Iron Man is iconic, Captain America is acclaimed, Thor thrills us all… But the most routinely overlooked founding member of the Avengers is, of course, Hawkeye. And yet that’s an egregious oversight on the part of the MCU fandom as Jeremy Renner‘s Clint Barton has provided the franchise with so many memorable moments ever since he first suited up as the master archer 12 whole years ago.
Although it’s unclear if there’s a place for Renner as the Marvel universe heads into Phase Five and rolls ever nearer to Avengers: Secret Wars, let’s do our best to summon him back into the franchise by remembering Hawkeye’s best-ever moments, plucked from his many movie and TV show appearances, to date. Starting, appropriately enough, with his very first time on our screens…
8. “I’m starting to root for this guy.” (Thor)
The MCU’s definitely gotten better at threading characters into other projects over time, so Hawkeye’s big introduction into the franchise is actually surprisingly low-key. Or maybe that should be “Loki” as Clint first showed up in Thor. Barton is part of the S.H.I.E.L.D. team guarding Mjölnir in New Mexico, but he stills shows an immediate appreciation for his future Avengers teammate in action.
7. Fighting Vision (Captain America: Civil War)
What with all the heroes vying for screentime in Captain America: Civil War, Renner didn’t have a whole lot to do in the threequel but he still had a couple of great moments. Following Avengers: Age of Ultron, he shared another touching moment with Wanda Maximoff and, in one of his most impressive bits of physical prowess, he even managed to subdue the Vision in combat. No easy feat.
6. Partners on Ice (Hawkeye)
Marvel fans are in agreement that the Hawkeye referred to in the title of the Disney Plus series is probably Kate Bishop, as Hailee Steinfeld’s archery prodigy pretty much stole the show. That said, Renner makes for the perfect jaded mentor to the perky teen, and they have a couple of epic action scenes together. It’s tempting to pick episode 3’s car chase but the finale’s ice rink battle just beats it.
5. Hawkeye vs. the Chitauri (The Avengers)
Hawkeye was infamously sidelined throughout much of The Avengers due to him acting as Loki’s brainwashed stooge for a large chunk of its runtime. However, he’s allowed to show off what he can do in the grand finale battle against the Chitauri, when he more than helps the team’s heavier hitters protect New York from the invading aliens by proving why he’s the world’s greatest archer.
4. Enter Ronin (Avengers: Endgame)
Not that Clint’s a one-trick pony, though, as we eventually learned in Avengers: Endgame that he’s a dab hand with a blade, too. Barton’s turn to the dark side after the loss of his family post-Blip is a controversial development among the fandom, but you can’t deny that it’s thrilling to see him unleash his full potential when mowing his way through the Yakuza in the Infinity Saga’s concluding chapter.
3. Losing Natasha (Avengers: Endgame)
Scarlett Johansson is terrific in her last scenes as Black Widow, when Natasha Romanoff decides to sacrifice herself on Vormir in order to allow Clint the chance to reunite with his family, but it’s Renner’s reactions as the heartbroken Hawkeye, who has to face the loss of his best friend that really sell the emotion of the scene. Also, shout-out to yet another great Clint/Wanda scene at Tony Stark’s funeral.
2. The opening scene (Avengers: Endgame)
Yeah, suffice it to say, Endgame was rough on Clint Barton. On top of becoming a murderer and losing Black Widow, Hawkeye kicked off the film with a truly harrowing and haunting scene as we flashed back to the moment of the Snap when Clint’s wife and children were dusted during an idyllic day at the Barton family farm. Tony’s death later on might grab attention as Endgame‘s most devastating moment but let’s not forget the pain of seeing one of the OG Avengers suffer such a dark experience.
1. “You’re an Avenger.” (Avengers: Age of Ultron)
It might seem strange that a small moment of character interaction would rank higher than many of Hawkeye’s epic action sequences, but Clint’s pep talk to Wanda in Age of Ultron more than deserves its place thanks to acting as an encapsulation of all that’s great about the character. From his joke at how he’s able to battle aliens and robots with a bow and arrow to encouraging Wanda to think like an Avenger, it’s clear in this moment that Clint is the secret heart of the team.
