What happened to Hawkeye before Echo and is he deaf?

Jeremy Renner appears as part of the cast of episode 1 of Marvel's new show as Clint Barton's past conversation with Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) is revisited.

You know the one - after Maya attempts to take Ronin down following the death of her father, he reveals his identity as the man we know as Clint Barton/Hawkeye. He makes the bombshell revelation that it was Maya's boss who tipped him off – meaning Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio), the man she calls "Uncle", was actually behind it.

It was the turning point of Hawkeye and the moment that led to Maya shooting Kingpin in the head, hence why it had to be revisited in Echo.

During that conversation, Hawkeye tells Maya: "You and I, we're the same. When you're filled with rage, it makes you blind. You can be used. You can be manipulated. Your boss wanted your father dead. Yes, your boss."

But how did we get here? Hawkeye's had quite the journey over the past few years - here's a full recap.

What happened to Hawkeye before Echo?

Disney Plus's series Hawkeye, which aired in late 2021, picked up after the events of Avengers: Endgame - which saw Clint taking up the Ronin mantle after he became wracked with grief when his family were (temporarily) lost in the blip.

Of course, his family were returned and Clint retired the Ronin suit – until he found out an imposter, Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) was running about in it.

Clint's not the only one to have track down Kate though, so the pair of them are forced to face up to Maya Lopez's army, the Tracksuit Mafia. Enter Maya!

As a reminder, she's seeking vengeance on Hawkeye after seeing him, as Ronin, kill her father. He assures her that identity is dead but she doesn't care and the pair have a brutal fight (during which Clint's hearing aid gets knocked out).

After he and Kate escape, Clint is also forced to fight Yelena Bolova (Florence Pugh) who has been hired to kill him by Kate's mother and, separately, also thinks he's responsible for the death of her sister, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). Fans will remember that's not true – Natasha, in heartbreaking scenes, sacrificed herself on Vormir in the fight against Thanos.

Next up is the scene that's revisited in Echo – Clint arranges a meeting with Maya and shows up in the Ronin suit. He eventually bests her in a fight, revealing his identity and confirming that it's Kingpin who wanted her father dead, beginning her quest for vengeance.

It's also revealed that Kate's mother has been working for Kingpin for years.

In a final fight, Clint shows up in his new super suit with Kate at his side and Yelena finally accepts that he wasn't responsible for Natasha's death. Meanwhile, Maya confronts Kingpin and shoots him in the head.

Hawkeye's ending shows Clint finally returning home to spend Christmas Day with his family and Kate.

Is Hawkeye deaf?

In Hawkeye, it was revealed that Clint has lost his hearing after years of battles with the Avengers. During his fight with Maya, he loses his hearing aid, resulting in a car chase battle with Kate during which he can't hear.

It's also made clear during his conversation with Maya that he knows some basic American Sign Language.

Hawkeye's deafness is also true to the comic books, although different reasons are given. In Matt Fraction and David Aja's run of comics, it's said that Hawkeye is deaf due to childhood abuse suffered at the hands of his father.

It takes Clint some time to accept his deafness but he later comes to terms with it.

Echo is streaming now on Disney Plus. Check out the rest of our Sci-Fi and Fantasy coverage, or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what’s on tonight.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only £1 with delivery to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.