Barton becomes a founding member of the Avengers after being recruited by Steve Rogers, participating in the Battle of New York, the HYDRA uprising, and the conflict against Ultron.

He rejoins the Avengers during their mission to undo Thanos' actions using time travel; Barton attains the Soul Stone after Romanoff sacrifices herself to obtain it.

Barton and his allies successfully restore the trillions of lives lost to Thanos, and he participates in the final and subsequently victorious battle against an alternate-timeline version of him.

After reuniting with his restored family, his time as Ronin causes continued conflicts with various elements of organized crime, and he takes in a protégé named Kate Bishop.

In 2015, Barton, Romanoff, Stark, Rogers, Banner, and Thor attack a Hydra facility in Sokovia in an effort to retrieve the scepter.

Barton attends the Avengers' celebratory party, meeting James Rhodes and Sam Wilson, and tries and fails to lift Mjolnir.

Barton, Romanoff, and Rogers travel to Seoul to stop Ultron from uploading his network into a vibranium body powered by the Mind Stone.

Barton and Maximoff then recruit Scott Lang and travel to the Leipzig/Halle airport in Germany to join Rogers, Wilson, and Bucky Barnes.

[d] In 2018, Barton, still on house arrest, enjoys a picnic with his family, but is caught off-guard when Laura, Lila, Cooper, and Nathaniel suddenly vanish.

He dons a ninja costume and katana and begins to hunt down and eliminate organized crime around the world, killing criminals he believes deserved to die instead of innocents like his family.

Barton goes to New York City and attacks the Tracksuit Mafia, murdering many of its members, including William Lopez, after getting a tip from Wilson Fisk's informant.

Barton watches Stark sacrifice himself to destroy Thanos' army and, after the battle, returns home in the Avengers' Quinjet and reunites with his family.

Afterwards, he unmasks the person and meets a young woman named Kate Bishop, a skilled archer who grew up idolizing him after he unknowingly saved her during the Battle of New York.

He escorts Bishop to her work in Times Square and then recovers the Ronin suit from Grills, a LARPer, at a LARP event in Central Park.

With the help of Laura, Barton discovers that Duquesne is the CEO of Sloan Limited, a shell company that launders money for the Mafia.

That night, Barton is met by Bishop and Lucky who return to the apartment and throw him a small Christmas party to make up for missing time with his family.

Afterwards, Laura informs Barton that a Rolex watch recovered from the Avengers Compound stolen by the Mafia is sending out tracking signals from an apartment building.

He spares her life and unmasks, warning her that continued threats toward his family will result in her demise, and reveals that he was tipped off by an informant working for Lopez's boss who wanted her father dead.

Barton, with the alter ego of Hawkeye, was first introduced in Marvel comic books as a reluctant villain, in Tales of Suspense #57 (September 1964).

Feige, a self-professed "fanboy", envisioned creating a shared universe just as creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had done with their comic books in the early 1960s.

[6] After initially offering the role of Barton to Jensen Ackles, who had auditioned for the part of Captain America, Marvel hired Jeremy Renner to portray the character on screen.

His origin story in Earth-616 of him being a circus performer and former criminal trained by Swordsman is not included, though several elements of this version are implemented such as him becoming Ronin and eventually requiring hearing aids.

[15] Renner almost appeared in 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier in an extended cameo apprehending Steve Rogers, but was cut from the film by the directors due to his schedule conflicts.

Let's just get the job done so I can get home to the family",[21] along with feeling an obligation to side with Scarlet Witch, since her brother, Pietro Maximoff, sacrificed himself to save Barton in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

[33] Polly Conway of Common Sense Media found Barton to be a positive role model across Hawkeye, writing, "Hard work, perseverance, and courage are all clear themes.

"[34] Michael Walsh of Collider included Barton in their "10 Best Non-Powered Characters In The MCU" list, saying, "Clint is easily the most grounded of The Avengers, operating without superpowers and with a loving family waiting for him to return home at the end of each mission.

"[35] Chris E. Hayne of GameSpot ranked Barton 18th in their "38 Marvel Cinematic Universe Superheroes" list, writing, "While he's one of the original Avengers, he's also the least spectacular member of the team.

"[36] Bradley Prom of Screen Rant ranked Barton 6th in their "10 Best Spies & Covert Agents" list, claiming that "his proficiency with the bow and arrow is what set him apart, and made him so deadly.

"[38] Kaitlin Thomas of TVLine found Renner's portrayal of Barton across Hawkeye funny and entertaining, stating, "Renner's performance in Hawkeye, whether he's playing the role of tired dad, nailing unexpected punchlines with pin-point accuracy, or making viewers laugh as an exasperated man attending a LARPing event in New York City, elevates the series beyond the basic thesis of a man torn between his family and doing the right thing.

[49] In an interview with Gizmodo's io9, producer Kevin Feige said that, as it drew attention to the character, he believed that the prevalent discussion "was one of the best things that ever happened to Hawkeye.