Hawkeye: The World's Greatest Archer

> *"Can't change the past, but you can embrace it."*
> ― Nick Fury
>
>

**Hawkeye: The World's Greatest Archer** is a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics hero of the same name. It is the 28th installment in the Rebooted MCU, and the first installment in both Phase 4 and the Galaxy and Mutant Saga. The film was released on May 17th, 2023.

## Plot

The film starts with a flashback of a young Clint Barton and his brother, Barney Barton, who are going to a circus. Their father, Harold Barton was scolding their mother, Edith Barton, complaining about going to the circus. However, Edith assured Clint and Barney that they would go anyway. In the car, on the way to the circus, Edith discovered that Harold has been drinking, and a few moments later, the car crashed.

Back in the present, Clint and his wife Barbara Barton are attending the headquarters of the extra-governmental intelligence agency S.W.O.R.D, or Sentient Weapon Observation Response Division, attending on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D. They bump into a kid, Kate Bishop, who claims to be a big fan of Clint, the Hawkeye. Clint and Barbara, after a brief interaction with her, left to a room and took their seats, where S.W.O.R.D director Abigail Brand was delivering a speech, thanking everyone for helping them, revealing that S.W.O.R.D deals with outer space threats and are flourishing after their new partnership with a post-snap department, created by President O'Brien and Vice President Ross. She invites Eleanor Bishop, the CEO of Bishop Security and mother of Kate, who helps reduce crime using high-tech security systems, thanks to a buy-in from New York Mayor Wilson Fisk. After the seminar, Brand meets the Bartons, and invites them to her office.

In Brand's office, she reveals that Nick Fury has ordered the Bartons to become heads of security for S.W.O.R.D, as the government just moved it's central data information unit to the California branch of S.W.O.R.D, which contains information valuable to those who want to attack the country. Barbara agrees, and Brand gives Clint an envelope from Fury. Back in the Barton Ranch, Clint opens the envelope, revealing a folded-over poster, with a single sentence: "The Circus is coming to town". He opens the poster, and it reveals the name of the circus: "TIBOLDT'S TRAVELING CIRCUS". Seeing this, Clint starts to panic, but manages to calm down. Later that night, Clint leaves for New York.

In New York, Clint meets Fury in an apartment and confronts him for the envelope. He retells his story: After his parents died in the car accident, both him and his brother Barney were raised by a group of circus performers, none other than Tiboldt's Traveling Circus. They raised them with martial arts, fighting, and archery. Clint was great at it, while Barney is a bit behind. When they were teenagers, Clint discovers that the circus was actually a secret crime organization, running a criminals-for-hire operation. Clint threatens to expose this, but the Ringmaster threatens him back, telling him he will kill him and Barney if he does that. Nonetheless, Clint continues to work with the circus, until he was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury, who saw potential in him, invites Clint to join S.H.I.E.L.D, in an exchange for all his criminal records erased. Fury then tells Clint that he's been running away from his past, and he needs to start facing it. Fury gives Clint a case, and Clint walks out of the apartment.

Outside, he was attacked by an electric shock by a figure. The figure drags him to an alley, and when he awakes, reveals herself to be Yelena Belova, ordered to arrest him on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security for the killings of a few Black Widow soldiers. Clint, confused, fought Yelena, but Yelena gains the upper hand, until Kate Bishop, who had been following Clint saved him from her. Clint subdues Yelena and tells her he didn't kill anyone, to which Yelena responds that she knew he was Ronin. Yelena leaves and gives Clint a warning, while he runs away with Kate. Kate reveals that she started idolizing Hawkeye after seeing him and Iron Man fight Xu Wenwu, as her father died from a Ten Rings attack. Clint asks Kate to leave, as he has to go back to California. He gets to the airport for the flight, and Kate tails him, sneaking the same flight.

In the S.W.O.R.D headquarters, Barbara sees a truck, where a voice from inside asks to meet Clint. Clint gets a call from Barbara, telling him to get home as fast as possible. He runs home, and inside, a few people from his past surprises him. Maynard Tiboldt, the ringmaster of Tiboldt's Traveling Circus, Jack Duquesne, the Swordsman, and other members, Clown, Zandow the Strongman, and Fire-eater. Jack brings him to Barney, as the brothers reunite. Barney reveals that at some point, he joined the U.S. Army. After a while, Tiboldt approached him, asking him to rejoin the group, giving him a new name: Trick Shot. After a while, the group leaves, and Tiboldt gives Hawkeye a warning. Barbara asks Clint who they were, and Clint breaks down, revealing that Duquesne turned him into a criminal and abused him the same way his father did, afraid Barbara won't love him anymore. Barbara assured him that she would still love him either way.

In New York, in a dark place, Yelena meets with Director of the Department of Homeland Security, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. She questions Val about Ronin, and Val reminds her of her sister, and orders her to arrest Clint, after which she would try to get him to work for her. She reveals that she was also hoping for a promotion from President O'Brien, particularly CIA Director. Val then finds out that Clint has a brother and asks Yelena to hire the circus.

The next morning, The Bartons got a call from Brand, telling them that S.W.O.R.D has been attacked. They rushed to the headquarters, found, and fought the circus. Clint gets in a confrontation with Barney, in which he confronts him for leaving him behind. As Barney gets the upper hand, he gets shot in the chest by Brand, albeit to no effect. Brand told the circus she's informed S.H.I.E.L.D, and they run away. In the getaway van, Barney confronts Tiboldt and Duquesne, accusing them of preferring Clint to him, while Yelena tails the van. In the circus' secret hideout, the group is met with Eleanor Bishop, confronting them for their failure. Tiboldt blames Barney, and Barney shoots both him and Duquesne dead, making him the ringmaster of the circus. Eleanor explains to him that the data inside S.W.O.R.D contains information about her secret operation, being paid by Mayor Fisk to turn off her own security systems so he could continue his underground crime operation. Bishop orders Barney to burn it. Barney agrees and the group cheers for him, while Yelena listens outside with a listening device, feeling guilty.

Yelena pays a visit to the Barton Ranch, where she buried the hatchet with Clint, telling him that anyone can change. Clint gives her Black Widow's gauntlets, and tells Yelena he didn't kill her. Clint opens the case Fury gave him earlier and inside is the classic Hawkeye suit. He took a piece of paper, a poster of the circus with the writing: "Don't miss, Hawkeye, the World's Greatest Archer". There is a handwritten note in the bottom, saying: "Can't change the past, but you can embrace it". He, Barbara, and Yelena decides to join forces and stop the circus.

The next morning, they met the circus inside the headquarters. Clown, Zandow, and Fire-eater fought Barbara and Yelena, while Clint fights Barney. The fought and fired arrows at each other, until Barney gains the upper hand, and tries to kill him, until he is saved by Kate, who has been tailing him all this time. Barney knocks Kate to the ground, but Clint manages to knock him out. Clint, carring Barney, and Kate ran away from the building as it starts burning. Barbara and Yelena, who has defeated the rest of the circus manages to run away carrying the other Circus members, as the building explodes. The circus and Eleanor were arrested, and Brand thanks The Bartons, revealing the data has just been backed up and they can fix the building. They also have testimony from Yelena against Eleanor. Clint and Barbara decides to take in Kate, now without both parents, and raise her. Clint thanks Yelena for her help, and they go out for a meal.

In the first post-credit scene, Val visits Yelena, who was visiting her sister's grave, asking her to join her again, but Yelena rejects her.

In the second post-credit scene, Fury said to Talos that Carol hasn't given him any news on "disgruntled skrulls". Elsewhere, the skrull Kl'rt gives a speech to a group of skrulls, suggesting they attack earth and humanity, revealing that he has been planning a project called the Super-Skrull project.

## Cast

* Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye/Clint Barton
* Linda Cardellini as Mockingbird/Barbara Barton
* Greg Kinnear as Trick Shot/Barney Barton
* Jim Carrey as Ringmaster/Maynard Tiboldt
* Tony Dalton as Swordsman/Jack Duquense
* Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
* Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop
* Emilia Clarke as Abigail Brand
* Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop
* Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
* Jodi Balfour as Clown
* Florian Munteanu as Zandow the Strongman
* Toheeb Jimoh as Fire-eater
* Julia-Louis Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine
* Diesel La Toracca as Young Clint
* Archie Bates as Young Barney
* Sean Hayes as Harold Barton
* Caroline Palmer as Edith Barton
* Ben Mendelsohn as Talos (post-credit scene)
* Kingsley Ben-Adir as Kl'rt (post-credit scene)