Hawkeye no more! In the first trailer for Avengers: Endgame, expert archer Clint Barton is no longer the superhero “Hawkeye,” but a rogue stealth ninja called “Ronin.” But what’s with this whole Ronin thing anyhow?
On Friday, Marvel/Disney released the trailer for Avengers: Endgame, the direct sequel to Avengers: Infinity War that hits theaters on April 26, 2019. Among the many revelations the trailer confirmed (including the death of Shuri), it also revealed the return of Clint Barton, reprised by Jeremy Renner.
But Hawkeye looks differrent. With a new black costume and a dope katana instead of a compound bow, Hawkeye ain’t Hawkeye anymore. He’s Ronin.
In the comics, Ronin is an alternate identity adopted by Hawkeye for a lengthy period (four years, between New Avengers #26 through issue #64) after the 2006 Marvel crossover Civil War. The identity was originally wielded by Echo, a Native American superhero.
When Clint re-adopted Hawkeye in 2010, others took up the Ronin identity, including the Russian superhero Red Guardian, and Blade. Yes, Blade. No, Blade is not in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not yet, at least.
Although Hawkeye still used his bow as Ronin in the comics, it appears in the movies he’s exclusively using a katana. In the trailer, Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) reunites with Clint in Japan, who is seen standing over some defeated yakuza. Kind of unbelievable there would still be organized crime after literally half the world’s population just went vamoosh.
Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) as Hawkeye/Ronin in 'Avengers: Endgame.'
Ronin, in 'New Avengers' #27 by Brian Michael Bendis. Illustrated by Lenil Francis Yu.
Anyway, it’s good to have Hawkeye/Ronin back. The Avengers will really need all the help they can get in order to finally defeat Thanos for good.
Avengers: Endgame will be released in theaters on April 26.
Related video: Rewatch the trailer for 2012’s ‘The Avengers,’ back when things were light and fun and not apocalyptic.
