There’s not a lot of room for romance in the MCU, yet throughout its first two episodes, Hawkeye reminds Marvel fans that one of the Avengers did manage to build an endearing albeit imperfect life alongside the woman he loved. Though deprived of any of the superpowers any of his colleagues had, Clint Barton has something almost no other Avenger can brag about, a functional loving family.

Avengers: Age of Ultron introduced the Barton family at a time when Tony Stark still hadn’t matured to become the man he was in Endgame, and though many of the other heroes do experience some form of romantic bliss during their own adventures, none really come close to Hawkeye. Unlike Thor and Jane, Tony and Pepper, or Peter and MJ, Barton stepped inside the MCU with a happy family already having his back in-between missions.

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Despite being usually mocked as the weakest Avenger in pop culture, Age of Ultron shows how important Clint’s family was to him as well as the true nature of his friendship with Natasha when the Barton farm serves as the temporary HQ before the heroes depart on their mission. It’s fitting then that the Bartons’ third child goes on to be named Nathaniel Pietro Barton to honor both his closest friend and the man who saves his life in that film.

In all reality, with the way Marvel Studios plans out its storylines, this moment was just planting the seed for future MCU moments featuring Clint and Natasha, as the latter’s sacrifice -partly- for the sake of her friend’s family is one of the saga’s most emotionally gripping moments to this date. If it wasn’t for those scenes in Age of Ultron and Endgame’s cold open, the Black Widow’s death in Vormir would definitely not carry the same weight.

So what makes Clint and Laura Barton so special? Well, to be honest, the couple’s charm probably stems more from how unspectacular and human they really are. Clint doesn’t meet Laura in some world-saving mission, instead, they’re already an established item by the time Nick Fury recruits Hawkeye for the Avengers initiative, and Clint’s family is such an important part of his life Fury gives him the rare concession of keeping their existence a secret.

That secret is vital because Natasha knowing about it is what tells viewers that Hawkeye and the Black Widow are BFFs rather than the Avengers couple fans had been shipping until Age of Ultron. It also helps paint the stark contrast that exists between the two friends, as Natasha’s life has led to her becoming a loner (like seen in Black Widow), whereas Clint has nowhere he’d rather be when he’s not saving the world than tending to his family in their Missouri farm.

Black Widow though, the MCU’s femme fatale, also helps establish the narrative of how perfect of a couple Clint and Laura are because no matter how close the two superheroes are, Laura knows the place she occupies in her husband’s life and conversely why Clint cares so much about Natasha. Black Widow and Hawkeye are two very human peas in a superpowered pod, they are in essence the two Avengers who were always most likely to die.

The stability and happiness Clint and Laura share is a rare thing in the real world, let alone in Marvel’s universe, so to this day, and until Hawkeye ends, they are the MCU’s poster family. They’re a beacon of hope and a constant narrative that’s there so the audience never forgets how “real” and vulnerable these heroes are.

What If…?’s Black Widow episode did a lot to further boost this theory because, in that particular universe, it’s Clint who sacrifices himself so that Natasha can go on to save the world, a decision that’s only believable because his family is gone. The Hawkeye from What If…? is tired of living, he’s given everything he had to that particular fight to come out on the losing side, he is a broken man.

That man still exists in the mainline MCU, because after the blip sees Barton’s family erased by Thanos he goes on to assume the Ronin identity that’s now keeping him from enjoying a “Merry Christmas”, as well as getting Kate Bishop in a lot of trouble. Ronin is a manifestation of grief and desire for vengeance, of Barton’s darkest thoughts and actions that he’s only capable of confiding to his wife Laura.

Hawkeye’s first episode and the series as a whole were set up as an MCU holiday special of sorts, so it’s no wonder the story revolves around the closest thing the Avengers’ have to offer to an archetypical family man. Knowing this should be Jeremy Renner’s last outing as Hawkeye before Kate takes the mantle, it’s hard not to root for him getting the happy ending he and Laura have always deserved. Clint still does have five days and four more episodes to make it back home for Christmas.

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