To date in the MCU, Hawkeye has tagged along with the Avengers to halt world-ending threats on several occasions. The Avengers faced down a god and his army in New York City in the first Avengers film. Hawkeye took out a few enemy soldiers with his bow and arrow in the final battle, good for him. Iron Man physically rerouted a nuclear warhead into space, literally on his back (in case readers were wondering who played the more pivotal role in the fight). In Avengers: Age of Ultron, the super-team went toe-to-toe against a nearly all-powerful robot hellbent on cleansing the Earth of humanity. Hawkeye destroyed a few robots with his bow and arrow while Thor and Iron Man did the heavy lifting and Vision ultimately destroyed Ultron.

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Fast forward to Avengers: Endgame where audiences learn that the Thanos snap at the end of Avengers: Infinity War ‘dusted’ Hawkeye’s entire family. With the Avengers half dead and half scattered among the world and the cosmos, Hawkeye took up the mantle of Ronin. Thus, the Avengers traded in purple for black and his bow for a sword. The man proceeded to cleanse the remaining criminal underworlds around the globe in an extremely brutal fashion. Audiences were not privy to his motive, but speculation suggests he was acting out of grief and rage at losing his family when the Avengers failed to stop Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. In the final battle against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, Hawkeye punches well above his weight and is crucial to the fight’s final outcome.

The Hawkeye series does not have to reinvent the wheel, nor the bow and arrow. But, it can reinvent the MCU’s weakest hero. A man that, to date, is in need of redemption and has a target painted on his back. First, Hawkeye should draw heavily from the Matt Fraction and David Aja comic book run which lasted from 2012-2015. While cinematic Hawkeye was fighting gods and vibranium-armored robots, comic book Hawkeye was fighting Eastern European street gangsters and protecting the tenants in his building. The series is incredibly grounded, and features Kate Bishop, Hawkeye’s disciple, almost as much as Clint Barton (the original Hawkeye).

The playful style of the show’s recently released trailer seems to draw from the Fraction and Aja Hawkeye run. There has been a lot of hype around the inclusion of Kate Bishop, so the show can easily use their relationship as comedic relief, emotive dialogue, and more. Although Hawkeye is a family man, audiences only caught a glimpse of this in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Endgame. There has not been a lot of interaction on-screen between Hawkeye and his family. In the series, it would be wise of Marvel Studios to make Kate and Clint something of a father-and-daughter team-up, in terms of how they relate to each other and come into conflict with each other.

Next, the fine folks at Marvel Studios need to redeem Hawkeye. By and large, the Avengers do not cleanse the Earth of criminals on a misplaced vengeance quest. The only thing that stops Clint Barton when he dons the Ronin costume is Black Widow’s intervention in Avengers: Endgame. But Black Widow is dead now, and if Clint Barton finds a new low, he will not have his best friend there to pick him up. Hawkeye is the rare Disney hero that has murdered people, and this aspect of his story deserves a reckoning.

Now that Hawkeye has been exposed as a murderer, the show can create tension around his family being in danger. If Hawkeye does not have to save the world, but just the ones he loves, this would ground the character and create tension similar to what audiences witnessed in WandaVision. Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy are off-world, the Scarlet Witch is mourning in isolation, and Black Widow and Iron Man are dead. The Avengers are scattered to the wind, and Hawkeye will likely have to rely on himself and Kate Bishop to keep his family safe.

Hawkeye has had to fight in battles where he is wildly outmatched and outnumbered. He would not have survived without grit, determination, and intelligence. After all, he is a human surrounded by gods, men in billion-dollar and rarified armor, and people capable of wielding powerful magic. What character on the ‘other team’ does this sound like? It sounds a lot like Batman. The caped crusader is easily the weakest member of the Justice League, and he knows it. Hawkeye is easily the weakest Avenger, and he knows it. Both rely on advanced gadgetry and martial arts to get out of difficult circumstances. The MCU would be wise to make Hawkeye its Batman in that Hawkeye is mostly bound to his city and is in his element fighting in the streets and alleyways.

There are a lot of ways Hawkeye can reinvent the most vulnerable Avenger. Time will tell if they do so successfully, but between source material, possible storylines, and a template for success they can follow from DC, Hawkeye is set up for success.

Hawkeye streams on Disney+ November 24th, 2021.

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