WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Hawkeye episodes 1 & 2.

Ronin’s story in Avengers: Endgame teased how Clint Barton could be connected to Hawkeye‘s secret villain. Through the first two episodes of the Disney+ show, Clint’s attempt to be a retired superhero has already changed. This happened as a result of seeing someone in the Ronin suit on TV, which led Jeremy Renner’s archer character to meet Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld). She acquired the suit after it was stolen, but Clint had to get it back from a LARPing firefighter in an attempt to put this part of his past behind him.

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe made Ronin part of Clint’s story during Avengers: Endgame. He began wearing the ninja suit and using a sword after his wife and kids were dusted by Thanos’ snap. Clint spent most of the next five years killing criminals around the world, as he thought it was unfair they got to live while good people, like his family, no longer existed. Avengers: Endgame only offered a tease of Ronin’s adventures, and Hawkeye already expanded the story by confirming he devastated New York’s top criminal organizations. While this could help the Disney+ show set up a few different villains, Clint’s time as Ronin also secretly hints at a connection to another presumed Hawkeye villain.

Prior to Avengers: Endgame, Clint Barton became known as Hawkeye because of his preferred weapon being a bow and arrow. Although he was also skilled with other types of weapons, Clint almost always fought with a bow and some trick arrows. The switch to a sword for his time as Ronin could be a way for Marvel to link him to Hawkeye‘s secret villain Jack Duquesne aka Swordsman (Tony Dalton). Much of Jack’s story has yet to be explored in the show, but Marvel Studios has made a point of making it clear that he is a skilled, if obsessive, swordsman. Since Hawkeye and Swordsman are connected in the comics, Ronin’s Avengers: Endgame story might retroactively be used to bring them together for Clint’s new story.

In the comics, Jack Duquesne is better known as the villain and occasional hero, Swordsman. While Swordsman’s comic history originally saw him as a criminal and eventual Avenger, he later became connected to Hawkeye’s origin. The comics revealed that Swordsman helped train a young Clint Barton to use a bow and arrow, but he also taught him a bit about handling bladed weapons. It doesn’t appear that Hawkeye will directly adapt Swordsman’s relationship as a mentor to Clint, but the MCU can adjust portions of their past to still make them linked in another way. This could include Jack and Clint being trained together as kids — setting him up to be Hawkeye‘s secret villain.

Even though Ronin’s story in Avengers: Endgame was made without knowing that it would continue on Disney+, Hawkeye’s use of a sword has long been viewed by fans as a nod to his Swordsman connections in the comics. Now that Jack is involved in Hawkeye‘s story and appears to be one of the show’s villains, the MCU has a chance to confirm that they are linked. Depending on how important Jack was to Clint’s Ronin transformation, there is even the chance that Jack’s desire to acquire the Ronin sword will take on a new meaning.

Hawkeye airs every Wednesday on Disney+.

Key Release Dates
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  • Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)Release date: Dec 17, 2021
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
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About The Author


Cooper Hood
(5637 Articles Published)

Cooper Hood is a news and feature writer for Screen Rant. He joined Screen Rant in late 2016 following a year-long stint with MCU Exchange, which came after first developing an MCU blog of his own. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media & Public Communication, with a minor in Media Production. Cooper’s love for movies began by watching Toy Story and Lion King on repeat as a child, but it wasn’t until The Avengers that he took an invested interest in movies and the filmmaking process, leading him to discover the world of film journalism. Every year Cooper looks forward to seeing the latest blockbusters from the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, but also loves the rush to catch up on Oscar films near the end of the year. When he isn’t writing about or watching new releases, Cooper is a fantasy football obsessive and looking to expand his Blu-Ray collection – because physical media is still king! Follow Cooper on Twitter @MovieCooper.

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