Marvel Finally Admits Civil War’s Villain Was Right About The Avengers

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Hawkeye episode 4.

More than 5 years after the release of Captain America: Civil War, Marvel have finally confirmed that the movies de facto villain, General Thaddeus Ross always had a point about the Avengers. That confirmation comes courtesy of episode 4 of Disney+ series Hawkeye, which saw Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton reclaiming his history as “the worst Avenger” to reveal a far dark origin story that fits with the show’s exploration of the sins of his past.

Ever since The Avengers released in 2012, the MCU has had a rich line in superhero accountability that culminated in the Russos’ Civil War event, but was not ended by it. Despite the apparent resolution of Civil War‘s central conflict between Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark and Chris Evans’ Captain America, the Sokovia Accords and General Ross’ agenda to stop vigilante justice has continued well into Phase 4. Even Spider-Man: No Way Home will focus on what amounts to Ross’ nightmare: a superhero who took the law into their own hands and committed murder very publicly. And of course, Clint Barton’s time as Ronin in Avengers: Endgame follows the same trend.

Intriguingly, Hawkeye didn’t offer overt comment on superhero accountability in terms of the Ronin storyline, despite Hawkeye’s alter-ego actually committing the same crimes Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is accused of by Mysterio and J Jonah Jameson. Instead, in conversation with Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop, Clint Barton admitted that he had always been a weapon, and the only reason his crimes were acceptable was because he was pointed “at the right targets“. Essentially, Barton revealed in that one line exactly why Ross was always right about the value of making sure all superheroes were registered and accountable for their actions. Hawkeye fundamentally admitted that without the control of a leader or organization above him pointing out the right targets, he always had the potential to be Ronin.

William Hurt’s General Ross is generally seen as the villain of Civil War and the entire Sokovia Accords MCU storyline, but his agenda was never without merit. That’s precisely why Tony Stark and the rest of Team Iron Man sided with him – even if it was partly under duress. For all of his own failings, Stark recognized that superhero registration or regulation was for the greater good, and the subsequent Ronin and Spider-Man stories at the end of Phase 3 proved exactly why that was necessary. Unleashing self-identified weapons on the world, even in the name of protecting Earth, but giving them free rein to interpret the law and dole out their own justice was never going to sit right with the public. That much was clear even in the immediate aftermath of The Avengers‘ Battle of New York.

And Hawkeye’s discussion on his own past as a “weapon” is particularly interesting in this conversation, because he was incredibly well-trained and disciplined, with vast experience, and he still broke after Thanos’ snap in Avengers: Infinity War when he lost his family. When that happened, his rage and pain manifested as bloody vigilanteism, and while he was taking down “the right targets”, his actions still have tragic consequences, not only for himself and his family, but potentially for the entire criminal ecosystem of New York. Particularly if it leads to the more obvious rise of Vincent D’Onofrio’s returning Kingpin. So he may have been derided – and Tony Stark likewise – but General Ross’ Civil War stance was absolutely proved right by Hawkeye, and Clint admitted the painful truth himself.

New episodes of Hawkeye air every Wednesday on Disney+

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Simon Gallagher
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Simon is a veteran editor who has been writing online since 2010 – long before anyone wanted to read his work. He loves Clueless. Like, a lot.

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