Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) can finally get a proper origin story in the Disney+ series, Hawkeye. Despite having major roles in four Marvel movies, Hawkeye is the only Avenger who audiences know very little about. Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) won’t have a fully fleshed out backstory until her solo movie, but how she became a deadly assassin at least isn’t a secret. The situation with Hawkeye on the other hand, is quite different.
Marvel will get a chance to explore his roots and how he evolved into Earth’s Mightiest Marksman when he headlines his own MCU project. Hawkeye has only been a supporting hero in the movies, but Marvel’s plans for Disney’s new streaming service in Phase 4 have provided them with an opportunity to center on Clint Barton for the first time with a TV series on Disney+ in 2021. However, he will have to share at least of the spotlight with a new MCU hero: Kate Bishop. In the comics, Kate Bishop took Hawkeye’s place after his death, and continued to use the mantle even after his return. Following his resurrection, the two were given a comic book series that showed Kate becoming his protégé.
It would seem that Hawkeye will introduce a second deadly archer to the MCU when it brings in Kate Bishop, who may or may not become Clint’s successor. Concept art for the show reveals a more comic book accurate Hawkeye teaming up with Kate for some intense battles, but exactly where their travels take them is being kept under wraps. Whatever story Marvel decides to offer in Hawkeye, it's been confirmed that it will shed some light on Clint’s past. Here’s how the show can give Clint Barton a much-needed origin story, what it could be, and what it would mean for the series.
The arrival of a villain known as the Swordsman in the pages of The Avengers in 1965 led to the reveal of Hawkeye’s backstory. Long ago, he and his brother Barney were orphans who never knew their parents. When they were still children, they found themselves at a carnival in Iowa where they met the Swordsman for the first time. Considering his skills, there was a lot Clint was able to learn from him, but unfortunately, he had no interest in teaching the same things to Barney. When Clint and Barney found out that Swordsman was stealing from those who ran the carnival, Clint planned on exposing him until the villain offered to make him his assistant. Barney, who was firmly opposed to Clint’s decision to obey Swordsman, ran out on them and went on to become an FBI agent. As for Clint, he remained with the Swordsman for quite some time, learning everything he could about archery. Sometime later, he broke away from his mentor after learning just how bad he really was.
In the late 1980s, Marvel revisited Hawkeye’s origin with a retcon that answered a question that had confused Hawkeye fans for years: How did Clint Barton learn to be so good at archery by training under a sword-fighting expert? Apparently, Swordsman had delegated Clint’s archery training to his partner, Trick Shot. It was he, and not Swordsman, who was responsible for Clint’s skill with a bow.
Marvel Comics ended up making all three of the characters from his past (Barney Barton, Swordsman, and Trick Shot) central to his present-day adventures. While in the West Coast Avengers, Hawkeye was forced to battle a cancer-stricken Trick Shot, whose plan was to make his best pupil kill him. Barney supposedly died saving Clint’s life in the 1960s, but Marvel retconned this in the 2010s by making him the evil new Trick Shot. Swordsman became a recurring Avengers villain before gaining redemption and becoming a full-fledged member of the team.
Similar to his comic counterpart, Clint hails from Iowa and is the son of a woman named Edith (according to Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War). At some point in his life, he married Laura (Linda Cardenelli), started a family, and began a career at SHIELD where he earned the attention of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who entrusted him with several dangerous missions. Clint distinguished himself with his unmatched archery skills, but where he got them and what led him to become a SHIELD agent are aspects of his character that the MCU hasn’t explored yet. Since there’s so much that hasn’t been said about his past, Marvel’s Hawkeye show will have plenty of room to craft a fully realized origin story for the hero.
How Clint Barton became Hawkeye will certainly be relevant to the show, especially since it’s going to be about him teaching Kate Bishop. It would make sense for Kate to ask him how he acquired his own talent for archery, or for Clint to reflect on his own experiences while training her. Flashbacks during this time can reveal MCU adaptations of Barney, Swordsman, and Trick Shot. Trick Shot can explain his skill with a bow, whereas Swordsman can be the reason for why Clint fought with swords in Avengers: Endgame. It could be that the MCU’s Clint Barton grew up in a carnival and trained under both characters prior to putting his abilities to use at SHIELD. Barney could fit into this as well, as his inclusion could add a tragic element to his character. The show could address Clint and Barney’s strained relationship during their days as children and work toward a possible reconciliation.
Providing a detailed backstory for Hawkeye could serve a narrative purpose in the series that goes beyond deepening his character development and relating to Kate Bishop’s evolution into the next Hawkeye. It could also be integral to the main plot, just as it was in the comics whenever Hawkeye’s past was brought up. Usually, a dive into his origin coincided with him crossing paths with Barney, Swordsman, or Trick Shot in the present. The same could be true for the MCU versions of these characters. Any of the three could serve as a compelling main villain for the Disney+ series. Clint could fight one – or both – of his two mentors, or he could have no choice but to face his brother, who may be determined to get his revenge and surpass him. Clint having to revisit his transformation into Earth’s Mightiest Marksman and fighting alongside his protégé to defeat an old foe could be what Hawkeye is really about.
