Why Hawkeye has a robotic arm in what if


SOURCE: SCREENRANT.COM
OCT 29, 2021

Marvel's What If...? episode 8 features Clint Barton/Hawkeye was sporting a robotic arm during the fight against Ultron. But how did he lose a limb?

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Marvel's What If...? episode 8.

Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) has a robotic arm in Marvel's What If...? episode 8, but how did he lose a limb? For the first time, the animated series directly followed up on the events of its preceding narrative, with this outing revealing the origins of Ultron (Ross Marquand) with all six Infinity Stones. The villain's return took place after Party Thor (Chris Hemsworth) was reprimanded for causing havoc on Earth; Ultron's appearance was so unexpected that even The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) was surprised by it.

What If...?'s penultimate episode, "What If... Ultron Won?" imagined a version of the MCU where Tony Stark's corrupted AI robot was able to achieve his goal of getting rid of mankind. But, Marvel Studios went far and beyond the original premise of Avengers: Age of Ultron in the animated show. After he accomplished his mission on Earth, the villain moved to the cosmos, destroying all life that he came across on multiple planets. Ultron was able to easily finish the job thanks to his acquisition of all six Infinity Stones. Now, he poses a larger threat after he discovered the existence of the multiverse, explaining his sudden appearance at the end of What If...? episode 7.

Afraid of the worst, The Watcher finally decided to intervene, striking a deal with Doctor Strange Supreme (Benedict Cumberbatch) to stop the antagonist. But aside from them, surviving Avengers, Black Widow and Hawkeye have also been working hard to find a way to stop Ultron. Interestingly, however, What If...? episode 8's version of Clint Barton has a robotic arm, like Bucky's. The outing didn't provide any context for it but considering where the events of the narrative land in the timeline, its existence could be explained. Since the story used Age of Ultron as a jumping off point, it's safe to say that the events leading up to Ultron's win were also similar. It's worth remembering that during the opening sequence of the said film, Hawkeye was injured during the Avengers raid of Hydra's final base in Sokovia. Perhaps, instead of a gash in the torso, he was hit quite seriously in the arm. Helen Cho's regeneration technology couldn't simply repair and reproduce new tissue that his limb needed to be cut off entirely.

Since the Avengers Initiative was already taken over by Stark Industries at this point, Hawkeye's robotic arm could have very well been from Tony Stark. After all, he was the one who brought in Cho to attend to Clint's injury in the Sacred Timeline. Given this, it makes sense that he also stepped up and offered his fellow hero a new mechanical limb, knowing full well how important it is for him as the team's resident archer. In any case, Tony was already providing the necessary upgrades to the Avengers' weaponry. As Iron Man told Maria Hill in the aforementioned film: "I just pay for everything, design everything, and make everyone look cooler." If he could come up with dozens of Iron Man suits as seen in Iron Man 3, surely he'd be able to create a working and detachable arm for Hawkeye.

Sadly, the version of Hawkeye with a robotic arm will not be in the upcoming What If...? finale. He sacrificed himself in order to save Black Widow during their last encounter with Ultron's androids. This, interestingly, mirrors what happened between the pair in Avengers: Endgame, where it was Nat who offered her life for Clint.

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