Jeremy Renner thinks his take on Hawkeye is ready to lead the West Coast Avengers.In Disney+'s Hawkeye, Clint Barton steps out of the shadows of Earth's Mightiest Heroes to embark on his own adventure. For fans familiar with the character exclusively through the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the series will be the first time that Hawkeye shows any signs of being a leader. However, Renner believes Clint is more than ready to call his fellow heroes to action and thinks that Hawkeye could follow his comic book roots to lead his own team of Avengers. Speaking to BBC Radio, Renner discussed his desire to see Hawkeye step up as a Captain America-like hero. "You mentioned the word underutilized, well look -- he was the head of the West Coast Avengers," he said. "Like, I would personally love to see him be in that sort of Captain America leader role actually, which I think he would succeed in. Like calling the shots and doing these type of things, right?"
In 1984, Marvel launched the first spinoff of the Avengers. Titled West Coast Avengers, the series saw Hawkeye become the leader of his own team, which also included Mockingbird, Tigra, Wonder Man, James Rhodes as Iron Man, Hank Pym, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Moon Knight and U.S. Agent over the course of its 100+-issue run. As the secondary squad of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Hawkeye's team of West Coast Avengers made mistakes in their battles against Mephisto, Doctor Doom, the Phantom Rider and Kang the Conqueror, though they'd always find a way to win in the end.
While Renner's request may seem like a reach to some, the foundation for a big-screen West Coast Avengers has been hidden in plain sight. Many key storylines from the comics have already been integrated into the MCU, such as WandaVision's adaptation of the White Vision storyline from West Coast Avengers #45. Additionally, many of the members of the team have made their way into various projects, with U.S. Agent factoring heavily into The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Marvel's Moon Knight set to debut Marc Spector on Disney+.
However, no adaptation of the West Coast Avengers would be complete without a tumultuous character arc for the Scarlet Witch. WandaVision famously adapted the birth and subsequent disappearance of Wanda's children Billy and Tommy, which was directly inspired by Avengers West Coast #52. With actor Elizabeth Olsen teasing a "different" Scarlet Witch for her upcoming appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it's possible that Marvel Studios is already embarking on its version of the classic Avengers West Coast storyline "Darker Than Scarlet."
Regardless of whether Renner commands his own team of Avengers in the future, he's already set to have an influence on the heroes of tomorrow. Hawkeye follows Clint as he trains a young archer named Kate Bishop to be a hero in her own right. The first two episodes are now streaming on Disney+.
Source: Twitter