Pictures from Disney+ Hawkeye sets reveal Clint Barton wearing a hearing aid. This teases his deaf storyline from the Marvel comics.
The Disney+ Hawkeye series will the first appearance of Clint Barton after Endgame. It will show him relocate to New York with his family. The series will also introduce his well-known protégé from the comics, Kate Bishop, played by Hailee Steinfeld. And that she will ultimately receive the mantel from his master. This confirms the news that she will be the next Hawkeye of MCU.
Watch: Jeremy Renner talks Hawkeye | San Diego Comic-Con 2019
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The History Of Clint’s Hearing Loss
Throughout the development of Hawkeye, the MCU has borrowed a lot from Matt Fraction’s version of the character’s storyline that began in 2012. The 22-issue series is loved by Marvel fans for its development of the character and is one of the best Hawkeye storylines in the history of Marvel.
However, Hawkeye’s hearing loss comes much before Fraction’s story. In a 1983-miniseries, Hawkeye faced a super-villain Crossfire, teaming up with Mockingbird of SHIELD (portrayed by Adrianne Palicki in Agents of SHIELD). Crossfire built a sonic weapon to send the superheroes into a frenzy. And when Hawkeye tries to use his sonic arrows to counter it, he almost loses his hearing that results from the bang.
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Hawkeye’s Battle With The Clown
In Matt Fraction’s storyline, Hawkeye loses his hearing during a battle with Clown, when Clown stabs both of Barton’s ears with his arrows. He was almost entirely deaf until Tony Stark gave him customized hearing aids. In a 2014 issue, Fraction also mentioned that Clint Barton was partially deaf from his very childhood as a result of his father’s abuse.
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Disney+ Series Can Adopt Fraction Storyline
It is possible that Marvel might adapt one of its comic storylines, especially of Fraction, and show Hawkeye lose his hearing due to a mission that went south. We can rule out the child-abuse storyline since had it been that way, then the MCU would have shown it to us by now. On the other hand, Rumors that Clown will appear in the Disney+ Hawkeye series support the Hawkeye-being-stabbed-in-his-ears storyline.
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Hawkeye Will Pass On The Mantle To Kate Bishop
Clint Barton may have come out of the MCU Infiniti saga without any serious harm. But the fact that he will pass on the Hawkeye mantel to Kate Bishop allows the creators to explore a more personal struggle on his behalf, giving the audience a more realistic approach. Watching Hawkeye use sign language and with a hearing aid will allow fans sharing his condition to identify with an Avenger. It will further add more human traits to his character.
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The Broader representation of Superheroes in the MCU
Hawkeye’s hearing loss will further help MCU broaden its representation of superheroes. Along with him, we also have Lauren Ridloff playing the first deaf superhero in MCU The Eternals as Makkari.
Disney+ Hawkeye is still in its production phase. However, there is also a rumor of Barton’s potential return in MCU Black Widow before his series. We have also heard that Yelena Belova of Black Widow will don the Ronin outfit in Hawkeye as well, just like Clint in Endgame.
And of course, we would love to know what happened in “Budapest”, right?
