Usually, when a younger character takes over the mantle of an existing superhero, it’s because the original crusader has died. But as the finale of Hawkeye showed, Clint Barton is very much alive when Kate becomes Hawkeye. So, how does this work exactly?

Over the course of the series, audiences saw Kate Bishop become a target after she put on the Ronin suit, though she eventually grew into herself as she teamed up with Clint and took on her enemies. It’s during these final confrontations that we see Clint starting to acknowledge that Kate has earned his respect.

Although he was initially hesitant to work with Kate, Clint finally embraced their partnership. Together, the two archers worked as a team to take on Kingpin and the Tracksuit Mafia. After going through such a massive journey together, Kate considers her future as a superhero and jokes about taking on a superhero name for herself.

Does that mean that Clint will be retiring his bow and arrow soon? Not necessarily. In the comics, Clint Barton and Kate Bishop both exist as Hawkeye. So, it’s possible Jeremy Rener’s Clint Barton will continue to make appearances in the MCU.

But, as we’ve seen with many of Marvel’s Phase 1 characters, Clint might retire his bow, allowing Kate to take over as the new official Hawkeye in this next phase of the MCU.