Before you see Avengers: Endgame, find out about Ronin’s role in the comic books.
In the Avengers: Endgame trailer, we saw that Clint Barton traded his bow and arrows for a sword. He’s no longer Hawkeye. He’ll be going as Ronin. A ronin is a wandering samurai without a master. Something major had to have happened for him to become so bleak. It could have been the loss of his family or the chaos in the world. Nevertheless, Clint is wandering the world without a team or leader. But the movie won’t be the first time Clint has been Ronin.
While Clint was Ronin, he used swords, nunchucks, and other ninja-esque weapons instead of his trademark bow and arrows. However, don’t be shocked if he uses one towards the end of Avengers: Endgame. The comic books series showed how skilled Clint was as Ronin, and Avengers: Endgame will highlight those abilities, as well. So before you go see Ronin in the movie, here are the comics to check out to find out the history of Ronin. We also discuss ho was wearing the costume before Clint and why he started wearing it, as well. The article also ends with a series starring Clint as Hawkeye that’s worth checking out.
Image Source: Marvel Digital Comics
Before Clint was Ronin, there was Echo
Collecting: New Avengers 11-13 and 26-64 (2004-2011)
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Back in New Avengers No. 11, Captain America went to Matt Murdock for help when the Avengers had issues involving the Hand and the Japanese criminal underground. Matt said he couldn’t help but knew someone he could. He recommended a former enemy, friend, and lover named Echo. She created the persona of Ronin to terrorize the criminals of Japan. Echo was soon left alone to fend for herself, while the superhero Civil War was going on in America. She looked at this as an opportunity to continue her time as Ronin on her own.
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Echo was later killed and resurrected by the leader of The Hand, Elektra (who was a Skrull at the time). A message was sent out to the renegade Avengers, and they made their way to Japan to help their former teammate. Along with the Avengers was their newest member, Ronin. This is where Clint Barton comes in.
Clint was back from the dead (he died in Avengers Disassembled and came back during House of M) and looking for a purpose in life. He couldn’t trust Tony Stark after what happened during the superhero Civil War and went back to thank Dr. Strange for helping him. While at Dr. Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum, Clint meets Luke Cage and the rest of the renegade Avengers, who were on their way to save Echo. Before Clint joined them, he said he wasn’t Hawkeye anymore. Wolverine then showed him Echo’s mask, and Clint Barton became Ronin.
Image Source: Marvel Digital Comics
Clint as Ronin and back to Hawkeye
There may not have been a time where Hawkeye was more dangerous. Clint was willing to kill after everything in his world seemed to be gone. Norman Osborn was in charge of the world’s security and leading the Avengers, his Hawkeye persona was violated by Bullseye being dressed up as him, and he was hiding from the law, even though he was a hero. All of this really got to Clint, and he became angry at the world.
Eventually, the Avengers did what they always do and saved the day. Norman Osborn was arrested along with his Dark Avengers, and the renegade Avengers were no longer outlaws. With everything back to normal, Clint retired the Ronin persona and went back to the bow and arrows, becoming Hawkeye again.
Credit: Marvel Comics
Hawkeye
Collecting: Hawkeye (2012-2015)
Writer: Matt Fraction
This may be the best representation of Hawkeye in the comics. In this series, he wasn’t an Avenger. Clint was just a guy trying to protect the people in his building. We see that just because he’s an Avenger, that doesn’t mean he’s invulnerable. Clint spends a lot of time getting his butt-whooped by regular people when he’s outnumbered. At one point, he even loses his hearing. This causes Clint to really question himself and his place as a hero. It’s a great story to see the ups and downs of one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. As a bonus, this series also has a ton of great moments from Kate Bishop who also goes by Hawkeye.
It’ll be exciting to see Clint take on his alternate persona in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26th.