Marvel Comics has shown that Kate Bishop doesn't necessarily need Hawkeye. Marvel's upcoming Disney+ series about Clint Barton, currently titled Hawkeye, will see the two archers team up, but the controversy surrounding Jeremy Renner has called his future at Marvel into question. Court documents from a custody battle over his six-year-old daughter have emerged, which accuse Renner of threatening to kill his ex-wife and himself. Though Renner has denied the claims made against him, some Marvel fans are demanding that Renner be recast in Hawkeye.

After helping the Avengers save the world from Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, Jeremy Renner is set to return as Earth's Mightiest Marksman for Marvel's Hawkeye. The Disney+ series, which will presumably premiere sometime in 2022, will feature both Clint Barton and the female version of Hawkeye from the comic books, Kate Bishop. It's expected that he will train her to be his successor, although Barton's backstory will also be explored.

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What Marvel and Disney will do about Jeremy Renner remains to be seen, but several options are available. They could keep the actor, recast Hawkeye, reduce his role, or write him out completely. So while it may not be necessary for Marvel to take any action at all regarding Renner, it is possible that either in the Hawkeye series or at some other point down the line, fans will see Kate Bishop operating as the only Hawkeye, without Clint Barton taking up any of the spotlight. This outcome could happen eventually, regardless of the controversy. The comic books have shown that this is a path the MCU could take in the future, with Bishop more than capable of holding her own and proving a popular figure among fans.

Kate Bishop fires an arrow in Marvel Comics.

In recent years, Marvel has paired Clint Barton with Kate Bishop for two comic book titles, the critically acclaimed Hawkeye series from Matt Fraction and David Aja in 2012, and 2015's short-lived All-New Hawkeye. A third title, 2016's Hawkeye, focused on Kate Bishop's adventures in Los Angeles. The comic ran for 16 issues. For the most part, Kate was able to hold the title without standing in Clint Barton's shadow. Clint didn't come onto the scene until the comic's final issues.

The series dealt primarily with Bishop working as a private eye in Los Angeles. Bishop ran her own business while solving mysteries and fighting crime. While in L.A., she developed her own cast of allies and enemies that had no connection to Barton, and Bishop proved to be a great Marvel Comics character in her own right. The MCU could quite easily go in a similar direction for Kate Bishop -- if it were ever necessary.

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