Clint Barton Hawkeye: Who He Is and Who Plays Him

Clint Barton is the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent known as Hawkeye, and Jeremy Renner plays him in four Marvel Cinematic Universe films. He is billed as Clint Barton / Hawkeye in The Avengers (2012), directed by Joss Whedon, and again in Avengers: Age of Ultron, also directed by Whedon. Billing continues in Captain America: Civil War, directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, and in Avengers: Endgame, from the same directing pair.

Is Hawkeye DC or Marvel? He is Marvel, and all four of these films are Marvel Studios releases in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The credits use the name Clint Barton / Hawkeye throughout.

What is Hawkeye's power? In these films he is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and Avenger, and the plots give him no superhuman ability. The one unusual thing that happens to him is in The Avengers (2012), when Loki uses his scepter to take control of his mind. When did Clint Barton become deaf? None of the four films in which he is billed shows him losing his hearing, so the films give no date for it.

Renner is billed sixth in The Avengers, sixth in Age of Ultron, seventh in Civil War and sixth in Endgame. That places him inside a large ensemble rather than at the head of the poster. In chronological order the four films fall at 7, 13, 15 and 22, while release order runs 6, 11, 13 and 21 in the main saga. For the full viewing plan, see marvel movies in order, which lays out both. His closest friend in these films is Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, covered on the natasha romanoff page, and the team leader he follows is Steve Rogers / Captain America, who has his own profile as well.

Clint Barton's most important relationship in the films is with Natasha Romanoff, and his second is with the team that Steve Rogers leads. Romanoff is the person who frees him from Loki in The Avengers (2012), and she is the person who dies so that he can claim the Soul Stone in Avengers: Endgame. The Black Widow (2021) post credit scene shows how far that loss travels. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, tells Yelena that Clint Barton is to blame for Natasha's death and points her toward him as a target.

Loki is the enemy who defines Barton's first appearance. Loki takes control of him with the scepter and makes him an instrument of the invasion. Romanoff frees him, and Age of Ultron later ends with him retiring to his family.

Steve Rogers is the leader Barton follows in Civil War, when Rogers refuses to sign the oversight plan. Tony Stark leads the other side, which means Barton and Stark end up opposed despite years of fighting together. You can read more about both men on our pages for steve rogers and tony stark. In Age of Ultron, Pietro Maximoff protects Barton at the cost of his own life, and Wanda Maximoff stands with Barton on Rogers' side in Civil War. Scott Lang also joins that group, so the Civil War roster gives Barton a set of allies he did not have in 2012. Barton's farm and family are the anchor of the retirement ending in Age of Ultron.

In my opinion, Clint Barton's best moments come from the films that give him a human scale, and they are worth watching in this order. First is the Helicarrier sequence in The Avengers (2012), where Romanoff frees him from Loki's control. It shows two agents who trust each other more than they trust the plan, and it makes the later partnership land.

Second is the farm in Avengers: Age of Ultron. It is a rare pause in a loud film, and it gives the ensemble somewhere to breathe before Sokovia. It also makes his retirement ending feel earned rather than convenient.

Third is the Soul Stone sequence in Avengers: Endgame. It could be argued that this is the most painful use of Barton in the saga, since the story asks him to accept a trade that nobody should have to make. Perhaps the best comparison is Civil War, which treats him earlier as a loyal friend who breaks his retirement for Rogers. If you are new to the character, start with The Avengers (2012), then jump to Endgame, and read our marvel characters index afterward for the rest of the team.