The Avengers is one of the most-known franchises of all time, with four hit movies and countless other films surrounding them in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, there is one Avenger that I feel often gets left behind out of the spotlight due to the godliness of some of the other characters, like Thor (an actual god), Captain America or more. And that’s Hawkeye, otherwise known as Clint Barton.
In honor of his show recently concluding on Disney+, and with all these upcoming Marvel movies coming out, I’m going to be talking about some of Hawkeye’s best moments in the MCU, from some of his first appearances to later down in the Marvel movies.
When Hawkeye Was The Ultimate Badass Archer In The Battle For New York (The Avengers)
I mean, I think all of us collectively wondered at first what a guy with a bow and arrow was doing in The Avengers back in 2012, even if I was aware of how badass Clint Barton could be. However, I was still nervous as to how they were going to incorporate his character into this movie - and I was gladly not disappointed.
When Loki and his army were attacking New York City, I don’t think any of us could forget that iconic scene where Hawkeye is shooting several aliens down, somehow saving so many people all while being a badass with his bow and arrow. And obviously, that moment where he shoots an arrow at Loki, and it just explodes in the God of Mischief's face - classic.
When Hawkeye Gave Wanda That Pep Talk In Age Of Ultron (Avengers: Age Of Ultron)
Imma be honest - while a lot of fans started to love Wanda after the phenomenon that was WandaVision - and for good reason - I always adored her from her first appearance, and that’s mainly because of the talk Clint tried to give her during Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Wanda, who is feeling guilt over everything that is happening in Sokovia, is spoken to by Clint, who assures her that it doesn’t matter whose fault it is - if she steps out that door to fight with them, she’s an Avenger, regardless of her past. And obviously, who can forget when he says, “the city is flying, we’re fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow - none of this makes sense.” Classic.
When Hawkeye Faces Off Against Vision, Of All People (Captain America: Civil War)
When Wanda accidentally took several innocent lives in a battle in Lagos, she was confined to the Avengers compound by Tony Stark due to the Sokovian Accords. But when the civil war starts up between Steve Rogers and Stark, and Rogers recruits Clint to rescue Wanda for their cause, he goes and does exactly that.
He arrives in the compound, rescuing her but not before running into Vision first, who was staying there to keep an eye on her. However, Clint had a feeling Vision would try and stop them so he used his electric shock trick arrows, which effectively went off and paralyzed Vision - if so only for a little time. It’s cool to see Clint think ahead like that, knowing just how powerful Vision is. Even if it kinda went to crap a moment later. It’s still one of the best Marvel movies regardless.
And His Epic Clash Against Black Panther (Captain America: Civil War)
Again in Captain America: Civil War, Clint was on Steve Rogers' side of the civil war and fought against Black Panther, who was on Tony’s side after his father was killed. In this fight, Clint decides to introduce himself during the battle because they’d never met - T’Challa simply responds with “I don’t care.”
That scene always cracks me up. It’s so comically timed but mixed in with both of their skilled fighting skills makes it even better. I wish that they would have gotten more interactions or at least another fight scene.
When Hawkeye Became Ronin After The Blip (Avengers: Endgame)
Hands down, one of Hawkeye’s most badass moments in all of the MCU was becoming Ronin, a vigilante who can freaking slay people with his katanas. While we only really see this version of him during this moment in Avengers: Endgame, it’s one that stands out, as he takes out a whole entire clan of Yakuza without really blinking an eye.
It really goes to show how strong he truly is without even showing it. I always thought he was just good with bows and arrows but I never knew how well he did with other weapons - it just makes me want to read comics about this version of his character even more.
When He Reluctantly Lets Nat Sacrifice Herself On Vormir (Avengers: Endgame)
One of the ongoing stories that always interested me from Clint Barton was his relationship with Natasha Romanoff - otherwise known as Black Widow. From their close friendship shown in the first Avengers to the stories that were shared throughout the years, it felt like everything was leading up to this, when the two of them were on Vormir and had to give up someone they loved for the Soul Stone.
Nat and Clint fight each other for who is going to jump, but Nat keeps telling him as she’s hanging that it’s okay to let her go. And eventually, he reluctantly does, watching his best friend fall to her death for the greater good. Not only was it a sad moment but one that showed just how much Nat cared about Clint, and how much she meant to him. I’ll always love their friendship - even until the end.
When Hawkeye LARPS In Order To Get His Ronin Suit Back (Hawkeye)
Hawkeye, the Disney+ original series, had some hilarious moments featuring the archer, but when he LARPS in the park, that’s one of my favorites. He’s trying to get back his suit that was sold somewhere, and in order to do so, he has to sign up for LARP in order to get to the man that has it.
Watch as he fake slices and dices through all these cosplayers, just so he can get to the one person. I can still hear his slowed down, “my goodness!” in my head to this day. Freaking hilarious.
When Hawkeye Finally Admits That Kate Is His Partner (Hawkeye)
The whole entire point of Hawkeye was really to see the origin story of Kate Bishop (played by Hailee Steinfeld), and to see Hawkeye sort of pass on the mantle of being an amazing crime fighter/archer to her. For most of the season, we see Kate and Clint team up in various fights, but because she’s so young and Clint doesn’t want to get her involved in drama, he keeps saying she’s not his partner.
But when Kingpin, of all people, shows up and it's revealed there’s a lot more to her mother, Eleanor Bishop, than Kate ever imagined, Clint reassures Kate that he is her partner, and that her mess is his mess. It’s so gratifying to see him admit this after all the drama they had gone through, and seeing the relief in her eyes at him saying that is beautiful.
And When Clint And Kate Fight Kingpin’s Men Together In The Finale (Hawkeye)
I mean, some of those final scenes of the Hawkeye finale were everything, am I right? When all of Kingpin’s men are hammering down into Rockefeller Center, this is the moment we’ve been waiting for - these two really working together, and boy does it pay off. Every arrow that they have imaginable, from shock arrows to goop arrows to flying arrows, all are fired, all through Clint and Kate, taking out one guy after another.
And that one moment of the camera panning over the two of them, showing how badass they look fighting and shooting arrows - ugh, I can’t get over it. It’s like that famous Avengers shot but even more well-done, and that’s all thanks to the badassery of Clint - and Kate, of course.
While we don’t know for sure if Clint Barton is going to return in the MCU or not, we can at least look back on his best moments and enjoy them nonetheless. And now, I have a new favorite Christmas series to watch. Or watch all the Marvel movies in order again.
