A god, a super soldier, a billionaire playboy philanthropist, and a hulk. These are the longstanding titans of the MCU, and underlying pillars that make up The Avengers. Now, I know what you’re thinking, I missed a couple of key ingredients right? Yes, Black Widow is another favorite among the “original six” of The Avengers cast, and is also well on her way to having her very own solo movie next year. However, one crucial member of this super-heroic squad that I have purposefully left out is the one I believe is seemingly the least super, but proves to be the most heroic character of the entire MCU. I’m talking about the very normal, very outmatched, and yet very important Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye.

Before I go any further on this insane theory, allow me to provide some context for my madness. I’m a huge fan of video essays. Specifically, those that deeply analyze film and storytelling. Recently, in celebration of the upcoming film, Avengers: Endgame, several of the channels I follow such as Lessons from the Screenplay, Nando v Movies, and Just Write came together to create a series of videos with the purpose of analyzing one scene in the entirety of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a series entitled One Marvelous Scene. So far, they’ve all been pretty spectacular, and I highly recommend you check them out (I’ll put a link to the playlist down below). Now, I’m no filmmaker, and my understanding of video editing is slim to none. However, I think I can write pretty well, and I have been so enthralled in this incredible feat that Marvel has created in cinema history that I just had to do something in this celebration! So I thought I’d take to a blog and analyze one of my favorite scenes in the MCU. Alright, so what was I saying again? Oh right!

So, Hawkeye is the best Avenger, yes? No? I’m well aware I’m in the minority here. In the past decade of Marvel films, Hawkeye has had a total of five appearances, one being a very short cameo in Thor, a longer role in Captain America: Civil War, and of course his prominent roles in the first two Avengers films and the upcoming Endgame. Compared to his fellow teammates, this is actually a pretty small number. Iron Man leads with ten appearances, Captain America has nine, Thor has eight, Hulk has seven, and Black Widow also has seven. Even Nick Fury has more appearances than Hawkeye (eight). All this to prove that Hawkeye isn’t one of the popular guys, and his presence in these films doesn’t seem very vital. He’s clever, deadly accurate with a weapon, and pretty resourceful in the field of espionage, but at the end of the day he’s not a formidable foe against villains like Ultron or Thanos. Yet, that’s okay. I would argue that Hawkeye’s vitality doesn’t lie in his strength or power, but instead lies in the heart of his character - his leadership, his determination, and his grounded understanding of the world around him. All though his presence may not seem important, Hawkeye is very much a needed character for this universe, and I personally enjoy every scene he’s in. In the spirit of enjoying One Marvelous Scene, I believe no other scene in the MCU allows the character to shine more than the farm scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

The scene comes in about halfway through the film, where we find The Avengers beaten and tired after a major fight with Ultron, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch. Ultron escaped with the key ingredient to his plan, the Hulk laid down some heavy destruction against innocent civilians, and several of the other characters experienced traumatic visions based on the flawed nature of their characters, only Hawkeye managed to come out unaffected. Unsure of what their next move is, they head to a secret location where we learn an important aspect about Hawkeye’s character. He has a family. On the surface, this may not seem all that important, but when you think about the private lives of the other Avengers, we realize that Hawkeye is the only one who comes home to a real, loving family. Every other member either is either estranged from their family, their family is never mentioned, or their family is dead.

Family is a very important theme throughout the Marvel Universe, and becomes a central element in many story arcs. The story arc of Steve Rogers tends to revolve around his loyalty to his childhood friend, Bucky. Thor’s revolves around his constant conflicts with his adopted brother, Loki. Tony Stark’s revolves around the lives of his friends, his love, and his distant father. Their complicated idea of a family is what becomes their motivation and their journey to becoming a hero. For Hawkeye, we never really understand his motivation until the farm scene. Until then, we think of him as just a spy doing spy things and living a James Bond-esque kind of lifestyle, but in the farm scene we realize that there’s a deeper level to Hawkeye. He’s not James Bond, he’s a father doing his job to support his family, and that’s where he stands out from every other character we’ve seen in the MCU.

There’s a part where Hawkeye and his wife, Laura, are talking upstairs. (In this context, it’s really more fitting to see him as Clint instead of Hawkeye.) He’s taken off his outfit and changes into a standard shirt and jeans. Laura takes his outfit, infers about Nat and Dr. Banner’s relationship, jokingly calls him, “Hawkeye,” when he’s blind about the situation, and then throws his outfit into a laundry hamper to clean for later. Out of context, this scene doesn’t look like anything out of a blockbuster superhero film, it instead feels like a family drama. A wife and husband discussing the husband’s difficulties at his job. Clint goes on to talk about Ultron and his allies, or as he refers to them, “these kids, punks really.” He refers to them as punks the way an old man might heckle at the neighborhood kids running down the street, and that, “someone has to teach them some manners.” Laura seems worried about the danger of the situation, and that Clint has to take on this fight by himself when we has a team to back him up. They look out the window at Steve and Tony on the lawn and discuss the following:

LAURA
I see those guys, those gods...
CLINT
You don’t think they need me.
LAURA
I think they do, which is a lot scarier. They’re a mess.
CLINT
Yeah, I guess they’re my mess.

Here, Clint is doubting his importance on the team. To him, he’s just a regular guy doing his job while on the same team as the literal god of thunder. What good could he do? Then, Laura comes to reassure him. As tough and as powerful as these guys may seem, they’re no more stable than the two kids they have running downstairs. In a way, they look down at Steve and Tony like parents watching their kids play on the lawn. Laura is telling Clint that the team needs someone to keep them grounded. They’re lost, unsure of themselves, and they’re becoming more divided by the minute, “they’re a mess.” Clint comes to realize this, and his response is reminiscent of a father looking over at his dysfunctional family, “they’re my mess.”

It’s important to take note here about why the role of a father figure is so significant to the MCU. I could refer you to several videos that go in depth about how each of these characters and how the cinematic universe as a whole have a complex relationship to their fathers. Tony and his cold, negligent dad, T’Challa and his uncle-killing, secret keeping dad, Thor and his secret world-conquering, child-abducting dad, and then there’s Thanos being the ultimate, mass murdering bad dad of all bad dads in the MCU, I could go all day. So why is this scene important? Why is Clint calling the Avengers his mess such an important and so overlooked piece of dialogue?? Because it implies Clint’s larger role on the team. He’s not a god, he’s not a super soldier, he’s not a genius, and he’s not a hulk. He’s a man, just like any one of us. He’s a man doing his job, giving it everything he has so that he can come home safely to his wife and children, and be proud of the work he’s done. He’s no different than any firefighter, police officer, or emergency doctor. He’s not in this for fame or glory or some higher purpose, he’s doing this to save lives. He’s the father that Thanos wishes he could be - encouraging, merciful, understanding, and doing what’s right. The scene is so subtle, but speaks volumes to Clint/Hawkeye’s potential in keeping this team together, and in turn foreshadows to another of my favorite scenes in Age of Ultron:

CLINT gets WANDA out of the way and into a building as ULTRON’S robots attack the city.
WANDA
How could I let this happen?
WANDA starts to break down.
CLINT
Hey, hey, you okay?
WANDA
This is all our fault.
CLINT
Hey, look at me. It’s your fault, it’s everyone’s fault, who cares? Are you up for this? Are you? Look, I just need to know, cause the city is flying. Okay, look, the city is flying, we’re fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense. But I’m going back out there because it’s my job. Okay? And I can’t do my job and babysit. It doesn’t matter what you did, or what you were. If you go out there, you fight, and you fight to kill. Stay in here, you’re good, I’ll send your brother to come find you, but if you step out that door, you’re an Avenger.

I think one of the main reasons why I love the heroes of the Marvel Universe is because of how real they feel to me, both in their original comics and on the big screen. You can look at a film like Captain America: Civil War and analyze how it realistically portrays what role superheroes might play in a modern America, and you wouldn’t be off track, but that’s not the kind of realism I love about these films. I love them for how they realistically portray people in superhero roles. I can see myself fighting alongside them, laughing along with them, and mourning beside them. Even the otherworldly characters were made with such human flaws that you could look at someone like Drax or Rocket and still find yourself in them. For over ten years, I’ve gone to the theaters fully invested in these films not for the big fight scenes and high level CGI (though I can’t deny that they’re pretty epic). I go for the characters. I go for the scenes where they’re sitting around in a shirt and jeans, stripped from their iconic costumes, and talk like a normal, everyday, dysfunctional family. I go for people like Clint Barton and realize that though I may not be powerful - I can still make a difference. Now, that is one Marvelous character.

***“I’m going back out there because it’s my job.”***

I’m very excited to see where Hawkeye’s story arc will go in Avengers: Endgame, as well as the many other beloved characters of the MCU. All around these are fantastically well-developed characters, and I’m positive this film will give them the moments they deserve. If you enjoyed this little rambling, I highly recommend you check out the One Marvelous Scene playlist on YouTube. These creators are so talented, and their in-depth videos have dialed up my hype for Endgame tenfold! Here’s a quick link - One Marvelous Scene Playlist