Hawkeye is finally here, dropping two back-to-back episodes on its premiere day. Not surprisingly, fans are loving the return of Clint Barton, the debut of Kate Bishop and the awesomeness of Lucky the Pizza Dog. But did the first two episodes also reveal a bit more what happened to Clint after the events in Avengers: Endgame? The show may have confirmed why Clint decided to retire from the Avengers.
We already know that Clint Barton has retired for some time now. This was confirmed in the official Hawkeye synopsis several months ago. For most fans, Clint's decision may have had a lot to do with losing his family (and getting them back) in Endgame. However, it looks like there was another reason for the retirement.
If you watched the two episodes of Hawkeye, you may have noticed that Clint Barton is now wearing hearing aids. Comic book fans are already aware of how the character dealt with hearing loss. However, there is another reason why Clint is going deaf in the MCU.
The series featured a montage of Clint being injured in almost all of the MCU movies he has appeared in. The repeated trauma has led to Clint becoming deaf in Hawkeye and possibly choosing to retire as he is no longer able to work too well with the Avengers.
This is an interesting way to work Clint's comic-book deafness into the MCU and one that makes sense. After all, all those missions would have an effect on anyone, especially one who doesn't have any superpowers.
He might be retired but that doesn't mean Clint can't kick ass anymore. The first two episodes of Hawkeye confirm he's still just as strong and quick as he was before his retirement. Needless to say, we can't wait to see him in action again next week.
The first two episodes of Hawkeye are now streaming on Disney+.
Related: Hawkeye Confirms Lucky the Pizza Dog is NOT a Side Character