Hawkeye Fact — October 31, 2026

Today's Fact

Checked against independent sources — the issues are cited below.

HAWKEYE CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD AND FOUGHT AS RONIN — A NAME HE BORROWED FROM ECHO!

The Featured Fact

Clint Barton died in Avengers #502 (2004), sacrificing himself aboard an exploding Kree warship after the Scarlet Witch lost control of her powers. When Wanda Maximoff later rewrote reality in House of M, Clint quietly returned to life with her — and stayed hidden after reality snapped back, retired and unwilling to simply resume being Hawkeye.

His return to the fight in New Avengers Vol. 1 #27 (2007) wore a different face entirely. Joining the New Avengers' rescue mission to Japan, Clint fought in the black-and-gold masked Ronin costume — twin swords in hand instead of a bow — keeping his identity secret even from most of his new teammates.

The name was secondhand on purpose. Maya Lopez, called Echo, had originated the Ronin identity in New Avengers Vol. 1 #11 (2005) and set it aside; the woman the team was rescuing later gave Clint her blessing to carry it. Clint returned the favor down the line, blessing Kate Bishop to keep the Hawkeye name he had left vacant.

Why It's Obscure

Resurrection gave him his life back, but not his old name — so he borrowed a masterless samurai's.

2004

A death over the Atlantic — Clint's sacrifice in Avengers Disassembled left the Hawkeye name ownerless and a younger archer ready to claim it.

2005

The first Ronin — Maya Lopez fights anonymously as Ronin in New Avengers #11, hiding her identity behind the mask two years before Clint touches it.

2007

Swords, not arrows — The resurrected Clint debuts as the second Ronin in New Avengers #27, trading the bow for blades on a mission to rescue the identity's creator.

Blessings

Names passed hand to hand — Echo blesses Clint as Ronin; Clint blesses Kate Bishop as Hawkeye, making both codenames inheritances rather than thefts.

Gallery

Comic art of Hawkeye and the figures named in today's fact.

Ronin in black and gold masked costume holding two swords comic art — **The borrowed costume**Clint Barton's Ronin in the black-and-gold masked outfit, twin swords drawn — the full disguise is plainly on display here.

Maya Lopez Echo with white handprint face paint comic art — **The original Ronin**Maya Lopez, Echo, wearing her signature white handprint face paint — the paint is clearly visible across her face in this portrait.

Sources

Every claim above checks out against at least two of these independent sources.

Bullpen Bulletins

Will Ronin return to the MCU? — GamesRadarGamesRadar's comics history: Maya Lopez originated Ronin in New Avengers #11 (2005), and Clint adopted the identity after his death in Avengers: Disassembled and resurrection in House of M.
Who Is Ronin? — GameSpotGameSpot confirms Clint took the Ronin name and costume from Maya Lopez after returning from the dead, operated masked with the New Avengers, and later let Kate Bishop keep the Hawkeye name.