Hawkeye's Avengers Problem Explains Why Yelena Wanted Him Dead

Warning: Contains spoilers for Hawkeye episode 5.

In Hawkeye Kate Bishop reiterates that Clint Barton has a branding problem, and this actually explains why Yelena wants Clint dead after the events of Avengers: Endgame. In the Black Widow post-credits scene Yelena is given Clint Barton as a new target by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. How that mission would play out, and the threat that it poses to the legacy of Clint and Natasha Romanoff’s friendship, has been a major source of intrigue for Marvel audiences.

In Disney+’s Hawkeye TV show, the Avengers have attained a new celebrity status. In Avengers: Endgame, Smart Hulk is already being asked to take selfies, but it has reached a new level with Rogers: The Musical and people in Avengers costumes in Times Square. Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), however, is constantly berated by Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) for his “branding” problem as he prefers to keep to himself, attempts to decline free meals, and is clearly haunted by his past.

While Kate’s Hawkeye criticism of Barton’s failure to have a noticeable brand is consistently played for laughs, it explains how it is possible for Yelena to want her sister’s best friend dead. There is clearly a lot of public knowledge about what happened around Thanos’ invasion and how each Avenger did their part to save the world (as fully documented in the aforementioned Rogers: The Musical). However, Clint has always played his cards close to his chest and with his lack of branding has presumably declined to fully explain his side of the story publicly. Given that two Avengers went to Vormir and only one return, the fact that Clint has never felt it necessary to step into the spotlight and reclaim his narrative is what allows for there to be public rumors about the most mysterious aspect of Thanos’ defeat. With conflicting ideas of what happened on Vormir, it is easy to believe that Yelena could discount the idea that Clint did everything he could, including offering his own life instead, to prevent Natasha’s death.

It is entirely possible that Yelena’s belief in Hawkeye is driven almost entirely by Fontaine. Fontaine can tell Yelena that the events on Vormir happened in any way she liked, and with either many conflicting stories or no stories at all available for what actually happened, Yelena would be easily led to believe that Fontaine’s version was really the truth. However, it goes a step further than this as Yelena likely desperately wants to believe that Natasha’s death was Clint’s fault. If that is true, then she has someone to blame that she can seek vengeance again through direct action. If confronted with the true series of events, Yelena would have to accept that Natasha chose to die and leave her own family (even though Yelena had been caught in Thanos’ snap) so as to allow Clint to be there for his own family. Even if she can respect Natasha’s decision to sacrifice herself, it is likely to hurt Yelena to face.

Hawkeye's branding issue being so central to the storyline of the Hawkeye TV series makes a lot of sense. Hawkeye has given audiences a much better understanding of how the general population views superheroes in the MCU than much of the content before. Importantly, it also highlights how that perception of superheroes has changed after Thanos and the blip compared to the time of the Sokovia Accords in Captain America: Civil War and how there is a more nuanced understanding of the Avengers now as some view them as celebrities while others espouse the idea that “Thanos was right.”

Next: Yelena Using Kate Bishop's Full Name Is Deeper Than You Realize

Hawkeye releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.