In “Avengers: Endgame,” Black Widow made the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of others, and Hawkeye has now given her passing an even deeper significance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
CAUTION: the following discussion about Hawkeye will reveal important plot details.
Black Widow made the selfless sacrifice of giving up her life in order to save the lives of others in Avengers: Endgame and Hawkeye added even more significance to her passing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In the Netflix series Hawkeye, the Christmas preparations that Clint Barton had made with his children were derailed when Kate Bishop (played by Hailee Steinfeld) began battling criminals while donning his old Ronin suit.
Hawkeye decided to take matters into his own hands when he saw that Bishop was being pursued by Ronin’s former adversaries. Regrettably, his plan doesn’t work out as planned.
Although Hawkeye allows the Tracksuit Mafia to grab him in an effort to clear Bishop’s guilt, Bishop attempts to pull off an ill-advised rescue operation, and she ends up being captured in the process herself. Hawkeye is able to clear Bishop’s name as a result of Hawkeye’s actions.
This ultimately results in a smart allusion to the fact that Black Widow dies in Endgame, which, in turn, tells more about what is happening inside Clint Barton’s psyche.
Clint takes on the guise of the Ronin and vented his rage on the villains who had managed to avoid being slain by Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) finger snap in Avengers: Infinity War.
His family had been slaughtered by Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) finger snap. Ronin brutally eliminated a number of heinous criminals, in the process gaining a number of new and lethal adversaries.
Maya Lopez, also known as Echo, played by Alaqua Cox, is one of their adversaries. She is a leader in the Tracksuit Mafia and a talented fighter. Eventually, it is discovered that she is linked to Kingpin.
Lopez desired vengeance on Ronin since he was responsible for the death of her father during an earlier raid on the Tracksuit Mafia.
Even though Hawkeye was being kept hostage by the Tracksuit Mafia, he still managed to pay his respects to Black Widow and her untimely demise.
In the third episode of the first season of Hawkeye, Lopez, who is deaf and communicates via the use of American Sign Language, asks Clint about Ronin through an interpreter.
Barton does his best to persuade Lopez, the leader of the Tracksuit Mafia, that Bishop does not have anything to do with Ronin and that the masked vigilante has passed away, however, Lopez is not buying it.
When she inquires as to who was responsible for Ronin’s death, he responds with “Black Widow.” Even though Lopez is aware that Barton is lying, the event lends a new significance to the life and death of Black Widow.
Clint Barton Was Saved by the Death of Black Widow in Several Ways
The remark that Barton gave to Lopez provided more evidence that the death of Black Widow marked the conclusion of Ronin. After Hawkeye/Ronin had completed eliminating members of the Yakuza in Endgame, Black Widow tracked him down and discovered him. There, she instills in him the belief that the Avengers still have a chance to undo Thanos’ snap.
Because with Black Widow, Hawkeye was able to move on from Ronin and leave the troubling events of his past behind him. After that, she once again spared his life by making a selfless sacrifice for Vormir in order to get the Soul Stone.
Once Black Widow lost her life so that the Avengers could destroy Thanos, there was simply no possibility that Hawkeye could ever return to becoming Ronin again. Black Widow’s sacrifice was absolutely necessary.
Hawkeye honors the horrific sacrifice made by his comrade Ronin by continuing to pretend that Black Widow was the one who did it.
This event follows Hawkeye’s recent practice of paying honor to Black Widow. In the first episode of the Hawkeye series, Barton accompanied his family to see Rogers: The Musical, a Captain America-themed musical that was performed on Broadway. When he got there, he looked around the crowd and saw a young girl who reminded him of Black Widow.
Hawkeye was likewise impacted by the actor who was playing Black Widow on stage, and he eventually left the theater when the situation became too much for him to handle.
The sequences involving Hawkeye continue to demonstrate why Black Widow’s death in Avengers: Endgame was not the end of her arc in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Yelena Was Also Important For Barton’s Recovery
Clint’s sadness over Black Widow’s murder is further taken in context by the character of Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), who is Natasha’s sister. Yelena is a supporting cast member in Hawkeye.
Clint finally quits defending himself during their last showdown, stating that he did not murder Black Widow despite the fact that Yelena has attempted to kill him and has already succeeded in killing him many times.
When Clint whistled Natasha’s secret signal, a signal only given to the ones that Black Widow trusted with her life, he ultimately succeeds in convincing Yelena that he is speaking the truth about their conversation.
In spite of the fact that Yelena Belova is known throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) for being a source of comedic relief, Hawkeye is successful in portraying her as a complicated and morally ambiguous hero. In addition, Yelena’s decision to spare Clint gives the impression that the two of them may work together in the future.
The loss of Black Widow will be a source of anguish for Hawkeye and Yelena for the rest of their lives, but Natasha’s selflessness will serve as an example to all subsequent Avengers and a deterrent to anybody who threatens Earth in the future.
Having said that, despite the fact that Hawkeye may potentially instruct the subsequent group of Young Avengers, it is quite doubtful that Yelena would wish to be affiliated with the Avengers herself.
This was made very evident by Yelena during her discussion with Kate Bishop, during which she questioned the entire meaning of the name “Avenger” and shared her sarcastic but accurate appraisal of current society’s adoration of superheroes.
Because of this, the possibility of Yelena Belova joining the Thunderbolts is far higher than the possibility of Yelena being a Young Avenger or perhaps a Dark Avenger.
Yelena will surely find her own way, and it will definitely be a fair homage to Black Widow’s sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame. This was made very obvious in the Hawkeye series finale, which is one of the few things that was made explicit.
