After Hawkeye’s premiere, I went down a rabbit hole to answer all sorts of questions and to know what Easter Eggs I missed from the first two episodes. Needless to say, I stumbled upon the most obvious question fans are asking. Who is the better, Hawkeye Kate Bishop, or Clint Barton?
Fandoms love to pit superheroes against each other, especially if the two play the same superhero but are of different eras. Well, as much as I love these arguments (I don’t), I think people could’ve waited for the show to get over before they made a comparison so that they would get to see Kate Bishop in proper action before deciding if she’s as good as Hawkeye or even better.
No matter what I say, the internet wants what it wants, right? So is Kate Bishop the better Hawkeye?
Kate Bishop is a better Hawkeye and character than Clint Barton. After the blip, the times have changed, and while Clint is a little low-key and old school, Kate is more outgoing, candid, and all about standing for what’s right even when she’s surrounded by everyone telling her that she isn’t. This spirit will be a significant difference between the next generation of superheroes and the original Avengers.
So before I start explaining why I feel Kate Bishop is a much better and relevant Hawkeye in current times, let me tell you how I’m breaking it down. I’ll take you through each character’s personality traits, their motivations in life as of now, and the mindset of the post-blip world.
Clint Barton As Hawkeye
Let’s meet the OG first! As I’ve said many times before, Clint Barton is the Hawkeye who likes to keep it pretty low-key. His trick arrows do what many weapons can’t, and he just shrugs it off like it’s nothing.
Furthermore, he doesn’t have any larger-than-life abilities like not aging or being a Norse god like Thor, but he’s definitely much more brilliant than common humans. He never misses a shot he takes, and that’s got to be a superpower. He is an incredible spy, and he’s adept in multiple combat styles. I think that last one he would’ve gotten from Natasha.
Beyond all this, when I think of Clint or even Hawkeye as a person, I feel he’s very closed. Despite battling it out with the Avengers in New York, he seemed close to them but still not enough to tell them about his family. That only happened in Age Of Ultron.
In general, too, he keeps his thoughts and opinions to himself while letting the events unfold and just focuses on the job at hand. If you think about it, he’s like the perfect soldier marching into a war who doesn’t want to overthink. This is not because he can’t think. He sure can but just doesn’t want to spiral down into the right, wrong, and the entire grey area that exists in the middle.
Moreover, since family is the center of his world, he tries to tune out the bullsh*t and tries to be the father, the husband his loved ones need.
But beyond all this, after the events of Endgame, we are seeing a Clint Barton who is exhausted. He is like that soldier who wants to return home but now carries the trauma he went through with him. Be it with his hearing loss or PTSD whenever he thinks of all those battles. He just wants one good Christmas to begin with and hopes to have many more with the Barton family.
Kate Bishop As Hawkeye
Kate Bishop is the daughter of Eleanor Bishop, who owns a security firm. When she lost her dad in the New York 2012 attack from the Chitauri, she saw Hawkeye killing the army. This immediately instilled that superhero fantasy while also making her realize that she has to be fit to protect her mother if there’s ever a problem.
Now, Kate is 22, and she is quite the opposite of everything Hawkeye is. She is lively, charming, rebellious, and just can’t give enough trouble to her mom. But on the plus side, she’s also a champion in Fencing, archery, gymnastics, etc.
We could see some of those skills at play while she fought the tracksuit mafia at the black market auction.
Besides her being incredibly good for someone who is 22 when it comes to her thoughts, ideologies, and principles, there’s so much more to her than meets the eye.
On the outside, she is rebellious and fantasizes about the superhero life, but deep down, it all manifests from her desire to protect her mother. That’s all she’s ever wanted besides being the ‘World’s Greatest Archer.’
She can be opinionated without any sense of diplomacy and take a stand when necessary. This is something Hawkeye doesn’t have. She is more evolved than him in this sense. Of course, she hasn’t seen the world yet, not experienced what it’s like to be in hundreds of situations where you think you’re going to die.
So she might evolve, but taking a stand with complete candor is necessary with the universe’s current state. As Kate Bishop herself said, people, don’t want you to act all cool and stoic about being a superhero. They are looking at superheroes for inspiration. Inspiration for anything and everything. After all, she was inspired by Hawkeye.
This is what makes Kate Bishop the better Hawkeye. She’s more than a soldier in a war, and as Tony once said, “We are not soldiers!”
Clint could’ve been more if not for the creators and writers, but I guess that problem is being solved with Kate Bishop. So it is about time Kate Bishop takes on the legacy of Hawkeye because that soldier has done his part, and it’s time someone else takes the burden off of him.
About Hawkeye
Hawkeye is an upcoming television miniseries for the Disney+ streaming service. Created by Jonathan Igla, it is based on the Marvel comic character of the same name. The show will feature Clint Barton aka. Hawkeye and newcomer Kate Bishop who will eventually become the next Hawkeye.
Cast members include Jeremy Renner who will be reprising his role as Barton, and Hailee Steinfeld will be playing Kate Bishop. Additional cast includes Vera Farmiga, Fra Fee, and Florence Pugh, who too will reprise her role from the unreleased “Black Widow”. Hawkeye is scheduled to be released in November 2021.
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