A rumor has made its way through the internet, igniting the hopes of some Hawkeye fans that they will finally see a deaf Hawkeye on screen in an upcoming Disney+ show. For those who may only be familiar with the archer from the big screen portrayal by Jeremy Renner, that statement may be a bit confusing. Those in the know, however, will recall the long history of Hawkeye and his hearing.
Hawkeye first appeared in comics all the way back in 1964. As a child, he and his brother escaped their abusive home and joined the circus, where the young Clint Barton was taught to shoot and sword fight by Trick Shot and Swordsman, respectively. Over the years, Hawkeye has lost and gained back his hearing a few times, but despite its on-again off-again nature, his deafness has remained a memorable and important part of his character.
Hawkeye’s history of hearing loss begins in a 1983 comic series involving a crazed baddie called Crossfire, S.H.I.E.L.D agent Mockingbird, and a sonic arrowhead that Hawkeye held in his mouth to disrupt the power of a brainwashing device. The scheme works, but damages Hawkeye’s hearing in the process, leaving him permanently deafened. Afterwards, Mockingbird provides him with his first set of hearing aids.
In the wake of Franklin Richards “Franklinverse,” Hawkeye returned with his hearing fully restored. Like many disabilities portrayed in comics, Hawkeye’s has been retconned when thought to be no longer serviceable to the story. Similar to Barbara Gordon’s paralyzation at the hands of Joker, Hawkeye’s hearing has historically been treated as repairable with a little comic book magic (or Stark brand hearing aids). The trope of miraculously curing disabilities is considered problematic by many readers, and it's unclear why writers chose to "cure" Hawkeye's deafness when he finally left the pocket universe Franklin Richards created.
It isn’t until 2014, in Matt Fraction’s and David Aja’s hit Hawkeye run, that readers got a glimpse of a Hawkeye who—at least somewhat—grappled with the experience of being deaf, and took steps towards identifying as “big D” Deaf. After being stabbed in the ears with his own arrows, Hawkeye pushes back against sign language and accepting his own hearing loss. Readers see him drink, not taking care of himself, and struggling to read lips and understand what others are saying. All the while, there are flashbacks to an abusive childhood where domestic violence has already deafened a young Clint Barton. It seems like Clint will pretend all of this didn’t happen, that he is not deaf, until the end of the issue where he drags his newly paralyzed brother’s wheelchair up the stairs to the roof of the building. There, he addresses his neighbors in clumsy sign language while his brother, Barney, interprets. “I’m deaf,” he begins, “I’m deaf and we need to talk…”
Hawkeye is deaf, and readers have been talking about it and loving it for a long time. And while the comics' handling of his deafness has been hit-or-miss, both deaf and hearing comic readers alike still kiss-fist deaf Hawkeye. If audiences get to see a deaf Hawkeye on screen, it will only be one more thing to love about this character.
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