Avengers: Age Of Ultron - 32 Easter Eggs, In-Jokes And References
4. The Dead Meat Jokes
Since Kevin Feige confirmed someone would die in Age Of Ultron, Hawkeye (who is actually called that for the first time in the film) has had a target hovering over his head.
But instead of doing the obvious, Whedon basically trolled fans, playing with the Dead Meat trope from the first few moments when he is heavily injured, right through every Dead Meat cliche (one last job, having a family, going back to be a hero) up to his survival at the end.
The fact that both Hawkeye and War Machine talk about how they're classed as inferior team members is a particularly tongue-in-cheek narrative thread, and it's evidence that Whedon was well aware of fan chatter.