‘Avengers: Endgame’: Did Hawkeye Lose His Family in the Snap?

Today’s trailer for Avengers: Endgame revealed that Hawkeye has become Ronin. Does that mean bad things for Clint Barton’s family?

Hawkeye was first introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a top agent of SHIELD. In Marvel’s The Avengers, he was revealed to have a close professional and personal relationship with Black Widow. The biggest surprise came in Avengers: Age of Ultron when the Avengers were introduced to Clint’s family.

Clint has been trying desperately to retire pretty much ever since the fight with Ultron but got dragged back into action during the Superhero Civil War. He cut a deal to return home to his family, but his new persona may suggest that his family is no longer there

In the comics, Clint Barton became Ronin after going through a traumatic experience. He was killed by the Scarlet Witch during the events of Avengers Disassembled and then resurrected as a side effect of the events of House of M. When he returned, he was uncomfortable going back to his previous persona and so became Ronin instead. He fought alongside Luke Cage’s Secret Avengers as Ronin until the Superhero Registration Act was revoked and Norman Osborn’s “Dark Reign” was over.

It seems likely that a traumatic experience has inspired the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Hawkeye to become Ronin. We know that Clint himself survived Thanos’ snap, but what about his family? Considering how distraught he appears in the Avengers: Endgame trailer, it seems likely that some if not all of his family disappeared as a result of the snap.

Fans were disappointed that Hawkeye wasn’t in Avengers: Infinity War. Rumor had it that Barton would be on a mission in Japan in the film and that he would take on the Ronin persona, but it turned out those develops were for the fourth Avengers movie, not the third.

Directors Joe and Anthony Russo previously assured fans that Clint’s absence was not an oversight and that they have a plan in place.

“Listen, we did not forget the twice-nominated Jeremy Renner from Infinity War,” Joe Russo said. “We have two movies that we’re working with, Avengers 3 and Avengers 4. That’s a lot of story real estate. I think last week we released 22 character posters. There’s only so many people that you can put in one film. And we have a really interesting story cooked up for Hawkeye. But I would say that patience is a virtue, and it’s a long play, not a short play.”

Do you think that Hawkeye’s family was killed by the snap? What do you think of Clint Barton’s shift from Hawkeye to Ronin in Avengers: Endgame? Let us know what you think in the comments section!

Avengers: Endgame opens in theaters on April 26, 2019.

Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5th, 2019.