Age of Ultron Foreshadowed Hawkeye’s Laura Barton Reveal

One line in Avengers: Age of Ultron by Tony Stark foreshadowed Hawkeye’s Laura Barton reveal that she used to be a SHIELD agent in the past.

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Hawkeye

Marvel Studios foreshadowed Hawkeye‘s Laura Barton reveal back in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The second Avengers movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a big one for Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye. Theories ran rampant that Clint Barton would die in the end, and many viewers expected this even more once the movie introduced his wife and family. Not only did he survive the earlier film, but Marvel Studios actually used Hawkeye to flesh out different parts of Clint’s story, which included a reveal about his wife Laura Barton (Linda Cardellini).

When Laura debuted in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the movie didn’t spend any time explaining Hawkeye’s secret family beyond the fact that Nick Fury helped keep them a secret. It wasn’t until Hawkeye that the Disney+ show included a big piece of information about her past. The Hawkeye finale ending confirmed Laura was previously a SHIELD agent known as Agent 19. This was teased throughout the series due to Clint’s personal interest in obtaining the Avengers watch and her help on the mission.

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Hawkeye‘s Laura Barton SHIELD reveal shouldn’t have been too big of a surprise though, as the MCU foreshadowed it six years prior. Following a swift beatdown by Ultron, Hawkeye takes the Avengers to regroup at a safe house, which is actually his family’s home. This is when the team meets Laura and the Barton kids for the first time, except for Black Widow. When Tony Stark first sees Laura and learns that she is Clint’s secret wife, his disbelief leads him to say, “This is an agent of some kind.” He even says the same thing about Clint’s kids and jokes they must be smaller agents. While the latter is incorrect, Hawkeye proves that Tony was unknowingly correct when assessing that Laura Barton is or was a spy.

Even though Tony Stark didn’t actually know Laura Barton was Agent 19 when he first met her in Avengers: Age of Ultron, it would make sense for him to learn he was right later on. Natasha Romanoff surely knew about Laura’s past due to her close relationship with Clint and the family. Nick Fury also certainly knew since he was in charge of SHIELD, and Maria Hill also probably knew as a result. Once the Avengers finally knew about and met Laura, it would make sense for Clint to then open up and tell them about how they met and their lives. This could’ve even happened during the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, even if Joss Whedon’s movie didn’t include that conversation.

Avengers: Age of Ultron‘s ability to foreshadow Laura Barton’s SHIELD past through a Tony Stark is a byproduct of the MCU’s continued success. Marvel wasn’t planning a Hawkeye TV show back then, so this reveal probably wasn’t planned when Laura was first introduced. However, that didn’t stop the MCU from paying off Tony Stark’s line six years later on Disney+. It is just the latest example of Marvel giving different Avengers: Age of Ultron moments more meaning, but hopefully Laura Barton’s Hawkeye reveal has a future beyond this Easter egg.

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