Disney+’s upcoming live-action show Hawkeye is set to focus on Clint Barton, and the character who will take on the Hawkeye mantle, Kate Bishop. Considering the controversy around Barton’s character, particularly after the events of Avengers: Endgame, it feels like the right decision for the MCU to be setting up a replacement for him. But they shouldn’t just sweep the mistakes made with his journey under the rug. Instead, they should confront them head-on.
Clint Barton has never been a fan-favorite character. He was the least developed member of the Avengers for a while, and along Black Widow, he remained for many years the only one of the original team to not get a solo project. With the Black Widow movie releasing this year, and the Disney+ show Hawkeye coming in November, that means every member of the original team has will have gotten backstory. For Natasha Romanoff, that didn’t mean much, as the Black Widow movie was set before Avengers: Endgame, where she was killed off. Hawkeye survived that movie and could presumably continue on the MCU for years to come, particularly if the Hawkeye series is successful. If he doesn’t, that might just fall on his Avengers: Endgame storyline, and, of course, on how the Hawkeye series chooses to tackle it.
There are two different schools of thought. One is that Barton’s Avengers: Endgame storyline, which saw him dealing with the pain of dealing his family, by going on a rampage that focused on POC, is something that should just be ignored. His storyline got a great deal of criticism after the last Avengers movie, and some people feel like the best thing Marvel could do is just pretend it didn’t happen. Others, however, feel like Marvel could take this opportunity to reflect, on-screen, about the issues raised by that storytelling decision. This feels particularly important considering the ongoing discourse about the ways action movies tend to center white protagonists even in foreign settings and focus only on POC if they can be presented as the bad guys.
For a while, it seemed like this discussion would remain academic, but when the Hawkeye serious was announced, the discussion became once again relevant. With Barton not just returning to the MCU, but taking on the role of mentor to a new generation of superheroes, are his past mistakes – which are troubling writing mistakes – something the show can and should ignore? Would someone like Kate Bishop continue to “look up to” Barton if she knew that his grief translated into a murder spree? And that, while picking the targets he ignored the KKK and other white nationalists’ threats at home and decided to focus on POC on the other side of the world?
The MCU has, very effectively, corrected some storytelling blunders via other movies, and most recently, Disney+ shows. Storylines that fans have criticized have been quickly abandoned. In most cases, however, there’s been little course-correcting done on screen. It’s still hard to pinpoint why Tony Stark and Pepper Potts broke up in between Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War, other than because plot dictated it. The reasons why they got back together in time for Spider-Man: Homecoming are also hazy. But they were indeed together, as they should have always been, by the last two Avengers movies, their issues forgotten.
The Clint Barton issue shouldn’t be dealt with the same way. The MCU has an outstanding opportunity to engage in the type of social commentary Marvel is well-known for by having Clint not just recognize the inherent racial issues with his own actions but own up to what that means. This would make the storytelling deeper and allow the show to focus on something other than the mentor/mentee dynamic between Clint Barton and Kate Bishop. Considering how many upcoming properties are set up on that dynamic, that would do a lot to differentiate Hawkeye from the rest of the MCU slate. Without this angle, the series – with or without Yelena Belova – could turn out to be nothing but ordinary.
Clint Barton isn’t the most interesting character in the MCU. Kate Bishop is an unknown. With outstanding writing, Kate could indeed carry the show. Clint could probably only manage anything resembling that if his past actions are dealt with, head-on. Without that, he’s just another guy who lost everything, couldn’t control his rage after his loss, and who, despite that, managed to get everything back because better people than him made the ultimate sacrifice.
The Hawkeye TV series could take on many different angles. It could focus on Kate growing as a hero. It could focus on Barton struggling to let go of his hero status and trust someone new. But none of those are as interesting as the possibility of a man like Clint Barton coming to terms with his own prejudices, and his own mistakes. Not a story about redemption, but a story about growth. Or, at the very least, one that shines a light on some important subjects everyone should reflect on.