Marvel's Hawkeye reveals Clint Barton's reasons for sparing Black Widow's life when they first met, but his reasoning also makes Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) a hypocrite. While he and fellow archer Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) are working a case together involving Barton's dark past as Ronin, Hawkeye explains why the "shot he didn't take" was his best, revealing why he chose to save the life of Natasha Romanoff when she was a target he had been ordered to eliminate. However, his decision to look beyond Natasha's past seems to be something he can't do for himself.
In ‘Hawkeye episode 4’, Kate brings some much-needed Christmas cheer while she and Clint Barton have some downtime in their case. Offering decorations, movies, and plenty of drinks as a consolation for Clint being away from his family during the holidays, they also bond as partners during the improvised festivities. However, things get more serious than intended when Kate asks Clint about the greatest shot he ever took. After some pressure, Clint elaborates that his greatest shot was the one he didn't take, the arrow meant for Natasha Romanoff's Black Widow when they first met in Budapest. Having been ordered to kill Romanoff due to her status as a deadly Russian assassin, Clint tells Kate that he had a feeling Natasha wanted out. Sure enough, he was right and they would go on to be partners in S.H.I.E.L.D. and eventually ‘Avengers’.
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However, while this is a dynamic and emotional reveal that shows Hawkeye's side of the Budapest encounter that was likewise explained by Romanoff in Black Widow, it very much makes Clint Barton a hypocrite. After Kate correctly surmises that Clint was the assassin Ronin during Thanos' Decimation, Barton goes on to say that he's not a hero. He went back to being what he was always trained to be: a weapon with the intent to kill, seeing himself as nothing more than an arrow rather than someone who could be seen as a hero. While he could see the good in Natasha, despite her dark past, it seems as though Hawkeye can't reconcile his own past with the fact that he's very much a good person as well.
Deadline
