Hawkeye's Ending Failed To Solve His Biggest Iron Man Problem

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Hawkeye.

The Hawkeye finale failed to solve Clint Barton's (Jeremy Renner) biggest Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) problem. Marvel Studios finally put the spotlight on the Avengers' resident marksman after years of playing a supporting character to his fellow founding MCU heroes. But, Hawkeye's ending didn't pan out the way many predicted, with Barton surviving the events of the series, hinting that there's still a future for him in the franchise.

Set after the events of the Infinity Saga, Hawkeye started with Barton spending some quality time with his three kids in New York City to watch Rogers the Musical. But what started as a short, fun vacation with his children turned into an unexpected mission as his secret stint as Ronin was threatened to be revealed. Throughout this whole ordeal, Barton, albeit reluctantly at first, took a prodigy under his wing — Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), who had idolized the archer since he inadvertently saved her life during the Battle of New York. Together, they took on the Tracksuit Mafia and eventually their big boss, Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio), and luckily, they emerged victoriously, coming home in time for Christmas.

It was the best ending scenario Barton could've hoped for as he's able to reunite with his family, and with his Ronin past now properly taken cared of. After all, ever since his wife and kids were introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron, he wanted nothing more but to retire and live quietly with them on their farm. However, that may not be exactly the case. In Hawkeye, it's revealed that he had new and improved arrows, made better with Pym and Stark Tech. The fact that he had them with him effectively hints that secretly, he may not be ready to permanently walk away from being an active Avenger or at least from the superhero life in general. It's reminiscent of Stark's own personal dilemma. He longed for a peaceful life with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and their daughter, Morgan (Lexi Rabe) and Thanos' (Josh Brolin) snap offered him the opportunity to do that. But the genius billionaire never really fully turned his back on being a hero as proven by the creation of the Rescue armor in the five years between the Decimation and the Blip.

Tony with Morgan in his arms in Avengers Endgame

While the ending of Hawkeye saw Barton reuniting with his family, giving him the opportunity to finally hang up his bow and arrow, that may not be the natural progression of his arc in the MCU. Given his relationship with Bishop, and even Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), who is set to take the baton from Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Marvel Studios could be positioning the hero as the mentor of the next generation of Avengers. Yet he may not get the fulfillment that he has when he's actually on the ground, doing missions himself. The same happened with Stark. He tried being a consultant/MCU money man for the Avengers on the heels of Iron Man 3; however, he ultimately came out of retirement to be on the frontlines again. The same thing happened in Avengers: Endgame when he suited back up for the time heist. In hindsight, Barton had a couple of chances to walk away, although he always came back, hinting that deep down, he isn't ready yet to give up his job. Even when he was supposed to be on vacation, he carried a bag of his bow and arrows just in case something came up and he had to step up and be a hero again.

With Barton surviving the events of Hawkeye, it's safe to say that Marvel Studios still has potential plans to incorporate him into their future storytelling. What's uncertain is how involved he would be in the franchise moving forward. As it is, the MCU is rebuilding itself after the Infinity Saga, with newer heroes stepping up into leadership roles. Clint Barton clearly has a replacement with Kate Bishop now an established player in the universe, but chances are that this doesn't mean that he will now just retire from being an Avenger.

More: Hawkeye Proved Tony Stark Learned Nothing From Age Of Ultron

All episodes of Hawkeye are now available on Disney+.