Hawkeye

"Well, I see better from a distance."

- Hawkeye

Clinton "Clint" Francis Barton, also known as Hawkeye, is a special agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Assigned by Nick Fury to watch over the Tesseract, he was brainwashed by Loki during the destruction of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.. However, after the Attack on the Helicarrier, he was freed from Loki's mental control and joined the Avengers to fight against Loki's alien army in the Battle of New York, ending the War for Earth. He then continued to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. until its collapse, after which he and the Avengers worked to bring down the remnants of the terrorist group HYDRA and the psychotic artificial intelligence, Ultron.

Early Life
Clinton Barton was born on Thursday, January 7, 1971, and spent much of his childhood on his family's farm. As he matured, Barton developed exceptional marksmanship skills and used them to great effect in the military arm of S.H.I.E.L.D., in which he was given the codename Hawkeye. In one of his missions, he thwarted the plans of mercenary Marcus Scarlotti.

Around the time he joined S.H.I.E.L.D., he met and formed a romantic relationship with a woman named Laura, whom he married. Of his associates, only Nick Fury knew about his relationship with Laura and Fury excluded them from his S.H.I.E.L.D. file in order to protect them.

Later, he was tasked to carry out the assassination of a young Russian agent codenamed "Black Widow". However, instead of killing her, he opted to let her live, and discovered her true name, Natasha Romanoff. The relationship between the two developed a lasting partnership that continued through bringing her in to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. Together they had missions in Budapest, Abidjan and many other locations. The pair became so close that Romanoff was the only other agent Barton told about his family.

Sharpshooting Thor
"You'd better call it Coulson, cause I'm starting to root for this guy."

- Barton speaks to Phil Coulson

Some time later, unnatural atmospheric events, followed by the discovery of an immovable hammer in an impact crater, caused him to be deployed to New Mexico as part of a security force to protect the object from the locals. Nick Fury personally called him for this mission. Soon after his deployment, an intruder broke into the S.H.I.E.L.D. compound and fought his way to the mysterious hammer. Barton responded to the alarms by collecting a compound bow and claiming a high vantage point suspended from a crane. Despite making several radio transmissions warning that the intruder was reaching the hammer, Barton was never given a shoot order, forcing him to let his target go. Barton also commented into the radio, "Better call it soon, Coulson, 'cuz I'm starting to root for this guy," implying a certain level of self-given autonomy.

Upon orders from Nick Fury, Hawkeye broke into the Helicarrier to access the Avengers Initiative database in order to test its security.

Controlled by Loki
"If there was any tampering sir it wasn't at this end." "At this end?" "Yeh the cube is a doorway to the other end of space right? Doors open from both sides."

- Clint Barton and Nick Fury

Hawkeye was called by Nick Fury and stationed at the main facility of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. in order to guard the Tesseract. Before arriving on site Barton did background checks on all the scientists working there, including Erik Selvig. Sometime later, the Tesseract began acting strangely so Nick Fury and Maria Hill were called in. Fury spoke to Barton and asked him if he believed that the Tesseract had been tampered with, Barton responded by saying that if there was tampering, it was not this end of the Tesseract. Then the Tesseract opened a portal that brought Loki to Earth, who immediately attacked the base. Barton was just able to save Nick Fury's life from a blast of energy from Loki's Scepter. Loki then used his Scepter to alter and control the minds of Hawkeye, Erik Selvig, and a handful of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Under Loki's influence Barton believed that he willingly worked for Loki and shot Nick Fury. He later helped him steal the Tesseract and escape. They were chased by Maria Hill until she became trapped under rubble, then Nick Fury, who had been wearing a Bulletproof Vest earlier, shot and them from a Helicopter, Loki shot the helicopter out of the sky and Barton drove them away to safety. He then acted as Loki's commander at his safe house, leading various other mind-controlled mercenaries and workers, and helping collect the materials that Dr. Selvig needed to utilize the Tesseract. Barton traveled to Stuttgart, Germany with Loki where he used his infiltration skills and knowledge of S.H.I.E.L.D. to help to steal a store of iridium needed to stabilize the Tesseract. Barton silently shot several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents before getting inside and using a hologram of an eyeball to get inside and successfully steal the iridium.

Regaining Control
"Have you ever had someone pick your brain and play? Pull you out, stuff something else in. Do you know what it's like to be unmade."

- Clint Barton speaks to Natasha Romanoff

After Loki allowed himself to be captured by the Avengers, Hawkeye led a small group of mercenaries in an attack on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, using a stolen Quinjet to covertly approach the Helicarrier. Hawkeye destroyed an engine with an accurately placed explosive arrow and boarded the Helicarrier; he made his way to the control room and fired a Hacker arrow at the controls where he further crippled the ship's systems, turning off the remaining engines and causing the Helicarrier to fall from the sky. As he continued to make his way through the ship, he was confronted by Natasha Romanoff; they had a prolonged fight using Hawkeye's bow and arrows, knives, and, when the fight got dirtier – with teeth. Romanoff eventually got the upper hand and knocked Barton out, breaking his connection to Loki and restoring his mind. Barton was arrested and tied down until it was certain he was no longer a threat. Natasha Romanoff looked after Barton in the recovery room. He resolved to help fight back against Loki. When Captain America arrived to ask Romanoff if she could pilot a Quinjet, Barton told him he could. After Romanoff gave him the nod of approval, Rogers allowed Barton to join them on the mission.

Battle of New York
"Stark, you got a lot of strays sniffing your tail." "Just trying to keep them off the streets." "Well they can't bank worth a damn, find a tight corner." "I will roger that."

- Hawkeye and Iron Man

Hawkeye flew Black Widow and Captain America to New York City in a S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet, just as the Tesseract portal opened. Loki managed to shoot down the Quinjet and the team prepared for war. With Black Widow he fought the oncoming horde of Chitauri soldiers until the rest of the Avengers arrived. Captain America ordered him to take up a position on a building's rooftop and fight from there, calling out enemy movements for his teammates. From his high position he was able to shoot many enemies out the sky, and used his skills in hand to hand combat to kill any Chitauri soldiers who made it onto the roof. When Barton witnessed Romanoff being chased by Loki, she called on him for assitance, Barton fired an explosive arrow at Loki, who caught it and smile cockily until it exploded and caused him to fall from the sky. As the battle got more intense, Barton found he had almost exhausted his supply of arrows and saw an oncoming horde of Chitauri craft heading in his direction. He took his last arrow, turned it into a grapple and jumped off the building just as it was destroyed by the Chitauri. He used the grapple to swing into a window and survived. After the battle, the team captured a wounded Loki from Stark Tower.

Later, the team took a breather at the Shawarma Palace. They were interrupted by War Machine, who arrived too late to help in the battle. The Avengers gathered together in Central Park the next day to send Thor back to Asgard with Loki and the Tesseract. While Loki was in chains, Romanoff whispered something in Barton's ear about Loki's punishment, causing Barton to grin thinking about his tormentor's suffering. When the team went their separate ways, Barton left with Romanoff to go back home and spend time with his family.

Attack on HYDRA
Hawkeye joined the other Avengers in an assault against Baron Wolfgang von Strucker's HYDRA base. Barton used explosive arrows to destroy many HYDRA bunkers and tanks. At one point he tried to destroy another but his arrow was strangely intercepted by a fast moving opponent. The attacker then threw Barton through the air before revealing himself to be an enhanced man named Pietro Maximoff, taunting Barton. Before Hawkeye could get away, he was shot in the side and gravely wounded; Black Widow came to his aid and Thor was able to get him back to the Quinjet to recover.

The Party
Barton was taken back to Avengers Tower where his injured skin was repaired by Doctor Helen Cho; Barton joked that he was now made of plastic but made a full recovery. Later, during the celebration party at Avengers Tower, Barton voiced disbelief that Mjølnir could only be lifted by Thor; Thor then challenged all of the guests to lift his hammer. Barton was the first to try but soon failed. After the others had all tried and failed, they were interrupted when Ultron and the Ultron Sentries attacked the Avengers. Barton and the others fought against their attacker and won the fight.

War with Ultron
"I've done the whole mind control thing, not a fan."

- Clint Barton to Wanda Maximoff

Barton joined the team when they had located Ultron and the Maximoff twins in a ship off the coast of South Africa, getting a supply of Vibranium from Ulysses Klaue. Stark, Rogers and Thor confronted Ultron directly while Barton and Romanoff stayed further back to provide cover. Ultron and the Maximoffs attacked, at the same time Klaue sent his soldiers to attack the Avengers. In the ensuing battle, the Scarlet Witch entranced most of the Avengers, causing them to become distracted by terrible visions. When she attempted to do the same to Barton, however, he was prepared for her and incapacitated her, not allowing himself to be put under mind control again. Her brother whisked her away to safety before she could be arrested.

Retreat
The Avengers become unpopular due to a massive battle between Hulk and Iron Man in his "Hulkbuster" armor in the middle of South Africa, at the same time many of the members were still suffering from the effects of Wanda Maximoff's visions. Maria Hill stated that there was no information about Banner's arrest order yet, knowing they needed to get away and recover, Barton flew the team to his Farm, knowing that no one would be able to find them there. Once they arrived, Barton introduced them to his a family. In private, Laura expressed concern about whether he should remain in the Avengers. He initially thought that she believed they did not need him, but she revealed that she feels they need him too much, as the others' teamwork leaves a lot to be desired and she does not believe they will support him the way he does or them.

Nick Fury arrived and spoke to the team, motivating them to gather together and fight Ultron. Bruce Banner revealed that Ultron's plan would be to create another body made of synthetic tissue using the Cradle, and would likely do this with the help of Helen Cho. As the team prepared to leave, Barton said his farewells to his wife and promised that he would return.

Battle over Seoul
The team discovered Banner was correct had use attempting to build a new body using the Cradle, Barton piloted the Quinjet and used it to keep the team informed of Ultron's location. When Captain America needed assistance fighting Ultron, Barton dropped Natasha Romanoff out of the Quinjet on a motorbike to join the fight. Eventually Romanoff was able to get onboard the truck Ultron was using, when the Ultron Sentries tried to fly the Cradle to safety, Romanoff dropped it out for Barton to catch with the Quinjet. However Romanoff was captured by the Ultron Sentries.

Birth of Vision
Bringing the Cradle back to Avengers Tower, Barton began searching for Natasha Romanoff by working out where Ultron could have taken her. He soon learned that during the battle in Seoul, Steve Rogers had recruited the Maximoff twins after they had betrayed Ultron. Barton was present when Tony Stark and Bruce Banner were confronted when they tried to upload J.A.R.V.I.S. into the body Ultron was creating, after a brief fight with the rest of the team, Thor arrived and used his lightning to activate the being. The being jumped out and briefly attacked Thor until he looked out over the city, the being apologised and called itself the Vision and claimed to wish to assist them to fight Ultron. As proof of his honor, Vision handed Thor Mjølnir.

Battle of Sokovia
"We're fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow, none of this makes any sense"

- Clint Barton speaks to Wanda Maximoff

The team located Ultron on Sokovia and arrived, their first priority was to evacuate the civilians, Barton sat in a clock tower and overlooked the evacutation, ensuring that the Ultron Sentries did not attack the people. Eventually Ultron made his move and used a device to cause the city to float off the ground before sending out his Ultron Sentries to attack the Avengers.

Barton and the rest of the team engaged the robots in a major battle, while focusing on protecting the civilians. At one point during the battle Barton saved Wanda Maximoff and hid her in a building. He managed to calm her down and told her if she continued fighting in the battle, she would officially be an Avenger. While Barton continued to fight, Maximoff joined him and destroyed the robots. Pietro Maximoff then took her in his arms and ran to the centre of the city, mocking Barton. Irritated, Barton aimed his arrow at Pietro and jokingly considered shooting him.

As the battle became more intense, Nick Fury and Maria Hill arrived on board a Helicarrier to evacuate the city while War Machine joined them in the battle. When Barton attempted to rescue a young child, he found himself under fire by Ultron who had stolen a Quinjet. Seeing no way to escape, Barton tried to use his body to protect the boy, but they were saved by Pietro Maximoff, who ran into the line of fire and was killed. Barton carried Maximoff's body onto the Helicarrier and collapsed next to it.

Returning Home
Barton returned home to his family and soon Laura Barton gave birth to their new son who they named Nathaniel Pietro Barton out of respect for Quicksilver.

Abilities
Clint Barton's main ability is his extraordinary talent in marksmanship, with an speciality in archery. His skills have made him one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best agents prior to the fall of the agency.
 * Bow Mastery: Barton has trained himself to become a master archer specializing in the use of regular bows, longbows, compound bows, and crossbows with perfect accuracy. He is capable of firing multiple arrows at a single target in a few seconds, and directly hit small targets in the greatest of distances. Barton can fire six arrows faster than an average human can fire six bullets.
 * Master Marksman: Barton possesses very keen eyesight, and his accuracy is virtually unerring. He was able to shoot down a Chitauri ship without even looking at it. He is also an excellent all-around marksman well versed in conventional firearms and has an uncanny knack for using miscellaneous hand-held objects as projectile weapons.
 * Master Assassin: Barton is an excellent assassin, having been sent by S.H.I.E.L.D. to kill Black Widow, a woman notoriously known for her assassination skills.
 * Expert Acrobat: Barton possesses exceptional human strength, endurance, and stamina. He is athletic, with very good reflexes and agility. This makes him capable of complex acrobatic maneuvers.
 * Expert Martial Artist: Barton is an excellent combatant, having been trained in various forms. He was able to fight Natasha Romanoff to a standstill, although she eventually bested him in combat. He was capable of overthrowing many of the Chitauri soldiers, alongside Black Widow, on the ground zero during the battle in New York with utilization of his recurve bow as well as his trick arrows.
 * Expert Tactician: Barton has been trained in military tactics, being able to command a team of operatives under the unwitting control of Loki to heist a vault in Germany and infiltrate the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier with esteemed success. Each of these actions required a diversion.
 * Ambidexterity: Barton can shoot his bow using either his left arm or right arm.
 * Pilot: Barton is a skilled pilot. He is capable of flying a Quinjet.

Equipment

 * Collapsible Recurve Bow: The bow is capable of folding on itself (most likely for either easier transport, concealment, or both) and has a selector and transmitter that allow Hawkeye to control his mechanical quiver. It also has a laser sight. In addition, he can use the bow as a sort of quarter staff in combat if he can't reach an arrow or is out of them.
 * Specialized Arrow Quiver: Hawkeye's quiver is supplied with a multitude of different arrow heads in the bottom. By dialing up an armament setting from a control on his bow, Hawkeye can cause the quiver to affix these special arrowheads. This effectively increases the capabilities from conventional arrows, to explosive arrows, a grapple line, and more.
 * Trick Arrows: Hawkeye has a number of trick arrows.
 * : Hawkeye carries a Heckler & Koch P30 as his sidearm, using it to fire at Maria Hill's car while he escapes from the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility after being brainwashed by Loki.
 * Wristbow: Hawkeye used once the Wristbow as his weapon during a security exercise to test the security systems of the Helicarrier, where he was disguised as a mercenary who had to battle Natasha Romanoff.

Family

 * Laura Barton - Wife
 * Cooper Barton - Son
 * Lila Barton - Daughter
 * Nathaniel Barton - Son

Allies

 * S.H.I.E.L.D. (First Incarnation) - Employer (Former Relationships)
 * Nick Fury - Director
 * Maria Hill - Deputy Director
 * Phil Coulson - Colleague
 * Avengers - Teammates
 * Steve Rogers/Captain America - Team Leader and Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Colleague
 * Tony Stark/Iron Man
 * Thor
 * Bruce Banner/Hulk
 * Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow - Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Colleague and Partner
 * Erik Selvig
 * Quicksilver † - Former Enemy Turned Ally and Savior
 * Scarlet Witch - Former Enemy Turned Ally

Enemies

 * Marcus Scarlotti
 * Loki
 * Chitauri
 * Ultron
 * HYDRA
 * Wolfgang von Strucker

Trivia

 * In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Black Widow wore a necklace with an arrow pendant as a symbol of her friendship with Hawkeye.
 * In the comics, Hawkeye is the ex-husband of Bobbi Morse, but in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that role is filled by Lance Hunter.
 * Hawkeye shares his birthday with his actor, Jeremy Renner.
 * Jeremy Renner is left handed, but since the character is ambidextrous he is shown shooting from his right hand in Thor and his left hand in The Avengers.

Behind the Scenes

 * Hawkeye is the only Avenger that did not appear in a Phase Two movie prior to Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the only male Avenger not to star in a solo movie.