‘Avengers: Endgame’: Hawkeye’s Edgy Tattoo Sleeve Explained

The new and edgy Hawkeye has been a steady of topic of conversation since the first trailer for Avengers: Endgame arrived late last year. Having not been seen since Captain America: Civil War, fans were anxious for Jeremy Renner‘s return to the role. However, with each and every bit of footage, Clint Barton’s appearance has been a little more ridiculous, beginning with a massive undercut/mohawk situation, and growing into this week’s new “special look” trailer with a new full sleeve tattoo.

In one shot in the trailer, Hawkeye is front and center, wearing a sleeveless shirt and showing off his new ink. It’s perhaps the most extra thing about Avengers: Endgame so far, and it doesn’t help anyone connect to Sad Boy Hawkeye, much less give him any additional sympathy. However, when you take a look at the tattoo, it does have some hidden meaning.

At the top of the tattoo, you’ll see that it’s an illustration of a skeleton inside some traditional samurai gear. Or in other words, a ronin.

Ronin refers to a samurai during the feudal period of Japan who was without a master or ruler. If a master of a samurai died, or the samurai fell out of said master’s favor, he became known as a ronin, and was left to his own devices. He was essentially nomadic, without a home to return to. The word ronin actually translates to “wandering man.”

For Marvel fans, this word is more familiar to you as the name of a character. Specifically, of the character Clint Barton, who takes on the name Ronin after he cuts ties with SHIELD and goes out on his own. It’s been widely known that Renner’s take on the character would be referred to as Ronin in Avengers: Endgame, as he’s all on his own following the events of Thanos’ snap. His family is most likely gone, and he adopted the Ronin mentality to roam the world and act as a vigilante of sorts.

Apparently Clint took the name to heart and, instead of just wearing a new costume, wanted the concept of this nomadic warrior written on his arm forever. If I had to guess, I’d bet there is a scene in Endgame where someone asks Clint about his tattoo, and he goes through a very depressing speech about the history of the ronin warriors in Japan and why losing his family made him one in the same. Just a hunch.

Avengers: Endgame is set to hit theaters on April 26th.

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