Warning: SPOILERS for Black Panther: Wakanda ForeverContessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) was revealed as the director of the CIA in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and this adds a curious new facet to why Val targeted Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) for assassination in Hawkeye. Director de Fontaine is also the ex-wife of Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), and she had him arrested for aiding the Wakandans. Obviously, Val is up to no good, and is developing her own Avengers-like team, the Thunderbolts, but how does Hawkeye fit into all of this?
It's very likely that Valentina sees Hawkeye as a threat to her overall plans. So much so that de Fontaine coerced Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) to kill Clint Barton, playing into her grief and blaming Barton for the death of Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). However, Val was already the CIA director when she hired Yelena, and it's interesting that she sent a former Black Widow Russian assassin after Barton instead of using CIA and US government assets. This indicates de Fontaine wanted plausible deniability, and it removed direct blame towards her and the agency if Yelena killed Hawkeye. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set after Hawkeye, so Val already knows Yelena didn't kill Barton, but Hawkeye's survival doesn't seem to be a wrench in her plans.
The Contessa Must Have Had A Reason To Target Hawkeye
Hawkeye must be dangerous to Valentina de Fontaine for two reasons: he's an Avenger, and he's a former member of S.H.I.E.L.D. Half of the original six Avengers are dead or gone, but Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) are still active along with Hawkeye. However, Hulk and Thor operate on a different playing field, and they aren't a trained government agent who spent years murdering organized crime members during the five years after Thanos' (Josh Brolin) snap, like Hawkeye is.
If Valentina is putting the Thunderbolts together covertly or illicitly, Clint Barton is the only remaining ex-Avenger who could potentially notice and intervene. And Hawkeye is far more dangerous than he appears to be, which Val respectfully acknowledges by taking steps to eliminate him. Targeting Clint Barton for death is also an admission that Director de Fontaine doesn't believe Hawkeye would ever work with her, much less join the Thunderbolts.
Could Hawkeye Be Connected To The Thunderbolts?
Factoring in the Marvel Comics source material gets interesting because Hawkeye was part of an iteration of the Thunderbolts and even led the team. But Clint Barton (and Jeremy Renner) aren't part of the Thunderbolts roster, although, given Marvel Studios' shared universe track record, it's possible Hawkeye could appear in the film but it's top secret at this stage. Meanwhile, the power level of the Thunderbolts' team is far more grounded than the Avengers' and would suit Hawkeye better if he joined or fought them alongside his protege, Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld).
Director de Fontaine's focus in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was the United States securing its own supply of Vibranium, and that could factor into Val's Thunderbolts plan as well. For example, Val could want the Thunderbolts to have Vibranium weapons, such as Vibranium shields for US Agent (Wyatt Russell) and Red Guardian (David Harbour). It's also possible that after Yelena failed to kill Clint Barton in Hawkeye, Valentina simply decided to move on with her plans and forget about Barton. Yet it's interesting that the director of the CIA ordered a hit on Clint Barton and, as of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Hawkeye may not know that she did or why.
