The MCU Nailed Hawkeye's Avengers Problem (& It's Not That He's Useless)

Warning: Spoilers for Hawkeye episodes 1 and 2 ahead.

In the new Disney+ series Hawkeye, Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) suggests that the titular Avenger has a branding problem, and she is absolutely right. Always the MCU's most overlooked and underappreciated hero, Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) finally gets a story of his own that seems to make this problem more apparent than ever. As he goes about his life in the series, it becomes painfully clear that mainstream popular culture has repeatedly left him out of the superhero narrative that he helped create as a founding member of the Avengers.

From the new hit Rogers: The Musical sidelining his role in the Battle of New York in favor of heroes who weren't even there, to walking down the street and seeing every Avenger represented in kitschy costumes but himself, Hawkeye has been left behind and overshadowed by the legacies of his more famous friends. Captain America, Iron Man, and Black Widow are still very much present in the pantheon of pop culture, forcing Clint to face the likenesses of his deceased and departed friends nearly every day, and compounding on the survivor's guilt left from his best friend Natasha's death in Avengers: Endgame. The world he helped save has certainly not been kind to him.

As he's just a regular man with extraordinary archery skills, Hawkeye is often portrayed as the least powerful member of the Avengers. His relative lack of usefulness has been joked about both within the MCU and without, most notably in an SNL skit that Renner starred in himself. Though Black Widow also didn't have any superpowers, it was never as much of an issue for her character - perhaps because she had a more exciting and effective brand as an ex-Russian spy and the only female Avenger. As the new series suggests, maybe Hawkeye's bad rep isn't really because of his lack of powers, but rather his lack of a palatable public persona.

Kate Bishop Is Right, Hawkeye's Branding Sucks

Kate says Hawkeye has a branding problem

Hawkeye is primarily known for being a talented archer. However, he is far from the only hero wielding a bow and arrow in contemporary popular culture, as shown in episode 2 when he is upstaged by a Katniss Everdeen impersonator. Kate is right when she tells him that his problem isn't being unimportant—it's bad branding. Clint has never seemed to care much for his image, and hasn't been at the forefront of the media the way Tony Stark and Steve Rogers were. It's likely that the general public knows very little about him, whereas they probably saw Natasha on TV when she testified before Congress, Tony on the covers of tabloids at the grocery store, and Captain America in their history books.

Clint has kept a deliberately low profile to protect his family, and also because he didn't start out his career as an Avenger. Before Nick Fury launched the Avengers Initiative, Clint had a history as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent—an inherently secretive job. Joining the Avengers thrust him into a spotlight that he still hasn't fully accepted. Clint hasn't made an effort to be accessible to the public, so he is only known as the glib bow and arrow guy. Like Kate says, that doesn't make for very good branding.

Why Hawkeye Is Not A Bad Avenger

Though he can't summon thunder or stop a helicopter from flying away with his bare arms, Clint is an essential part of the Avengers team. In many ways, he and Natasha were the heart of the original group, able to stay grounded, rational, and devoted to the team while the others got wrapped up in their own solo movies and heroic arcs. If it weren't for Clint's stable influence and generosity, it's unlikely that the Avengers would have made it through Age of Ultron, let alone any further.

Not only does Clint provide a safe space in his family home for the team to hide, but he's the only one who doesn't succumb to the Scarlet Witch's mental manipulations. Team morale was also deeply affected when Clint was injured. In answer to his question about whether the Avengers even need him, his wife Laura tells him the truth: "I think they do, which is a lot scarier. They're a mess" on their own.

Why Hawkeye Doesn't Boast About His Heroism

Whenever someone recognizes or thanks him for his work with the Avengers in Hawkeye, Clint seems to get very uncomfortable, especially when other people are around, such as Kate or his kids. He doesn't like the attention that comes with being a hero, and doesn't know what to do with it when he gets it. Far from boasting about his accomplishments, he seems to want no credit at all - probably because the events that the public see as triumphs were actually extremely traumatic for him. Especially after losing so many friends in Endgame, Clint is haunted daily by the ghosts of his now-defunct team.

He also tries multiple times to get out of the hero game, though it never seems to stick. Clint attempts to retire in order to be with his family after Age of Ultron, but is dragged back into the action by Steve. At the beginning of Endgame, he finds peace with his family once again, only to have it ripped away from him by Thanos. In this series, he just wants to spend time with his kids over the holidays, but can't help but get involved when he sees innocent people in danger because of his own mistakes. That is what makes him a real hero - doing good and expecting nothing in return.

What Kate Gets Wrong About Hawkeye

Kate thinks that Clint should wear his heart on his sleeve in order to inspire people. When he needs to, however, that is exactly what he has always done. He takes down his rough exterior for his family and the people he cares about, and manages to inspire on a meaningful, individual level. For example, Clint is the one who gave Wanda the support she needed to become an Avenger, and he managed to change Kate's life by saving her in the Battle of New York without even knowing it. Especially if the series is setting Kate up to become the leader of the Young Avengers like she did in the comics, this makes Clint a pivotal motivational figure for two of the most important characters in the MCU. As such, he is far from the useless, often-forgotten, not-so-super-hero that his lack of branding seems to portray - and Hawkeye finally gives him the time and space to prove it.

Next: Is Hawkeye Set After Spider-Man: No Way Home? MCU Timeline Explained

Hawkeye airs every Wednesday on Disney+