As faithful as some comic adaptations are, one thing that is generally given a little leeway by fans are changes in the costumes. Hugh Jackman would have looked ridiculous in yellow and blue spandex. Batman has a gray suit and a blue cape in the comics, but has always worn black in the films (save for Adam West). Even Iron Man's color scheme got rid of the vibrant yellow in favor of a more subtle gold. It's for that reason that people shouldn't be too upset when Jeremy Renner walks on screen as Hawkeye in The Avengers and isn't wearing this.
Speaking with MTV, promoting The Town, Renner talked about the costume design, which, apparently he has gotten a look at. According to the actor, much like the other elements in the film, the costume is "going to be a little more reality-based." Comparing it to Scarlet Johansson's Black Widow outfit, the actor says that "it's going to be more of a uniform . . . and not a big purple, comics sort of thing." This could mean that we will end up seeing something closer to Hawkeye's outfit in the Marvel Ultimate universe, which the studios have been liberally mixing in.
In addition to the costume, Renner was also asked about the characters relationship with Johansson's character, and while he didn't indicate anything about a romantic connection, he did say that they will be teammates, but "what that relationship is, is still to be discovered."
Some fans may be upset about this news, but, if they are, their expectations were too high to begin with. Hawkeye's original costume is garish to say the least and there's no way it could translate in a film. Perhaps if you complain enough, though, he'll make some clever comment about his affinity for the color.
