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Even though Avengers: Endgame represented the MCU ending of all endings, it still left fans wanting more. And in particular, they want more of Hawkeye.

Obviously, they’re going to get that with the upcoming Disney+ series. But what fans want to see more of is the dark version of the character that Black Widow pulled back from the brink. That Hawkeye has a name: Ronin. 

What is Ronin?

Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Renner | Mike Smith/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

One of the most surprising aspects of Endgame was its relatively quiet opening, which showed Clint having a picnic with his family while teaching his daughter archery. She seems to be getting quite good at it, but in the worst possible version of “I looked away for a second,” Clint’s entire family has been taken by the Thanos snap, leaving Clint anguished. 

The next time we saw Clint, he looked very different. Black Widow finds him in Japan, having become a vigilante killer with a samurai sword.

This was new to casual fans, but comics readers recognized this incarnation of Hawkeye as Ronin. According to Den of Geek, the original version of Hawkeye died in a story called Avengers: Disassembled, where he was blown up in a a Kree invasion created by an insane Scarlet Witch.

Then Ronin appeared in a new storyline called New Avengers. The identity of Ronin was so mysterious that some people thought it might be a new version of Daredevil or even Elektra.

It turned out that eventually, Scarlet Witch had resurrected Hawkeye who initially had no memory of his past, but when he got those memories back, he went down a dark path Through a very complicated series of events, Hawkeye became the vengeful Ronin. 

Why do Marvel fans want Ronin?

Fans on Reddit would very much like to see Ronin explored more, and they’re hoping maybe the Disney+ Hawkeye series would give them that chance. The topic starter said, “Personally I would have much rather see a ‘RONIN’ instead of a ‘HAWKEYE’ series in Disney+. Perhaps a miniseries depicting the 5 year killing spree… and then we could explore the characters life after Endgame. I am sure we will see flashback in the Hawkeye show but still.”

Another fan responded, “So a show where Hawkeye goes on a rampage because family? Basically a Punisher show, but with sword? I’m on board, but Disney+ likely won’t ever do it.”

That fan was thinking, probably accurately, that full-on Ronin would be too much for Disney+. Five minutes in Avengers: Endgame is one thing, but a whole series built around a dark vigilante might be too much for a streaming outlet that can’t get a Lizzie McGuire revival off the ground. 

So what’s the status of the ‘Hawkeye’ series?

For a character with a relatively simple history (in the movies, anyway), the Hawkeye series ran into more stumbling blocks than one might expect. First, analysts raised their eyebrows that a series based on Hawkeye would cost north of $100 million.

Then there were reports about who was playing Kate Bishop, the young girl whom Hawkeye trains. Supposedly it was Hailee Steinfeld, but Steinfeld denied it, indicating scheduling conflicts got in the way. 

Then came reports that the series had been delayed indefinitely from its 2021 premiere, but Disney denied these reports, saying the series was still on track for a debut next year. Such reports were likely fueled by the fact there had been very few if any production stories on the series, while production had been well underway on the other Marvel shows. 

It’s possible that the next time we see Hawkeye may be in Black Widow. Previous MCU movies have suggested those two characters shared a history, and the preview for Black Widow does include a shot of Jeremy Renner. We’ll find out in a couple of months whether that’s just a flashback or not. 

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