Why Black Widow & Hawkeye Are Avengers (Despite Not Having Powers)
The original Avengers team in the Marvel Cinematic Universe had a bit of everything, with gods, supersoldiers, and genius billionaires with super-suits, but there are two members that had no powers yet they were part of the team: Black Widow and Hawkeye, and here’s why they were Avengers even if they didn’t have superpowers. For over a decade, the MCU has been bringing characters from Marvel Comics to the big screen, and for its first Phase, it focused on introducing its first team of superheroes with the Avengers.
It all started in 2008 with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, which introduced Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man and established him as the leader of not only the Avengers but also the MCU in general during its first three Phases. After that, almost every member of the Avengers got their own solo movie before joining the team in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, except for the Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow, with the Hulk introduced in the first Avengers movie, Hawkeye in Thor, and Black Widow making her debut in Iron Man 2. Along with Captain America and Thor, this line-up led the Infinity Saga, and together they faced a variety of threats, with each member showcasing their abilities on every mission.
Although each Avenger has abilities that make them key to the team, there are two who stand out as they don’t have superpowers (nor are they genius billionaires, like Tony Stark): Black Widow and Hawkeye. The two former agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. worked together for years before becoming part of the Avengers, and while they are both trained in different types of combat, they rely on gadgets and other weapons when it’s time to fight, such as the Black Widow bite, batons, and a variety of custom arrows. Even though Black Widow and Hawkeye aren’t gods nor do they have any type of superpowers, they became Avengers thanks to their expertise and skills that made them stand out even before they joined S.H.I.E.L.D.
Natasha Romanoff was taken as an infant to the Red Room, where she was subjected to intense training and psychological conditioning, which left her with a lot of trauma. Natasha became one of the Red Room’s best trainees and was placed in the KGB, which put her on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s radar as she was a threat to global security. Nick Fury sent Clint Barton to take her down, but he recognized her skills and saw the good in her, so he instead recommended her for recruitment into S.H.I.E.L.D. After a mission to assassinate General Dreykov in Budapest, Natasha joined S.H.I.E.L.D. and became Clint’s partner in many missions. Her skills as a spy and combatant, as well as her loyalty, led her to earn Fury’s trust and thus she became part of the Avengers, which she also helped assemble.
As for Clint Barton, little is known about his life before joining S.H.I.E.L.D., but his ability for marksmanship led to Nick Fury handpicking him to join S.H.I.E.L.D. After being rescued by Natasha in The Avengers and regaining control of himself after being under mind-control, Clint joined the Avengers in the Battle of New York, and he stayed as part of the team thanks to his abilities as a master marksman, master martial artist, spy, and more. Black Widow and Hawkeye, then, earned their spots as Avengers thanks to their skills and experience, and they added some much-needed balance to a team with superpowered people, as they also bring a different and at times more grounded perspective to the team as they aren’t gods, supersoldiers, nor have the resources to create super armors and more.