By far one of the most common criticisms of Hawkeye is that, compared to all the superpowered members on the Avengers, he's just a tad redundant. Why these same people are perfectly content to see Black Widow on the team but not Clint is in itself pretty bizarre, but then you also have to bear in mind that no one really tends to bat an eyelid when the Dark Knight - himself just a man - lines up alongside Superman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman on the Justice League.
It just doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, and this isn't even the worst reasoning behind why Hawkeye apparently can't cut the cloth alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Some even postulate that it just doesn't make any sense for someone who's just really good with a bow and arrow to be on the Avengers, as if it's some kind of affront to suspending disbelief.
To that, there's only one thing to say: these are comic books.
They're not meant to be real, and though there is an argument for ensuring that people are immersed in a given experience, if they're content with seeing a man wield lightning, and a scientist who turns into a ginormous Jekyll and Hyde-esque monster on screen, then it's time to admit that the argument that Hawkeye is too outlandish for the Avengers just doesn't hold any water.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
