The marketing push for Avengers: Infinity War has successfully hyped up Marvel fans for its April 27th release. New posters keep arriving, and we are all having discussions about who is the most likely to survive Thanos’ impending doom and destruction. We know that it’s not possible to get through a universal threat like Thanos without losing a few members along the way. Not everyone on that poster is going to make it to Avengers 4. But what about the characters who aren’t on the posters at all?
Noticeably missing in all the marketing materials thus far is Hawkeye. He was one of the original members of The Avengers in 2012, so there’s got to be a logical reason for his absence. Hawkeye has become a fan favorite character, as seen by the growth of fan-made Hawkeye Infinity War posters and Hawkeye hashtags. The Russo brothers have gone on record that Hawkeye is “on his own journey in this movie.” What does this mean exactly? We won’t find out for sure until April 27th. This hasn’t however, stopped the fans from posting their own theories about where Hawkeye is roosting. Here at CBR, we’ve assembled 15 Hawkeye Infinity War fan theories.
15 HAWKEYE IS ON A MISSION FOR THE SOUL STONE
Since the Soul Stone wasn’t seen nor mentioned in Black Panther, fans are betting that the Soul Stone will finally be revealed in Avengers: Infinity War. It could be that Hawkeye is missing because he is on “his own journey” to locate the Soul Stone once and for all. Who better to do this than a guy who’s named after a bird with superior vision?
Hawkeye has the perfect training and skill set to be the one tasked with finding the Soul Stone.
If he’s is the one on the hunt for the Soul Stone, he’s also the one that will give the other heroes hope, which elevates his importance. Though the Mad Titan is powerful without the stones, with all of the stones, Thanos will be unstoppable. Thus, it’s important to keep the Soul Stone out of Thanos’ hands (more specifically, his gauntlet).
14 HAWKEYE IS A SKRULL
In a theory posted by Reddit user freezer_face, the Hawkeye we have gotten to know in the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t the real Clint Barton. It’s possible with rumors of a “Secret Invasion” storyline in Avengers 4 that Hawkeye is a Skrull.
A story inspired by the Secret Invasion comics would reveal that some of our favorite characters have been Skrulls all along. Skrulls aren’t necessarily evil, which we have seen in the comics. However, fans have also said in response to the Skrull theory that the “evil Hawkeye” story was already done in the first Avengers film. If Hawkeye turns out to be a Skrull, fans could read this as repetition when there are so many other avenues available for Clint.
13 HAWKEYE IS ACTUALLY RETIRED
Before Clint was brought back in Captain America: Civil War, he made it very clear that he is retired. Unlike the other Avengers, Clint has a family life he can, and wants to, return to. We’ve seen his wife, Laura, who’s awesome and supportive, and the rest of their family in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
We know what the stakes would have to be like for Clint to decide to return for a fight.
Reddit user BrassMan93 brought up that Hawkeye could refuse to come out of retirement for the entirety of Infinity War. The only thing that could get him to enter the fight would be if Thanos snaps his fingers and suddenly his family is wiped out of existence. This would make for an excellent revenge plot in Avengers 4.
12 HAWKEYE TURNS INTO GOLIATH
Compared to superpowered heroes like Captain America or Thor (among many others), Clint may feel inferior. His archery skills are indeed super, but he’s still more vulnerable than most of the other Avengers. Because of this, the MCU could have taken a page from the comics and turned Clint into Giant-Man, also known as Goliath.
Reddit user Rab1dus goes into this further. In the comics, Clint uses Pym’s technology to take on the Goliath mantle after Pym becomes Yellowjacket. If the MCU’s Clint Barton changes his identity in this way, Marvel Studios would have a good reason to keep this reveal under wraps since it would involve a new suit. If this theory is true, Clint would need to change his identity again in Avengers 4 because of the long-term effects of Goliath’s powers.
11 HAWKEYE IS LOOKING FOR CAROL DANVERS
It’s going to be hard for the Infinity War movie to explain why Captain Marvel, one of the most powerful Marvel superheroes, isn’t fighting with them. The Russo Brothers have sworn up and down that Carol Danvers won’t be making an appearance in Infinity War. It could be that her absence and Hawkeye’s absence can be explained simultaneously.
Many fans are eager to see Captain Marvel and are hoping that Hawkeye has gone off to find her.
He could then bring her in towards the end of the film. These directors are known to lie, right? This would lead us nicely into learning more about her backstory in the Captain Marvel movie, which has begun filming. If we see Hawkeye and Captain Marvel at the same time, the cheers in the theater would be deafening.
10 HAWKEYE IS GUARDING HEIMDALL
One of the prevailing theories about the Soul Stone that could still be that Heimdall possesses the Soul Stone. This could explain his connection to all the souls in the realm. That specific theory has been circulating for quite some time now, and Reddit user camtheraccoon thinks it could pay off in Avengers: Infinity War.
We know that Heimdall is one of the refugees to escape Asgard before Surtur lay waste to it. Since we see Thanos’ ship appear behind them, we also know that the Asgardians are trouble -- something had to have brought Thanos there. If Heimdall has the Soul Stone, he will need to escape somehow. If he makes it to Earth, since the other heroes are busy, Hawkeye could be the one tasked with hiding and protecting him.
9 HAWKEYE IS WITH NICK FURY
Just because Hawkeye is missing doesn’t mean he is alone. Though the directors have said he’s on a solo journey, this could be a mislead. As Reddit user Kingslayer_177 points out, Hawkeye could be with other missing MCU characters that we haven’t seen in a while. It’s possible that Hawkeye is with Nick Fury and Maria Hill in an attempt to rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D.
With the aftermath of The Winter Soldier, S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised. Meanwhile, Nick Fury’s last appearance was in Avengers: Age of Ultron, as was Maria Hill’s. Fury and Hill could team up with Hawkeye to find Captain Marvel, which would give our heroes a better opportunity to save the world. According to Kevin Feige, Captain Marvel is the first superhero Nick Fury meets, so it would make sense if he were the one assembling a team to find her.
8 AVENGERS 4 WILL BE LIKE A HAWKEYE SOLO FILM
Both Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton are Avengers who have yet to get a solo film. While the rumor mill continues to churn about a Black Widow solo movie, there has been nothing regarding a Hawkeye solo film. Some fans have speculated that it’s because Hawkeye will be a prominent character in Avengers 4.
Whatever solo journey he’s on in Infinity War, Hawkeye will likely be back for Avengers 4.
His solo journey will probably have a significant impact on Avengers 4, so he could act as the connection between the two films. While we would still want a Hawkeye solo film, this focus on Hawkeye could be enough for even the most ardent Hawkeye fans. But he better be on all those Avengers 4 posters.
7 HAWKEYE IS RECRUITING THE WEST COAST AVENGERS
A West Coast Avengers recruitment could be another way to eventually bring in Captain Marvel. It could be that Hawkeye is missing because he’s recruiting West Coast Avengers. Reddit user c_Lassy thinks that this could be why we haven’t seen Ant-Man and the Wasp in any of the Infinity War marketing as well. They’re simply on the wrong coast.
In the comics, Hawkeye founds the West Coast Avengers, so there is a precedent for this idea. We also know, based on the trailer, that a lot of action is happening in New York and Wakanda. Hawkeye could have started recruiting members before Thanos’ arrival, or he’s sent to the West Coast immediately upon Thanos’ arrival. So, he may not be present because he’s catching some rays and getting the West Coasters to join the fight.
6 HAWKEYE WILL DIE EARLY IN THE FILM
We would consider this the worst case scenario: what if Hawkeye is one of Thanos’ first victims? Thanos can arrive, wave his hand, and there goes Hawkeye. Reddit user MrManDownUnder thinks this may be the case and could explain Hawkeye’s marketing absence.
The death of Clint Barton would be a sobering experience for everyone, especially Natasha.
She and Clint go way back, and Natasha is even close with Clint’s family. His death would devastate her, but it could also give her the push she needs even if she’s scared. The Avengers would really be avenging in this case – for Clint’s life. Should this happen, this would immediately bring the Avengers back together after they were divided in Civil War. Hopefully, this is not what happens in Infinity War. If he’s going to die, there had better be an enormous poster for him!
5 HAWKEYE IS ON A MISSION WITH NEBULA
On the surface, a Hawkeye and Nebula team-up is an unlikely pair. But, this could be the weird team-up that’s needed to save the universe. No one, besides Gamora, knows more about Thanos than Nebula. Nebula is darker than Gamora and wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if it means that she lives.
Reddit user Universal04 adds that Nebula could crash land on Barton’s farm. Once he learns about the Infinity Stones, he could spring to action, especially if Thanos follows Nebula and kills Hawkeye’s family. Karen Gillan told Fandango in an interview that Nebula is gonna have a “brilliant” and “unexpected” new BFF in Infinity War. If Nebula is going to make a new friend, Hawkeye would be the most unexpected pairing for her. We would be excited to see this but hope Clint’s family is safe in this scenario.
4 THE GAUNTLET WRITES HAWKEYE OUT OF EXISTENCE
In the comics, it takes Thanos a snap of a finger to eliminate half of the universe’s population. One second they’re there, and the next, they’re not. This is terrifying already, but even more terrifying for the Avengers. They are already at a disadvantage going against the Mad Titan. They needed as many heroes as possible to help stop him.
Multiple fans have kicked around the theory that it could be that Thanos used the Gauntlet’s power to eliminate Hawkeye towards the beginning of the movie.
With the Gauntlet, it would take almost zero effort for Thanos to kill someone. Hawkeye could either be one of many people written out of existence, or he said something a little too sassy that Thanos didn’t like.
3 HAWKEYE WILL BE FEATURED IN ANT-MAN AND THE WASP
The MCU has done a good job thus far of having multiple heroes appear in one film. It establishes connections that we would not otherwise have seen. For example, we had Black Widow play a major role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This was also the case with the Hulk playing a crucial role in Thor: Ragnarok. Ruffalo’s Hulk finally got more of the attention he deserved, and we got more insight into the Thor and Bruce/Hulk dynamic.
Since Hawkeye still hasn’t gotten a solo film greenlit, perhaps he’s going to show up in a surprising way in Ant-Man and the Wasp. The back and forth between him and Scott Lang would be hilarious. It would also give Hawkeye more of an opportunity for featured screen time since Infinity War is overflowing with heroes.
2 HAWKEYE BECOMES RONIN
The prevailing theory among fans is that Hawkeye becomes Ronin. Ronin is an identity used by multiple characters in the Marvel Universe, and it’s best described as a “masterless samurai.” In the comics, after "Civil War", Clint assumes the Ronin identity. Reddit user JRiegner has an interesting speculation for how this could happen.
Clint Barton has an identity already: he’s an archer with a family. The only way that makes sense for him to change his identity is that something happens to his family. Blaming himself, Clint would then go into solitude as he mourns and then will re-emerge as Ronin. While this is heartbreaking, it would explain why Hawkeye’s costume for Infinity War and Avengers 4 has been kept under wraps.
1 HAWKEYE, ANT-MAN, AND THE WASP WILL TIME TRAVEL
Hawkeye, Ant-Man and the Wasp have all had zero love in the advertising for Infinity War. It could be that their absences are connected. They all could be missing in the advertising because they’re on their own mission throughout the events of Infinity War. This allows them to be featured more prominently in Avengers 4. Reddit user jockstrappington laid this scenario out: when our heroes realize they’re out of options, Doctor Strange could send these three characters back in time to recruit other superheroes.
We’re all wondering how Captain Marvel could enter this fight, and this could be that answer.
Other older superheroes would be fun to see as well, such as T’Chaka. As a result of this team’s time traveling, we could then have a true multiverse on our hands.