Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye Almost Had A Different Look In Marvel's The Avengers
Back in 2012, moviegoers everywhere witnessed the Avengers team up on the big screen for the very first time. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) bring all kinds of quips and comic book action to "The Avengers," kicking the Marvel Cinematic Universe into high gear and setting the stage for future films. Had original concept art made it through to the final film, though, one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes could've looked quite different while doing so.
Ryan Meinerding, the Head of Visual Development at Marvel Studios, took to Instagram in 2021 to share an early Hawkeye design he mocked up for "Avengers." It features the Avenging Archer in a simple, entirely black outfit that doesn't have much to say as a superhero suit. Rather, it's more in line with his status as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent as a military-esque uniform. Perhaps most striking is the haircut Meinerding gave Hawkeye, opting for a tighter, shorter style than the slightly longer and unrulier one Clint Barton has in the finished film.
This isn't a bad design or piece of artwork by any means, but the Hawkeye costume worn in "The Avengers" is far more befitting of the character — even though it's nowhere near his best and most comic-accurate MCU costume.
Hawkeye's actual Avengers costume has more comic book flavor, but not much
At the time "The Avengers" released, keeping comic book costumes accurate for their adaptation into live-action wasn't a priority. Thus, fans saw such sights as the traditionally colorfully-clad X-Men running around in black leather. While the likes of Iron Man and Captain America weren't too adversely affected by this trend, Hawkeye certainly was. In the pages of Marvel Comics, Clint Barton is known for his vibrant purple and blue suit with an over-the-top purple helmet. In Ryan Meinerding's artwork, there isn't even a hint of his classic attire, with neither a helmet nor a dash of color to be seen.
To somewhat honor the source material, Hawkeye's final "Avengers" suit at least has a dash of dark purple to it, which isn't much, but it's better than giving him a generic all-black military look. Thankfully, it seems that Marvel Studios has finally come around on giving Clint a good, comic-inspired costume. On the Disney+ series "Hawkeye," his protégé, Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), whips the two of them up some matching purple and black outfits. In fact, their new duds look like they were pulled straight from Matt Fraction and David Aja's "Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon" story.
From concept art to his self-titled Disney+ series, Hawkeye has come a long way in the MCU, not only in terms of his arc but his costuming, too. All we can hope for now is that we'll see some form of his gaudy yet iconic mask down the road.