Warning: this article contains spoilers for Hawkeye episode 5!
Avengers: Endgame, yet he seemed much weaker and less brutal in his fight against Echo than in his previous MCU appearances. Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) adopted the alias of the Ronin following Thanos's snap, and under that name, he started hunting and murdering gangs d with organized crime. The Ronin identity plays a big role in the Hawkeye series, as Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) unknowingly wears the Ronin suit and places a target on her back that Clint tries to erase.
Hawkeye episode 5, "Ronin," was the fourth time Marvel Studios treated fans to scenes of the Ronin in combat. However, there was a clear difference between the previous Ronin scenes and this latest one. The Endgame and Hawkeye episodes 3 and 4 showed a brutal and violent Clint who was able to take on entire gangs by himself and emerge unscathed. However, the latest Ronin appearance had him facing off against Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) and the Tracksuit Mafia, and if it weren't for Kate's last-minute arrow, Clint would have probably been killed.
The reason why Ronin seemed weaker in Hawkeye episode 5 probably stems from his lack of motivation for combat and murder. The Ronin identity was Clint's way of dealing with the loss of his family, and the pain he felt from that loss is what motivated him to do the things he did as Ronin. While some might say that Ronin is weaker due to old age, they should keep in mind that Avengers: Endgame, and the only major change in Clint's life during that period was the return of his family.
Now that his family is back, Clint does not carry the pain that drove him to become the Ronin and undertake the bloody quest of cleansing the world of criminals anymore. This is what made him seem like a watered-down version of what his reputation led audiences to believe. After fighting to get his family back, Clint's only motivator is spending time with his wife and kids over Christmas, something he has been trying to achieve throughout the show.
Since Clint lost the urge to kill as a coping mechanism, he was outmatched by Maya Lopez, who was ready to kill Clint to avenge her father. Even Clint's fighting style as the Ronin has changed, as he chose to take down each member of the tracksuits using stealth until only Echo was left. This is in clear contrast to what was shown of Ronin before, where he was seen cutting down entire crews with ease, paying no mind to maintain the element of surprise.
The disparity between Ronin's absolute ruthlessness in Endgame and his inability to properly fight in Hawkeye episode 5 reflects Clint's journey since Thanos snapped in an unhappy ending for Hawkeye, but it remains to be seen whether Clint will get to go home for Christmas and spend time with his family during the season finale.
Hawkeye streams Wednesdays on Disney+.
