Hawkeye

: "Okay, look, the city is flying, we're fighting an army of robots... and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense. But I'm going back out there because it's my job."
: ―Hawkeye to Wanda Maximoff[src]
Clinton Francis "Clint" Barton is an extremely skilled marksman, a former special agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and one of the founding members of the Avengers. Known for his use of the bow and arrow as his primary weapon and an extremely keen eyesight and accuracy that earned him the codename Hawkeye, Barton had become one of the best S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, responsible for the recruitment of Black Widow, with whom he developed a strong friendship with. Assigned by Nick Fury into watching over the Tesseract, he was brainwashed by Loki and used as his pawn in his attempt to become king of Midgard. However, following the Attack on the Helicarrier, he was freed from Loki's mental controls by Black Widow and joined the Avengers to fight against Loki and the Chitauri army in the Battle of New York, ending Loki's invasion, before Hawkeye returned to his work at a S.H.I.E.L.D.
Hawkeye continued to work with S.H.I.E.L.D. until its collapse following the HYDRA Uprising, he and the Avengers worked to bring down the remnants of HYDRA, eventually capturing Baron Strucker and ending the organization's threat to the world. However, Hawkeye was pulled back into their fight as Tony Stark had inadvertently used HYDRA as well as some Chitauri technology to create Ultron. As Ultron tried to destroy their world, he allied himself with Pietro and Wanda Maximoff and Barton focused much of his efforts in convincing them to change sides while keeping all the Avengers safe by bringing them into his family home. During the final Battle of Sokovia, Hawkeye's life was saved by Pietro, who sacrificed his life in the process, after which Barton chose to retire.
Despite living happily within retirement for a brief time, Barton was recruited by Captain America to help him during his fight against these newly produced Sokovia Accords, which forced Rogers to protect his friend Bucky Barnes from being arrested for a crime that he did not commit. Feeling that he owed a debt to Rogers and Maximoff, Barton joined in the Clash of the Avengers, fighting against Iron Man's faction who were in support of the Accords. Despite putting up a good fight, Hawkeye and most of their team were eventually defeated and confined at the Raft under the order from Thaddeus Ross, only to be freed by Rogers. Barton returned to retirement and, after striking his deal with Ross, was placed under house arrest.
In the wake of the Snap, Barton lost his family and went onto a grief-fuelled rampage against criminals for five years as a vigilante known as Ronin. In 2023, Barton was convinced by Black Widow to return to the Avengers in attempt to resurrect the victims of the Snap. Hawkeye joined the team in enacting the Time Heist in order to obtain the Infinity Stones from alternate timelines, during which he witnessed Romanoff sacrifice her life so Hawkeye could obtain the Soul Stone. However, as the Avengers succeeded in their goal, they were ambushed by Thanos, with Hawkeye being ordered to ensure Thanos could not get the Nano Gauntlet. Eventually, Thanos and his army were defeated, as Stark sacrificed his life, allowing Barton to return home with his family, while he mourned Romanoff's death.
In December 2024, Barton wanted to spend Christmas with his family, but was drawn into dealing with the Tracksuit Mafia after Kate Bishop stole and donned the Ronin suit, bringing with it the demons of Barton's past. Barton reluctantly took on Kate as his protégé, as the two archers navigated the increasing complication of the conspiracy. The pair had a series of clashes with the Tracksuits and their leader Maya Lopez, who wanted revenge on Ronin. Barton was also hunted by Yelena Belova, who believed that he killed Romanoff, as well as helping Bishop uncover her mother's involvement with Kingpin. Ultimately, Hawkeye had held back fighting Belova as he convinced her that her sister's sacrifice was her choice. Ending the Ronin conflict, he made it home to his family, gaining a new partner in Bishop.