If you've seen the trailer for Avengers: Endgame, then you've gotten a glimpse of Clint Barton's
return.
But the man previously known as Hawkeye is very likely returning to the MCU with a whole
new codename: Ronin.
If you're wondering what the deal is with this mysterious new persona, you're probably
not alone.
Let's break down the history of this Marvel Comics samurai.
Clint Barton isn't the first Marvel Comics character to wear the mask of Ronin.
While the Ronin identity wouldn't appear in comic books until 2005, the first character
to wear the costume debuted in 1999.
Her name was Maya Lopez, also known as Echo, and she made her first appearance in the pages
of Daredevil #9.
Though Maya is deaf, she has the ability to exactly mimic any action she's ever seen,
from Jackie Chan's stunts to Liberace's piano playing.
When she met Matt Murdock, better known as Daredevil, the attraction was immediate, and
the two promptly fell in love.
Unfortunately, like many of Matt Murdock's relationships, this romance didn't end well.
Maya was manipulated by the Kingpin into believing that Daredevil had killed her father, a mind-game
that convinced her to try and kill the vigilante.
She soon found out that the Kingpin himself was the one who killed her father, so she
shot him in the face and then vanished… for a while.
"But if there's a stunning woman with questionable character in the room, Matt Murdock’s gonna
find her, and Foggy Nelson is gonna suffer.”
"I don't disagree with anything you're saying."
Ronin's first outing came in the pages of New Avengers, during a battle against Hydra,
the Hand, and the Yakuza-affiliated Yashida clan.
Captain America recruited the mysterious fighter onto the Avengers, thanks to a reference from
Daredevil.
During Ronin's first appearance, her real identity was kept a mystery, with readers
left to puzzle out just who this new hero was.
With a loose-fitting costume featuring a full face mask, it could've been anyone.
The mystery established that Ronin wasn't just a new superhero - it was an identity
that any Marvel character could use for covert purposes, with several unexpected heroes wearing
the mask in the years to come.
The 2004 story arc "Avengers Disassembled" resulted in the apparent deaths of multiple
Avengers, including Scott Lang, the Vision, and Hawkeye.
But death is rarely a permanent condition in comic books, with Hawkeye returning to
life thanks to the reality-altering powers of the Scarlet Witch.
"None of this makes sense."
When Clint came back to life, he had trouble returning to his work as Hawkeye, partly because
a new hero, Kate Bishop, had taken on the Hawkeye name for herself as a member of the
Young Avengers.
While everyone would eventually agree that the world was just fine with two Hawkeyes,
Clint didn't feel that way at first.
Before taking up his old name again, he also did a stretch as Ronin.
After Clint met the first Ronin during a rescue mission, she passed the costume on to him,
explaining that the identity had served its purpose for her.
It was his to use, for as long as he needed it.
Clint reverted to his Hawkeye identity in 2010, when the Avengers reformed after the
events of "Civil War."
While this marked the end of Clint's tenure as the hero, it was not the end of Ronin.
The next time Ronin showed up was during the "Widowmaker" crossover in 2010.
The Black Widow-centric story kicked off with the murder of several Russian spies by a group
led by Ronin.
When a team of Russian superheroes tried to arrest Hawkeye for the killings, everyone
soon realized that someone else was wearing the mask.
This new Ronin was the leader of a criminal group called the Dark Ocean Society.
This time, Ronin's real identity was Alexi Shostakov, also known as the first Red Guardian.
That character can be seen as the Soviet Union's answer to Captain America - and he was also
the Black Widow's ex-husband.
His plan as Ronin was to use the Dark Ocean Society to restore Russia to its former Soviet
glory, but the heroes were able to take him down.
They also apparently took the Ronin costume back home with them, putting it in a box for
a couple years at Avengers HQ.
Maybe they just thought it looked cool - or maybe they thought it could come in handy
later.
"Nice outfit."
When the Mighty Avengers series relaunched in 2013, they were accompanied by a new, mysterious
hero.
This fighter kept his identity secret to avoid attention from his enemies, the mysterious
"Deathwalkers."
So he grabbed the first costume that was available: a neon green-and-pink bootleg Spider-Man costume
with "SPIDER HERO" written on the chest.
Spider Hero was a confusing character, both for comic book readers and the character's
teammates.
Unlike other Spider-People, he didn't climb walls or shoot webs, and instead he beat up
bad guys with a pair of nunchuks, basically behaving more like a ninja-turtle than a spider-man.
Making things more mysterious, he also seemed to have some knowledge of the mystical arts.
The Spider Hero costume didn't last too long in the series.
By the fourth issue, the mysterious good guy was gifted the Ronin costume, to help keep
his identity a secret in a slightly more professional looking way.
Finally, in Mighty Avengers #9, the identity of this masked man was revealed.
He was none other than Eric Brooks - better known to most audiences as the vampire slayer
Blade.
"You gotta be kidding me."
The Endgame trailer finally answers the question of what Clint Barton has been up to since
the events of Captain America: Civil War.
His outfit sure seems to look like the Ronin costume, but what inspired him to take up
the sword?
We have an idea, but it's not a pleasant one.
Avengers: Age of Ultron showed us that Hawkeye had a whole life outside of his work as a
covert operative, with a beautiful family on a peaceful farm.
After he was arrested at the end of Civil War, he retired to be with his wife and children,
sitting out Infinity War - until Thanos won.
It seems very likely that Clint's family was a part of the 50 percent of life that Thanos
decimated, meaning that Clint had to watch them fade away into dust.
The horror of that seems like more than enough to inspire Clint to take on a darker identity,
go to another country, and start stabbing people.
Could he succeed in beating Thanos where the others failed?
Well, it's worth a shot.
"Just can't seem to miss."