The Marvel movie universe (MCU) is full of heroes of all shapes and sizes. Be it a gamma-rayed monster or a god, heroes have come to save the world from the forces of evil. But this article focuses on the man who does it all with a bow and arrow. We focus on Hawkeye, played by Jeremy Renner. The agent of SHIELD (or Shield) who specializes in ranged attacks and taking out high priority targets. We'll take a look at the best moments from Clint Barton's MCU run, from his debut in Phase One to his apparent retirement at the end of his limited series.
10 Knocking Down Thor - Thor (2011)
Make his debut in Thor (2011), Hawkeye was stationed at a Shield location overlooking Mjilonir, Thor's hammer that had fallen from the sky and was found to be motionless. Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth), now deemed unworthy, breaks into the facility and battles the cops standing in his way as he attempts to reclaim his hammer.
Hawkeye stands poised from an elevated position, and viewers get a tease of the archer's humor, with Clint claiming that unless he is ordered to take down Thor, he can switch sides and begin to empathize with the scrapper . Anyway, when Thor proves still unworthy, Hawkeye follows his orders and takes down Odinson, barely moving a finger.
9 Pietro - Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
This post may be a cheat as we are not looking at a moment but rather a running gag of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). Throughout this film, Clint has a rivalry with the speedster Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Beginning with the Avengers attacking Hydra, Quicksilver gets the trip on Clint and says, "You didn't see that coming?"
Clint would retaliate against the speedster, repeating the sarcastic quote. Towards the film's finale, Clint tries to save a young boy from one of Ultron's (James Spader) machines. Seizing the chance to kill the archer, Ultron sends a high-powered shotgun after Hawkeye, then a car appears and saves Hawkeye and the child from harm. It would be revealed that Pietro had moved the car to save his rival turned teammate at the cost of his own life. Claiming again that Clint "didn't see that coming," this would be the last time we saw this version of Quicksilver, with Clint honoring the young Avenger's sacrifice by naming his newborn son after him.
8 "The shot I didn't take." - Hawkeye (2021)
Throughout the franchise, Clint and Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) reference their time together as agents. While Clint has often been shown to be a loyal soldier to Shield and an expert marksman, he gives a surprising answer when Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) asks him for his best shot. Clint stated it was the shot he didn't take, explaining that he was initially sent to kill Natasha, but admitted he couldn't go through with it. Instead, he took Natasha back to Shield, where Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) recruited Natasha under the Black Widow alias into Shield. This would lead to the two teaming up on numerous missions, including Budapest.
7 Family Bonding - Avengers: Endgame (2019)
After the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), Clint refuses to run away with the rest of the Insurgents, opting instead for house arrest so he can live in a quiet retirement with his family. In the opening moments of Avengers: endgame (2019), we are treated to a peaceful scene in which Clint bonds with his children and teaches his oldest daughter to shoot bows and arrows.
When the young girl is able to achieve the goal, he affectionately calls her Hawkeye, a tease that he might be open to passing his legacy on to the next generation. After his wife calls them for dinner, Clint retrieves the arrow, only to turn around and realize that his entire family was killed by Thanos' (Josh Brolin) snap. The glimpse of the life Clint could live after leaving superheroes behind before being snatched up so quickly set the tone for the film that would become the capstone for many of the heroes in the MCU.
6 Ronin - Avengers: Endgame (2019)
After he loses his family, viewers are jumped five years into the future. With the Avengers looking to regroup and potentially save everyone they've lost, Natasha is sent to find Hawkeye. Nat would follow a trail of dead gang members and head to Tokyo, where she would witness this masked figure slaughtering members of the Yakuza. Knowing that this Ronin (or masterless samurai) was Clint, Nat would talk to him, knowing that he found purpose in taking down criminals. Believing it's unfair that his family died while these criminals were allowed to live, Clint tries to take the law into his own hands, but Nat gives him a new target with the promise that if their plan works, Clint can get his family back to get.
5 Revealing His Secret - Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
During his time with the Avengers, Clint is careful not to discuss his personal life with the team. Though after Ultron, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olson) effectively turn the team's public opinion against them, they are forced to find an off-grid location to hide from the monster that can follow them anywhere.
Clint would take the team back to an unofficial location, where they discover a ranch-like homestead with lots of space and no technology for Ultron to hack. They would also discover that Clint is married with two children and a third is on the way. Natasha was the only person other than Nick Fury who knew this secret, and the kids called her Aunt Nat. It would later be revealed that Laura Barton (Linda Cardellini) is a retired Shield agent known as Mockingbird, explaining how she and Clint initially connected.
4 Shooting Loki - The Avengers (2012)
While Clint may say his best shot was the one he didn't take, many fans would point to the shot he took against Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in The Avengers(2012). This shot would be considered personal, as Clint had spent the first half of the film under the control of Loki's mind. Nestled among the New York City skyline, Hawkeye would aim for the trickster god, timing his shot perfectly as the arrow sailed through the air, narrowly missing the many people and objects that would have blocked its path. Loki would catch the arrow in his hand. It was revealed that he had planned to have Loki capture the arrow, using a trick arrow that would explode in Loki's face, causing him to be dealt with by the other Avengers.
3 Inspirational Wanda - Captain America: Civil War (2016)
During the Avengers' great battle with Ultron in the nation of Sokovia, Wanda and Pietro realized that Ultron was planning to scorch the Earth and then turned on him. Wanda had a panic attack and blamed herself for the wanton destruction. Clint began to give her an inspirational speech. Clint tells her it doesn't matter whose fault it was, and Clint says he may only have a bow and arrow, but he'll go out and fight. He assures Wanda that if she wants to stay behind, he'll find her brother and send him for her, but if she stepped out the door and fought alongside them, she'd be an Avenger. Wanda would then become determined and use her powers to fight alongside the Avengers before officially joining the team.
2 The Vormir Decision - Avengers: Endgame (2019)
One of Clint's toughest decisions would come when he and Natasha were sent to Vormir to collect the Soul Stone. Upon discovering that one cannot retrieve the stone without a major sacrifice, Clint tells Natasha that he is willing to do anything to get his family back, even if it means he wouldn't be alive to see them.
Natasha would then start fighting Clint, wanting to sacrifice herself so he could see his family at the end of the war. The two would use their weapons against each other, not wanting the other to die. Clint managed to jump, but Nat used her grab point to connect Clint to the cliff. Clint would try to hold onto Nat because he doesn't want to outlive another person he loves. Natasha would force him to let go, leading to one of the most emotional moments in the franchise.
1 Fighting Alongside Kate Bishop - Hawkeye (2021)
By the Hawkeye limited series, Clint is once again forced to retire when he discovers that a young woman (Kate Bishop) has donned his Ronin costume and is being hunted by the tracksuit mafia. Initially telling Kate to go home and let him deal with the consequences, Clint would soon bond with the young archer and learn that he had inspired her at a young age when she witnessed him in the battle against the Chitauri.
Clint would finally stand next to Kate, as the two team up to take down members of the mob on an ice rink, in one of the most feel-good fight scenes in the series. The duo would team up to defeat their enemies using a variety of trick darts, including one infused with Pym Particles. Clint would even hand Kate an arrow in what could be considered passing the torch moment.
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