow to join the final battle with Thanos, Clint was able to get his family back during the reverse snap. One would think with his family back and things relatively calm after the post-snap time of 2023, maybe Hawkeye will retire yet again.
Maybe he should never say never unless three times is a charm. Over on Reddit, fans think Hawkeye probably will retire, with a logical successor in place. Also, they remind that Hawkeye is still on tap to have his own Disney+ show.
It may still seem hard to believe he can sustain something like this. The series may exist as a vehicle to see Hawkeye transition and train someone to take his place. While debates still exist on whom this might be, comic book lore says it will likely be Kate Bishop, a master marksman. As one Reddit user says: “All of these characters have so much potential left, but Hawkeye is undeniably retiring as his TV show progresses. It might happen midway, or at the end of the series, but Kate Bishop will be the new Hawkeye”.
Most interesting is a compelling twist exists between Hawkeye and Kate in the comic books.
Will Hawkeye die, then be resurrected by Scarlet Witch?
Those who know their Marvel Comics will know Hawkeye dies after passing the bow and arrow over to Kate Bishop. Later, Hawkeye is revived by Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff), leading him to join Kate Bishop in working in unison under the Hawkeye name.
Having this happen in the series would be an interesting turn, including giving another lead to a woman after inheriting the role of a previously male superhero.
Well, unless the MCU version of Hawkeye prefers being back on his farm with his family. After seeing how comfortable he looked there during his past retirements, it seems more unlikely he would ever want to share his superhero title with someone else.
