Seriously, Though, Where Is Hawkeye in Avengers: Infinity War?

If you've been paying attention to the Infinity War posters and trailers, you may have noticed the glaring absence of one major Marvel hero: Hawkeye. Sure, he doesn't have technologically advanced gizmos, magical powers, or godly abilities, but he's still one of the founding Avengers! Understandably, fans are scratching their heads and asking themselves where the heck the bow-wielding superhero could be.

The closest we've gotten to any Hawkeye publicity material is through fan art pieces. Jeremy Renner even cheekily shared a fan-made Entertainment Weekly cover that features his character on Instagram. Meanwhile, the Russo brothers temporarily updated their Facebook cover photo to a fan piece by artist Bosslogic that replaces all of the Avengers with Hawkeye. Are they hinting at a potentially huge role that Hawkeye could play in Infinity War or poking fun at the public's outcry?

Hawkeye will be in the film. In an interview with Screen Rant, codirector Anthony Russo mysteriously says that Hawkeye has "a unique reaction to the Civil War situation that puts him in a special spot in this film." Hmm, that sounds ominous.

What is that special spot? Did the Avenger somehow become invisible? On the contrary, he might be hypervisible, and sharing too much about his new identity might bring about major spoilers. In Captain America: Civil War, Steve Rogers breaches the Raft and lets Hawkeye go free. We assume that after all of this Avengers melodrama, Clint Barton has returned home to relax with his family and chill out at his secret ranch. But what if his wife and children aren't OK?

In the comics, Hawkeye learns at some point that his family have been assassinated, which prompts him to adopt a darker, more violent alter ego named Ronin. New set photos for Avengers 4 make us especially convinced that Hawkeye will adopt this new identity sooner than later. On the other hand, there's also a theory out there suggesting that Barton is searching for the Soul Stone throughout the movie, which explains his absence from the major battle scenes.

Wherever Hawkeye may be, we're hoping that he's OK! We'll just have to wait until the end of April to know about his whereabouts for sure.