One Hawkeye Line Saved Clint And Natasha’s Whole Relationship

Warning: SPOILERS for Hawkeye episode 5.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe repeatedly tells fans that Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff were friends, but one line in Hawkeye saves their whole relationship. Hawkeye is all about Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) facing his past. After Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) uses Barton’s old Ronin outfit to fight off criminals, Hawkeye’s former foes target her. So now Clint needs to team up with the young archer to address his crimes as Ronin and take on the Tracksuit Mafia; its commander, Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox); and its secret leader, Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio). Making his journey more difficult, Natasha Romanoff’s (Scarlett Johansson) death in Avengers: Endgame still haunts Hawkeye, and he sees reminders of her almost anywhere he goes.

Hawkeye also brings Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) back into the MCU. In a Black Widow post-credits scene, Yelena gets a contract to go after Clint Barton, but the mission is more than a job for her. She believes Clint is responsible for Natasha Romanoff’s tragic death. Yelena shows up in episode 4 to kill Hawkeye, but she doesn’t complete her mission. Instead, the assassin returns in episode 5, but her second appearance is different. She even has a heart-to-heart with Kate Bishop, revealing she’s Romanoff’s sister.

Marvel tries to convince the audience that Natasha and Clint were friends throughout its shows and movies, and Hawkeye finally does it. In episode 5, Kate helps Hawkeye escape from Echo, and the pair slip away in a ride-share car. Kate tells Hawkeye about her chat with his potential assassin in the vehicle. “Do you remember the girl from last night, the one with the mask?” Kate asks, adding, “She said she’s Natasha’s sister.” Hawkeye takes a moment, and then he responds, “Yelena?” The line finally shows that Natasha told Clint about her family. And with that, the MCU redeems Hawkeye and Black Widow’s history together.

Until Clint realizes Yelena’s identity in Hawkeye, his friendship with Black Widow is enormously one-sided. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, it’s clear that Clint has told Natasha about his family. After all, when the Avengers enter his home, his kids refer to Natasha as “Auntie Nat.” However, before Hawkeye says Yelena’s name, it appears that he knows nothing about her history or her family. He fights against Yelena in episode 4 without a slight hint that he’s aware of her relationship with Natasha, and afterward, he simply refers to her as a “Black Widow assassin.” However, by recognizing Yelena’s name, the MCU saves Clint and Natasha’s friendship.

The moment makes Marvel’s latest Disney+ series more meaningful. Throughout Hawkeye, Clint Barton gets reminders of Natasha Romanoff. He sees a young girl dressed like Black Widow in the audience at Rogers: The Musical. He also makes an emotional speech about Natasha’s sacrifice in front of a plaque honoring her and the Avengers in episode 5. But before the series revealed that Natasha also confided in Barton, those moments rang hollow. So now Hawkeye has finally shown that the pair’s real superpower was the friendship they made along the way.

Hawkeye releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.

About The Author

Bill Bradley
(523 Articles Published)

Bill is an experienced reporter who’s covered entertainment and fandom since 2014. He’s done everything from unearthing the discarded Game of Thrones pilot script in a library in Texas to finding out why Steve left Blue’s Clues. He also enjoys eating Taco Bell and drinking chocolate milk.

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