Hawkeye began as a Marvel villain in 1964, he joined the Avengers later in 1965. He has been in the comic scene for a while, but we can’t find iconic stories on his character which can be adapted for the big screen.
Jeremy Renner has played Hawkeye in major Marvel superhero movies, but not even once would you feel that you will miss something had he not been there. He is a sidekick and will always be one. He doesn’t have super-powers like Iron man or Captain America, he is an average Joe next door. He is as straight as an arrow, and he doesn’t have layers upon layers.
Captain America Civil War tried to humanize him by showing us his family background and how he is sacrificing his personal life for the greater good. But still he doesn’t fit in this world of super-powered people, he faces direct competition from DC’s archer Green Arrow and we know that’s not even a fight.
According to credible sources, apparently, Jeremy Renner was so upset and annoyed by the treatment of Hawkeye in the first Avengers movie that he actually started campaigning for killing off the character for good. He felt he is just a cog in the wheel. He spent 90% of the time playing a character he is not supposed to play as he is brainwashed by Loki. As a result, he got more storyline and character arc in the Civil war. He is not of the character, as only recently he expressed his willingness to be part of a standalone original TV series or a solo movie.
The Marvel fans would rather have Black widow solo movie as its rival DC has already announced Wonder-woman standalone movie. Maybe, it would have been better if Marvel had introduced Hawkeye into the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D universe like Agent Coulson as one of the special agent working in an elite task force.
